Editing Open Brethren (section)

====Gifts of the Holy Spirit====
Although some of the early Brethren pioneers were initially interested in the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit such as [[miracles]], [[healing]] and [[speaking in tongues]] that were being practised by the [[Catholic Apostolic Church]] of [[Edward Irving]], with whom many of the early Brethren were acquainted, they soon adopted a [[Cessationist]] position, which was to remain the prevailing Brethren view for the best part of two centuries. Cessationism holds that the sign gifts were given to the early Church only, for the specific purpose of authenticating the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]], and "ceased" with the death of the last Apostle, usually believed to be [[John the Apostle|John]], around the end of the first century.

Until very recent times, this doctrine was the nearly unanimous view of Brethren preachers and Brethren institutions (publications, Bible colleges, and missions agencies). A few prominent Brethren did question it: G. H. Lang expressed doubts about it in the 1920s,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Randall|first1=Ian|title='OUTSIDE THE CAMP': BRETHREN SPIRITUALITY AND WIDER EVANGELICALISM IN THE 1920s|url=http://brethrenhistory.org/qwicsitePro/php/docsview.php?docid=408|website=brethrenhistory.org|access-date=10 December 2015|pages=31|archive-date=11 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211050123/http://brethrenhistory.org/qwicsitePro/php/docsview.php?docid=408|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Harry Ironside]], perhaps the most influential Brethren preacher who ever lived, rejected it in principle in 1938. Although he condemned [[Pentecostalism]],<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-npoRWoZuUC&q=%22Ironside%22+%2B+%22Pentecostal%22+%2B+%22Madhouse%22&pg=PA146|title=The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century|isbn=9780802841032|access-date=2015-05-09|last1=Synan|first1=Vinson|date=25 August 1997|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans }}</ref> the "package" in which the sign gifts were most often seen, he nevertheless said that he did not believe that the age of miracles had ceased.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bible.prayerrequest.com/4934-harry-ironside-collection-28-files/4/63/ |title=Harry Ironside Collection: Ironside, Harry A. – Addresses on the First Epistle to the Corinthians: 12-Christ's Gracious Provision |access-date=2015-05-09}}</ref> Most Brethren preachers, however, remained unwilling to compromise on this stance. Although Brethren theologian [[Ernest Tatham]] published a book, ''Let the tide come in!'' in 1976, saying that he had been mistaken in his previous support for Cessationism,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tatham|first1=C. Ernest|title=Let the Tide come in!|date=1976|publisher=Creation House|isbn=9780884190059|pages=150}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Greetings in Christ's HOLY Name|url=http://www.lydiaofpurple.com/Let%20the%20Tide%20Come%20In.htm|website=Lydia of Purple|access-date=1 June 2015}}</ref> most Brethren remained opposed to the [[Charismatic movement]]. A handful of Brethren assemblies around the world did begin to embrace the Charismatic movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but it remained very much a fringe element among Brethren until the early 2000s.

Today, Brethren attitudes to the "sign gifts" are much more diverse than in the past. In the early 2000s, [[Netherlands|Dutch]] theologian Willem Ouweneel became one of the first high-profile Brethren leaders to publicly endorse the charismatic movement without leaving the Brethren.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/TBJoshua-Willem-Ouweneel/9781852403546|title=T. B. Joshua by Willem Ouweneel|access-date=2015-05-17}}</ref> A significant minority of Open Brethren assemblies in New Zealand, along with some in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, have embraced the Charismatic movement over the past fifteen years, and many more now describe themselves as cautiously receptive to it. Other assemblies, however, have responded by formalising their commitment to Cessationism. Despite the traditional Brethren aversion to having written statements of faith, some assemblies have recently adopted a statement of faith denying the continuity of the sign gifts. In India, too, some Brethren assemblies have embraced the Charismatic movement, but most prominent [[Indian Brethren]] preachers, such as [[Johnson Philip]], principal of '''Brethren Theological College''' in [[Kerala]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gospelmi.org/page_to_print.cfm/bible-schools|title=Bible Schools|publisher=Gospel Missions of India|access-date=2015-05-25|archive-date=25 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525095854/http://www.gospelmi.org/page_to_print.cfm/bible-schools|url-status=dead}}</ref> remain opposed.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.biblebeliever.co.za/Brethren%20Assemblys/Brethren%20Information/Brethren%20Movement%20in%20Indiar.htm#Doctrinal|title=The Brethren Movement in India|author=Dr Johnson C. Philip|access-date=2015-05-25}}</ref>