Richard Reader Harris
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Richard Reader Harris, K.C. (1847 - 1909) was a prominent English barrister, counselor to Queen Victoria, Methodist minister, founder of the Pentecostal League of Prayer, author of 34 books and a major promoter of the belief in the Lost Ten Tribes.
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[edit] Brief biography
[edit] Professional career
He started work as a civil engineer for the GWR and GER, before taking post as chief engineer to the Republic of Bolivia. On his return to London in 1883 he became a barrister at Gray's Inn.
[edit] Early conviction
Richard Reader Harris drifted from the liberal view of Christianity in his teens to join Charles Bradlaugh's Ethical Society. Bradlaugh, an atheist, mocked Christians who lived immoral lives while he lectured on Bible texts advocating his audience to abide by ideas expressed in the Sermon on the Mount. As a member of the Puritan wing of Bradlaughâs Ethical Society, Harris pledged not to smoke or drink.
[edit] Christian conversion
When Richard Harris married Mary Griffin Bristow in 1880, he converted to Christianity and became a member of the upper strata of London society.
[edit] Pentecostal League of Prayer
In 1891 both he and his wife founded the Pentecostal League of Prayer as an interdenominational union of Christian people who, conscious of their own need, would join in prayer to fill believers with the Holy Spirit; revive Christian churches and spread scriptural holiness. Harris became a close friend of evangelist Oswald Chambers.
When the new League began publishing the Tongues of Fire magazine it became associated in the mind of the public with the emerging tongues movement. Harris claimed that the two had no connection other than reference to the second chapter of the Book of Acts (Acts 2:6-12). In November 1907 Harris stated that:
"There is nothing wrong with speaking in tongues; it was the privilege of the early Church, and it may be the privilege of any believer today."
[edit] Lost Ten Tribes
In 1908 Richard Harris wrote his book called "The Lost Tribes of Israel", which expressed his belief in the theory of the Lost Ten Tribes:
Such then are the Scriptures that appear to me to furnish strong evidence in favor of the contention of those who believe that in the Anglo-Saxon race God possesses today the descendants of the house of Israel. If this be true, it adds tremendously to our responsibilities, and opens before us in a way that no human tongue can describe, spiritual possibilities, temporal possibilities, national possibilities, and universal possibilities.
[edit] Stroke and death
On March 25, 1909 Richard Harris suffered a stroke and remained in a coma at his home in London and without regaining consciousness he died four days later at the age of sixty one. On April 6, two thousand people attempted to attend his funeral at West Norwood Cemetery. Hundreds stood outside.
[edit] External links
- The Lost Tribes of Israel, excerpts from the book by Richard Reader Harris with links to other works by Pentecostal writers on the same subject.
