Herbert was attacked by orthodox Protestant ministers of the eighteenth century as a religious enthusiast. One minister, John Brown, said his claim to have received a sign from God was "enthusiastic". Another minister, John Leland, said even asking for such a sign was improper, as God does not become involved like that in people’s lives. Leland said that Herbert’s claim "passed for a high fit of enthusiasm. ... I think it maybe justly doubted, whether an address of such a particular kind, as that made by his Lordship, was proper or regular. It does not seem to me, that we are well-founded to apply for or to expect an extraordinary sign from heaven." Clearly these two eighteenth-century Christian commentators did not see Herbert's understanding of God as distant and uninvolved. Rather, Herbert was attacked for believing in an overly-involved deity who had an overly-intimate relationship with people.