|
| Affiliation | Republican |
|
| Name | Billy Sunday |
| Address |
Winona Lake, Indiana , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
November 19, 1862
|
| Died | November 05, 1935
(72 years)
|
| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Thomas Walker
Jun 22, 2007 12:50pm |
| Tags |
Caucasian - Married - Christian - Presbyterian - Straight -
|
| Info | Full name William Ashley Sunday, Sr.
Birth November 19, 1862, Ames, Iowa
Death November 5, 1935 , Chicago, Illinois. Buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois
Family
Parents William and Mary Jane (Corey) Sunday
Siblings Two older brothers: Albert Monroe and H. Edward Sunday and a half-brother, Leroy Heizer, and half-sister, Elizabeth Heizer
Marital Status Married Helen Amelia Thompson, September 5, 1888
Children Helen Edith (1890-1932), George Marquis (1892-1933), William Ashley, Jr. (1901), Paul Thompson (1907)
Conversion At the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, 1886
Ordination 1903 by the Presbyterian Church
Education
1887-1888 Evanston Academy of Northwestern University (winter term)
Career
ca. 1876-1883 Held various jobs including fireman, janitor, and undertaker's assistant
1883-1888 Played professional baseball for the Chicago White Stockings (1883-1888) and the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia clubs (1888-1891)
1891 Entered full-time Christian service as a worker at Chicago's YMCA
1893 Worked for evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman and Milan B. Williams
1896-1920s Began holding evangelistic campaigns starting in Garner, Iowa. These meetings gradually became large scale, city-wide evangelistic campaigns as Sunday's fame spread
1898 Licensed to preach by the Presbyterian Church
1917 Lengthy campaign in New York City
1920s-1935 Smaller Sunday campaign meetings
Other significant information
1912 Received a Doctor of Laws degree from Westmont College
1917 Wrote, Love Stories of the Bible
1935 Received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Bob Jones College
Billy Sunday's style of preaching won him an enormous amount of newspaper exposure, as did the enthusiasm with which his campaigns were received. He used colorful, slangy language and entertained and instructed his audiences with mimicry, impersonations, as well as memorable epigrams and anecdotes. His messages laid great stress on every human being's need for personal salvation through Jesus Christ and on the authority and reliability of the Bible. He was also a strong critic of alcoholic beverages and favored their prohibition in his most famous sermon, Get on the Water Wagon. He was a popular speaker on the Chautauqua lecture circuit as well.
He was also deeply involved in support of the American war effort: helping to sell war bonds, speaking on the need to save food and fuel, and vigorously encouraging young men to enlist. Sunday, throughout his career, was a critic of American moral laxity and an unabashed admirer of American civilization.
For most of his ministry, Sunday had vocal critics as well as defenders. Like famous evangelists who preceded him, he was taken to task by liberal church leaders for being too simplistic in his theology, while others insisted that he placed too much emphasis on individual piety and salvation at the expense of social reform. Some ministers who participated in his campaigns complained that they received little benefit from the meetings because those who came forward already belonged to churches or had only a vague idea of what Sunday was asking them to commit themselves. Secular journalists, such as John Reed and George Creel, accused Sunday of being a tool used by the ruling elite to defuse lower class discontent. The suspicion was often expressed or inferred in newspapers that Sunday was little more than a grafter getting wealthy from his temporary congregations. Supporters, however, disagreed that Sunday's meetings did not produce results, denied any personal dishonesty on his part, and dismissed criticisms of his theology since the criticisms were based on a world view and understanding of Christ's gospel very different than Sunday's.
Large scale evangelistic campaigns received much less national attention after the first world war. However they continued to be an important of the life of fundamentalist and Pentecostal churches. Sunday was affected by a parallel decrease in his national exposure and influence, although until his death he never lacked invitations to speak and hold campaigns. Besides leading meetings, Sunday spent much of his time defending the constitutional amendment on the prohibition of alcoholic beverage and fighting its repeal. He was involved as well in the management of the Winona Bible Conference (later Winona Institutions and later the Winona Christian Assembly). Personal troubles such as the well publicized difficulties and divorces of his sons, George Marquis and William Ashley, added great sorrow and financial difficulties of his later years.
[Link] |
 | BOOKS |
 |
|
| Title |
Purchase |
Contributor |
|
| Start Date |
End Date |
Type |
Title |
Contributor |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
| INFORMATION LINKS |
|
|
|
