"Billy" Sunday, the Man and His Message: With his own words which have won thousands for ChristEllis, William T. (William Thomas)
Religion
"Billy" Sunday, the Man and His Message: With his own words which have won thousands for Christ
Ellis, William T. (William Thomas)
Baseball players -- United States -- Biography; Evangelists -- United States -- Biography; Sunday, Billy, 1862-1935
Talking about riches, he suggested that King Solomon, with his wealth,
could have hired Andrew Carnegie as a chauffeur or J. Pierpont Morgan
to cut the lawns around his palace. "Money isn't all there is in this
world, but neither is beer," he said. "I don't want to see you students
get the booze habit, just because we are licensing men at so much per
year to make you staggering, reeling, drunken sots, murderers, thieves
and vagabonds."
The double standard of living was bitterly attacked by the revivalist,
who said one of the crying needs of America was the recognition of a
single standard of living.
"It makes no difference to God whether the sinner wears a plug hat
and pair of suspenders or a petticoat and a willow plume. No man who
deliberately drugs a girl and sends her into a life of shame ought to
be permitted in good society. He ought to be shot at sunrise." This
sentiment evoked a tremendous round of applause, and cries of "Amen!"
and "Good, Bill!" were not infrequent.
"The avenging God is on his trail and the man who wrecks women's lives
is going to crack brimstone on the hottest stone in hell, praise God,"
the speaker continued. "If we are to conciliate this unthinkable and
unspeakable practice of vampires feeding on women's virtue, we might as
well back-pedal in the progress of the nations. The virtue of womanhood
is the rampart of our civilization and we must not let it be betrayed."
When the invitation was given after the night meeting, for men
who wanted to dedicate themselves to cleaner, nobler manhood to
rise, nearly the entire body, visibly moved by the words of the
preacher, rose to its feet. Then, with a daring which prim and
conservative Philadelphia had not thought possible in this citadel
of intellectuality and conventionality, Sunday gave the invitation
to the students who would begin a new life by confessing Christ to
come forward. Accounts vary as to the number who went up and grasped
the evangelist's hand. All reporters seemed to be carried away by the
thrill of the occasion. Many reported that hundreds went forward. The
most conservative report was that 175 young men took this open stand of
confession of Jesus Christ.
The University weekly, _Old Penn_, in its issue of the following
Saturday summarized the Billy Sunday visit in pages of contributions.
These three paragraphs are the sober judgment of those best informed
from the University standpoint:
The results of Mr. Sunday's visit within the University have
been nothing short of marvelous. The Provost has been receiving
congratulations from trustees, business men, lawyers, members of the
faculty and prominent undergraduates. Several whole fraternities have
taken action leading to higher living in every line. Drink has been
completely excluded from class banquets. Students are joining the
churches, and religion has been the paramount topic of conversation
throughout the entire University.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account