Changes

A hard drinker off the field, in 1886 he was literally picked out of the gutter, drunk, by workers at the Chicago's Pacific Garden Mission, was converted, and stopped drinking.

A hard drinker off the field, in 1886 he was literally picked out of the gutter, drunk, by workers at the Chicago's Pacific Garden Mission, was converted, and stopped drinking.

In the spring of 1891 Sunday resigned his Philadelphia Phillies contract of $3000 for 6-7 months of work for an $83/month job as "Secretary of the Religious Department" at the Chicago [[YMCA]]. Two years later he became an advance man for revivalist J. Wilbur Chapman, and learned how to organize revival meetings. In January of 1896 he went out on his own and hosted his first revival meeting in Garner, [[Iowa]], and he was ordained as a [[Presbyterian]] minister in 1903.<ref name=cc>[http://www.christianchronicler.com/history1/fundamentalism_and_billy_sunday.html Fundamentalism and Billy Sunday], ''Billy Sunday Was His Real Name'', by William McLoughlin, University of Chicago Press, 1955, p. 8-11.</ref>

In the spring of 1891 Sunday resigned his Philadelphia Phillies contract of $3000 for 6–7 months of work for an $83/month job as "Secretary of the Religious Department" at the Chicago [[YMCA]]. Two years later he became an advance man for revivalist J. Wilbur Chapman, and learned how to organize revival meetings. In January 1896 he went out on his own and hosted his first revival meeting in Garner, [[Iowa]], and he was ordained as a [[Presbyterian]] minister in 1903.<ref name=cc>[http://www.christianchronicler.com/history1/fundamentalism_and_billy_sunday.html Fundamentalism and Billy Sunday], ''Billy Sunday Was His Real Name'', by William McLoughlin, University of Chicago Press, 1955, p. 8-11.</ref>

By 1914, he was a national celebrity, conducting campaigns in big cities which lasted many weeks and attracted tens of thousands of people.  In 1917, he conducted a ten-week campaign in [[New York]] in which 98,000 people accepted Christ.<ref>Lyle Dorsett, ''Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America'', Grand Rapids: Wm. Eerdmans, 1991, p. 106-107.</ref>Gale's ''American Decades'' says that by 1920 he was the best-known evangelist in America.

By 1914, he was a national celebrity, conducting campaigns in big cities which lasted many weeks and attracted tens of thousands of people.  In 1917, he conducted a ten-week campaign in [[New York]] in which 98,000 people accepted Christ.<ref>Lyle Dorsett, ''Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America'', Grand Rapids: Wm. Eerdmans, 1991, p. 106-107.</ref> Gale's ''American Decades'' says that by 1920 he was the best-known evangelist in America.

==Preaching style==

==Preaching style==

He opposed [[dance|dancing]]: "You must want a lot of prostitutes or you wouldn't sow dances...  Somebody says to me: 'Mr. Sunday, are you going to include the [[square dance]]?' They all look alike to me. It does not take very long to cut the corners off. Sure it is harmful, especially for girls. Young men can drink and [[gamble]] and frequent houses of ill fame, but the only way a girl can get recreation is in a narrow gauge buggy ride on a moonlight night or at a dance. If you can't see any harm in this kind of thing, why I guess the Lord will let you out as an idiot."<ref>[http://www.biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday/sun12.html Theatre, Cards, and Dance], sermon by Billy Sunday</ref> He opposed [[cigarette]]s: "I say to you, young girl, don't go with that godless, God-forsaken, sneering young man that walks the streets smoking cigarettes. He would not walk the streets with you if you smoked cigarettes."<ref name=ellis/>

He opposed [[dance|dancing]]: "You must want a lot of prostitutes or you wouldn't sow dances...  Somebody says to me: 'Mr. Sunday, are you going to include the [[square dance]]?' They all look alike to me. It does not take very long to cut the corners off. Sure it is harmful, especially for girls. Young men can drink and [[gamble]] and frequent houses of ill fame, but the only way a girl can get recreation is in a narrow gauge buggy ride on a moonlight night or at a dance. If you can't see any harm in this kind of thing, why I guess the Lord will let you out as an idiot."<ref>[http://www.biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday/sun12.html Theatre, Cards, and Dance], sermon by Billy Sunday</ref> He opposed [[cigarette]]s: "I say to you, young girl, don't go with that godless, God-forsaken, sneering young man that walks the streets smoking cigarettes. He would not walk the streets with you if you smoked cigarettes."<ref name=ellis/>

He believed in a literal [[Hell]], and invoked it frequently in his sermons. He said "If we had more preaching on Hell from the pulpit, we would have less Hell in the congregation."<ref>[http://www.swordofthelord.com/archives/DangerofDelay.htm The Danger of Delay], sermon by Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934–1995)</ref>. In a sermon, he said "If you ever had any doubt about a literal Hell, a fiery Hell, where the wicked must remain forever, it would all vanish as I see Jesus Christ in [[Gethsemane]], agonizing because men would not accept Him and were going to Hell."<ref>[http://www.biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday/sun16.html Gethsemane], sermon by Billy Sunday</ref>

He believed in a literal [[Hell]], and invoked it frequently in his sermons. He said "If we had more preaching on Hell from the pulpit, we would have less Hell in the congregation.".<ref>[http://www.swordofthelord.com/archives/DangerofDelay.htm The Danger of Delay], sermon by Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934–1995)</ref> In a sermon, he said "If you ever had any doubt about a literal Hell, a fiery Hell, where the wicked must remain forever, it would all vanish as I see Jesus Christ in [[Gethsemane]], agonizing because men would not accept Him and were going to Hell."<ref>[http://www.biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday/sun16.html Gethsemane], sermon by Billy Sunday</ref>

He considered the [[theory of evolution]] to be "bunk, junk, and poppycock."<ref name=hartt>Hartt, Rolin Lynde (1923), "Deep Conflict Divides Protestantism," ''The New York Times'' December 16, 1923, p. XX5</ref> He once dismissed it by saying, "I don't believe in the bastard theory that men came from protoplasm by the fortuitous concurrence of atoms."<ref>Quoted in ''Billy Sunday Was His Real Name'', by William McLoughlin, University of Chicago Press, 1955, p. 132.</ref>

He considered the [[theory of evolution]] to be "bunk, junk, and poppycock."<ref name=hartt>Hartt, Rolin Lynde (1923), "Deep Conflict Divides Protestantism," ''The New York Times'' December 16, 1923, p. XX5</ref> He once dismissed it by saying, "I don't believe in the bastard theory that men came from protoplasm by the fortuitous concurrence of atoms."<ref>Quoted in ''Billy Sunday Was His Real Name'', by William McLoughlin, University of Chicago Press, 1955, p. 132.</ref>

He favored women's right to [[vote]]. He favored sex education:<ref name=ames>[http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/residents_sunday.htm Famous Ames Residents: Billy Sunday], Ames Historical Society</ref> ("Prudery is no more a sign of virtue than a [[wig]] is of hair").  

He favored women's right to [[vote]]. He favored sex education:<ref name=ames>[http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/residents_sunday.htm Famous Ames Residents: Billy Sunday], Ames Historical Society</ref> ("Prudery is no more a sign of virtue than a [[wig]] is of hair").  

He favored [[labor union|labor unions]], but within limits: "It would be the greatest calamity of history if [[Eugene V. Debs]] ever became [[president of the United States]].... hell would hold a jubilee and [[heaven]] would hang a crepe on her door.... I have championed the cause of the union man all my life, but I'm dead against the radical in whatever form he may appear."<ref>Karsner, David (1922), ''Talks with Debs in Terre Haute,'' New York Call; [http://books.google.com/books?id=m0-D2Q74BxwC&pg=PA57&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA56,M1 p. 57]</ref>

He favored [[labor union]]s, but within limits: "It would be the greatest calamity of history if [[Eugene V. Debs]] ever became [[president of the United States]].... hell would hold a jubilee and [[heaven]] would hang a crepe on her door.... I have championed the cause of the union man all my life, but I'm dead against the radical in whatever form he may appear."<ref>Karsner, David (1922), ''Talks with Debs in Terre Haute,'' New York Call; [http://books.google.com/books?id=m0-D2Q74BxwC&pg=PA57&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA56,M1 p. 57]</ref>

==Converts and financial success==

==Converts and financial success==

He was financially successful, a point which his critics noted. It was his practice to keep the proceeds of the last day of his campaigns. He published his results measured both by numbers of converts and by dollars in thank offerings. Through 1916, he made over twenty appearances in cities ranging in size from small ([[Erie, Pennsylvania]]; [[Canton, Ohio]]) to large ([[Boston]], [[Philadelphia]], [[New York City|New York]]), and claimed a total of over 600,000 converts and $680,000 in donations<ref name=nytobit>"Billy Sunday Dies, Evangelist was 71," ''The New York Times,'' November 7, 1935, p. 1. Totals calculated from numbers in article.</ref> (equivalent to about $13 million today).<ref name=westegg>[http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ The Inflation Calculator]</ref>. In 1920 [[Dun and Bradstreet]] estimated his worth at $1.4 million ($16 million today).

He was financially successful, a point which his critics noted. It was his practice to keep the proceeds of the last day of his campaigns. He published his results measured both by numbers of converts and by dollars in thank offerings. Through 1916, he made over twenty appearances in cities ranging in size from small ([[Erie, Pennsylvania]]; [[Canton, Ohio]]) to large ([[Boston]], [[Philadelphia]], [[New York City|New York]]), and claimed a total of over 600,000 converts and $680,000 in donations<ref name=nytobit>"Billy Sunday Dies, Evangelist was 71," ''The New York Times,'' November 7, 1935, p. 1. Totals calculated from numbers in article.</ref> (equivalent to about $13 million today).<ref name=westegg>[http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ The Inflation Calculator]</ref> In 1920 [[Dun and Bradstreet]] estimated his worth at $1.4 million ($16 million today).

==Criticism==

==Criticism==

Some questioned the permanence of Sunday's "conversions." Following the famous 1917 revival in New York, the [[Federal Council of Churches]] found that only 200 of the 68,000 were permanent converts.<ref name=nytobit/> In 1921, a commentator wrote:

Some questioned the permanence of Sunday's "conversions." Following the famous 1917 revival in New York, the [[Federal Council of Churches]] found that only 200 of the 68,000 were permanent converts.<ref name=nytobit/> In 1921, a commentator wrote:

:In spite of the thousands that have hit the sawdust trail, however, it is difficult to believe that more than a tiny proportion of his auditors are religiously affected by him. Very few give any signs of seriousness or "conversion." The great majority of those who hit the trail are merely people who want to shake his hand.... His audiences are curious to see him and hear him. He is a remarkable public entertainer, and much that he says has keen humor and verbal art and [[horse sense]]. But ... he leaves an impression of being at once violent and incommunicative, a salesman for [[Christianity]] but not a guide or friend.<ref>Hackett, Francis (1921), ''The Invisible Censor,''  B.W. Huebsch, Inc.; [http://books.google.com/books?id=ln1ixFuVoUsC&pg=PA23&ots=a2iRPCJG_X&dq=%22billy+sunday%22+shaking+shake+hand&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=hNWhl_TXHcL53rx0MTSo9CUmPHs#PPA30,M1 p. 30] (of reprint)</ref>

:In spite of the thousands that have hit the sawdust trail, however, it is difficult to believe that more than a tiny proportion of his auditors are religiously affected by him. Very few give any signs of seriousness or "conversion." The great majority of those who hit the trail are merely people who want to shake his hand.... His audiences are curious to see him and hear him. He is a remarkable public entertainer, and much that he says has keen humor and verbal art and [[horse sense]]. But ... he leaves an impression of being at once violent and incommunicative, a salesman for [[Christianity]] but not a guide or friend.<ref>Hackett, Francis (1921), ''The Invisible Censor,''  B.W. Huebsch, Inc.; [http://books.google.com/books?id=ln1ixFuVoUsC&pg=PA23&ots=a2iRPCJG_X&dq=%22billy+sunday%22+shaking+shake+hand&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=hNWhl_TXHcL53rx0MTSo9CUmPHs#PPA30,M1 p. 30] (of reprint)</ref>

Sunday's reply to such criticisms was "They tell me a revival is only temporary; so is a bath, but it does you good."<ref>[http://www.fbbc.com/messages/billys.htm Sayings of Billy Sunday]</ref> He felt that it was the local [[clergy|clergy's]] job to retain the people he converted: "If you are too lazy to take care of the baby after it is born, don't blame the doctor."<ref name=tnr>"Billy Sunday," ''The New Republic,'' March 20, 1915, from ''The New Republic Book,'' [http://books.google.com/books?id=x7IiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA183&as_brr=1#PPA183,M1 p. 183]</ref>

Sunday's reply to such criticisms was "They tell me a revival is only temporary; so is a bath, but it does you good."<ref>[http://www.fbbc.com/messages/billys.htm Sayings of Billy Sunday]</ref> He felt that it was the local [[clergy|clergy's]] job to retain the people he converted: "If you are too lazy to take care of the baby after it is born, don't blame the doctor."<ref name="tnr"/>

Sunday was criticized by the liberal clergy of the day. Left-leaning [[Leon Milton Birkhead]] called Sunday's theology "a [[mediaeval]] belief that Christianity somehow is a fire-escape from a future hell." In 1916 [[Unitarian]] minister [[Joel H. Metcalf]] said "I cannot see how any cultivated person can be other than terribly revolted by the extreme sensationalism, the coarse jokes, the super-slang, the bawd characterizations, the ribald Billingsgate, and the dancing dervish contortions of the revivalist, where perspiration seems to be confused with inspiration."<ref>[http://personal.tmlp.com/richard/1916.htm Liberalism and the Modern Revival], sermon by Joel H. Metcalf, Winchester Star (Winchester, VA), December 8, 1916</ref>  

Sunday was criticized by the liberal clergy of the day. Left-leaning [[Leon Milton Birkhead]] called Sunday's theology "a [[mediaeval]] belief that Christianity somehow is a fire-escape from a future hell." In 1916 [[Unitarian]] minister [[Joel H. Metcalf]] said "I cannot see how any cultivated person can be other than terribly revolted by the extreme sensationalism, the coarse jokes, the super-slang, the bawd characterizations, the ribald Billingsgate, and the dancing dervish contortions of the revivalist, where perspiration seems to be confused with inspiration."<ref>[http://personal.tmlp.com/richard/1916.htm Liberalism and the Modern Revival], sermon by Joel H. Metcalf, Winchester Star (Winchester, VA), December 8, 1916</ref>  

<references/>

<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Sunday, Billy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunday, Billy}}

[[Category:Baseball Players]]

[[Category:Baseball Players]]

[[Category:Clergy]]

[[Category:Clergy]]