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| | A 1907 profile tells of him retelling New Testament stories in his own style: | | A 1907 profile tells of him retelling New Testament stories in his own style: |
| − | :"Oh, but the Devil is a smooth guy! ... So the devil went out in the wilderness after the Saviour. Now, Christ was a man. He had all the attributes of a man. He was tired, he was hungry, he was lonely, just the way you and I would have been. And the Devil walks up to him and says—" | + | :"Oh, but the Devil is a smooth guy! ... So the devil went out in the wilderness after the Saviour. Now, Christ was a man. He had all the attributes of a man. He was tired, he was hungry, he was lonely, just the way you and I would have been. And the Devil walks up to him and says—" [Here the preacher drew himself into ... a personification of the sneering arrogance of Mephistopheles...] "He says, 'Son of God, hey?'" |
| − | :[Here the preacher drew himself into as fine a personification of the sneering arrogance of Mephistopheles as ever was achieved by Sir Henry Irving<ref>A famous actor, perhaps the most famous of all time</ref>.]
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| − | :"He says, 'Son of God, hey?'"
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| | The commentator notes that at the first meetings, local ministers had "looked at each other and were horrified," but were won over, and quotes one as saying | | The commentator notes that at the first meetings, local ministers had "looked at each other and were horrified," but were won over, and quotes one as saying |
| | :"The man has trampled all over me and my theology. He has kicked my teachings up and down that platform like a football. He has outraged every ideal I have had regarding my sacred profession. But what does that count, as against the results he has accomplished? My congregation will be increased by hundreds. I didn't do it. Sunday did it. It is for me to humble myself and thank God for his help. He is doing God's work. That I know."<ref>Denison, Lindsay (1907), "The Rev. Billy Sunday and his War on the Devil." ''The American Magazine'' '''64'''(5), September 1907, ([http://books.google.com/books?id=8eYvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA451-IA2&dq=%22billy+sunday%22#PPA454,M1 p. 454]</ref> | | :"The man has trampled all over me and my theology. He has kicked my teachings up and down that platform like a football. He has outraged every ideal I have had regarding my sacred profession. But what does that count, as against the results he has accomplished? My congregation will be increased by hundreds. I didn't do it. Sunday did it. It is for me to humble myself and thank God for his help. He is doing God's work. That I know."<ref>Denison, Lindsay (1907), "The Rev. Billy Sunday and his War on the Devil." ''The American Magazine'' '''64'''(5), September 1907, ([http://books.google.com/books?id=8eYvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA451-IA2&dq=%22billy+sunday%22#PPA454,M1 p. 454]</ref> |