R. A. Torrey

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Reuben Archer Torrey
File:RATorrey.jpg
Evangelist, pastor, and writer
Born 28 January 1856
Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.
Died 26 October 1928
Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Nationality American

Reuben Archer Torrey (28 January 1856 – 26 October 1928) was an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer.

Biography

Torrey was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on 28 January 1856. He graduated from Yale University in 1875 and Yale Divinity School in 1878. Following graduation, Torrey became a Congregational minister in Garrettsville, Ohio, in 1878. The following year he married Clara Smith, and the Torreys had five children.

After further studies in theology at Leipzig University and Erlangen University in 1882–1883, Torrey joined Dwight L. Moody in his evangelistic work in Chicago in 1889, and became superintendent of the Bible Institute of the Chicago Evangelization Society (now Moody Bible Institute). Five years later, he became pastor of the Chicago Avenue Church (now The Moody Church) in 1894.[1]

In 1898, Torrey served as a chaplain with the YMCA at Camp Chicamauga during the Spanish–American War. Later, during World War I, he performed similar service at Camp Bowie (a POW camp in Texas) and Camp Kearny.

In 1902–1903, he preached in nearly every part of the English-speaking world and with song leader Charles McCallon Alexander conducted revival services in Great Britain from 1903 to 1905. During this period, he also visited China, Japan, Australia, and India. Torrey conducted a similar campaign in American and Canadian cities in 1906–1907. [1] Throughout these campaigns, Torrey utilized a meeting style that he borrowed from Moody's campaigns of the 1870s. In 1907, he accepted an honorary doctorate from Wheaton College.

In 1912, Torrey was persuaded to build another institution like Moody Bible Institute, and from 1912 to 1924, he served as Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University) and contributed to the BIOLA publication, The King's Business. Beginning in 1915, he served as the first pastor of the Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles. Torrey was one of the three editors of The Fundamentals, a twelve-volume series that gave its name to what came to be called "fundamentalism".[2]

Torrey held his last evangelistic meeting in Florida in 1927, additional meetings being canceled because of his failing health. He died at home in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 26, 1928, having preached throughout the world and written more than 40 books.

Torrey-Gray Auditorium, the main auditorium at Moody, was named for Torrey and his successor, James M. Gray. At Biola, the Torrey Honors Institute honors him, as does the university's annual Bible conference.

Bibliography

  • How I Bring Men to Christ, (E-text) (1893)
  • Baptism with the Holy Spirit, (E-text) (1895)
  • How to Study the Bible with Greatest Profit, (E-text) (1896)
  • How to Pray, (E-text)
  • What the Bible Teaches, (1898)
  • Divine Origin of the Bible, ([1]) (1899)
  • How to Promote and Conduct a Successful Revival, (1901)
  • How to Work for Christ, (1901)
  • Revival Addresses, (E-text) (1903)
  • Talks to Men About the Bible and the Christ of the Bible, (1904)
  • Difficulties in the Bible, (1907)[3]
  • Studies in the Life and Teachings of our Lord, (1909)
  • The Fundamentals: a Testimony to the Truth Editor, (four volumes) ISBN 0-8010-8809-7
  • The Person & Work of the Holy Spirit (E-Text)
  • The Baptism with the Holy Spirit
  • The Holy Spirit: Who He Is and What He Does & How to Know Him in All the Fulness of His Gracious and Glorious Ministry
  • The Importance and Value of Proper Bible Study, (E-text)
  • Why God Used D. L. Moody, (1923) (Modern Reprint by CrossReach Publications, 2016)
  • The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power, (1924)
  • How to Succeed in the Christian Life, (E-text)
  • The Gospel for Today
  • Real Salvation and Whole-Hearted Service
  • The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith, (E-text)
  • Torrey's Topical Textbook
  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chisholm 1911.
  2. ↑ Dan D. Crawford, A Thirst for Souls: The Life of Evangelist Percy B. Crawford (1902–1960) (Selinsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press, 2010), 49.
  3. ↑ http://ratorrey.webs.com/DifficultiesInTheBible.htm

References

External links

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