Daniel Alfred Poling (November 30, 1884 – February 7, 1968) was an American Brethren clergyman.

Early life and family

Poling was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, to Charles Cupp Poling and Savilla Kring Poling in 1884. His father was also a minister, and two of his brothers, Paul N. Poling and Charles S. Poling, became clergymen as well. Charles Cupp Poling came to Oregon as a missionary of the

Evangelical Association The Evangelical Church or Evangelical Association, also known in the late 1700s as the New Methodist Conference and in the early 1800s as the Albright Brethren, was a "body of American Christians chiefly of German descent". It was Wesleyan theolo ...

in 1883, shortly before Daniel Poling's birth, and was one of the ministers who helped found the United Brethren Church. Daniel Poling graduated from Dallas College in Dallas, Oregon, which his father had founded. He married Susan Jane Vandersall in 1906. Among their children was Clark V. Poling, one of the

Four Chaplains The Four Chaplains, also referred to as the Immortal Chaplains or the ''Dorchester'' Chaplains, were four chaplains who died rescuing civilian and military personnel as the American troop ship sank on February 3, 1943, in what has been referred ...

lost aboard the SS ''Dorchester'' in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Minister

Poling was ordained in the United Brethren Church in 1906 in

Carey, Ohio Carey is a village in Wyandot County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,565 at the 2020 census. History The village is near Sheriden Cave, where habitation occurred around 11,000BC. The village of Carey was founded in 1843 when Willi ...

. He quickly became involved in the campaign to prohibit alcohol in the United States. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Poling helped to organize a unit of chaplains to serve with the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

in France. He served near the front, was involved in an enemy gas attack, and received a citation from the United States government. From 1922 to 1939, he preached at the

Marble Collegiate Church The Marble Collegiate Church, founded in 1628, is one of the oldest continuous Protestant congregations in North America. The congregation, which is part of two denominations in the Reformed tradition—the United Church of Christ and the Refor ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and began giving weekly radio addresses. While there, he came to know

Norman Vincent Peale Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book '' The Power of Positiv ...

, who later described Poling as "one of the greatest servants of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in this age or any other". In 1927, he became the editor of the ''

Christian Herald The ''Christian Herald'' was an American weekly newspaper reporting on topics relevant to Evangelical Christianity, with an emphasis on engaging with humanitarian causes at home and abroad. It was inspired by the London-based newspaper which ceas ...

'', a non-denominational

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

journal that became more successful under his leadership. He would remain at the ''Herald's'' helm until 1966. The same year, he became the head of the

Young People's Society of Christian Endeavour The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor was founded in Portland, Maine, in 1881 by Francis Edward Clark, as an interdenominational Christian youth society encouraging them to "work together to know God in Jesus Christ". Operating internat ...

. He resigned from the Marble Collegiate Church in 1939 to become owner of the ''Herald''. Under his editorship, the journal continued to support American military actions, the

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

, and the development of atomic weapons. Poling was also a strong proponent of the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

. After his son, Clark, was lost at sea during World War II along with three other clergymen, Poling helped found the Chapel of the Four Chaplains in Philadelphia in their memory. He served there until his death in 1968.

Politics

Although he was never elected, Poling ran for several offices. He was the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movemen ...

's candidate for governor of Ohio in 1912, but polled very few votes. In 1951, having moved to Philadelphia, he was the Republican candidate for mayor in the election that year. He was defeated by Democrat

Joseph S. Clark Jr. Joseph Sill Clark Jr. (October 21, 1901January 12, 1990) was an American writer, lawyer and politician. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he served as the 90th List of mayors of Philadelphia, Mayor of Philadelphia ...

The following month, President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

selected Poling as an investigator into tax scandals in his administration. In 1960, he endorsed

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

for president, based on his distrust of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

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faith.

References

Sources

Books * * * Magazine * Newspapers * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poling, Daniel A. 1884 births 1968 deaths Clergy from Portland, Oregon Ministers of the Evangelical United Brethren Church