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

Keswick theology The Higher Life movement, also known as the Keswick movement or Keswickianism, is a Protestant theological tradition within evangelical Christianity that espouses a distinct teaching on the doctrine of entire sanctification. Its name comes fr ...

Biography

Torrey was born in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58, ...

, the son of a banker. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1875 and from

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

in 1878, following which he became a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs it ...

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in Garrettsville, Ohio. In 1879, he married Clara Smith, and they subsequently had five children. After further studies in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

and

Erlangen University Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...

in 1882–1883, Torrey joined Dwight L. Moody in his evangelistic work in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1889, and became superintendent of the Bible Institute of the Chicago Evangelization Society (now

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have ...

). In 1894, he became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the Chicago Avenue Church (now the

Moody Church The Moody Church (often referred to as Moody Memorial Church, after a sign hung on the North Avenue side of the building) is a historic evangelical Christian (Nondenominational Christianity) church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illi ...

). In 1898, Torrey served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

at Camp Chickamauga during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he performed similar service at Camp Bowie (a POW camp in Texas) and at Camp Kearny. In 1902–1903, he preached in nearly every part of the English-speaking world and with song leader

Charles McCallon Alexander Charles McCallon Alexander (24 October 1867 – 13 October 1920) a native of East Tennessee, was a popular nineteenth-century gospel singer who worked the evangelistic circuit for many years. Over the course of his ministry, he toured with R. A. ...

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. Throughout these campaigns, Torrey used a meeting style that he borrowed from Moody's campaigns of the 1870s. 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 Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's ...

) 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 Built in 1914, the 4000-seat Church of the Open Door was conceived by R. A. Torrey who had come to Los Angeles to start a Bible institute (now known as Biola University) similar to Moody Bible Institute. The church was to be strictly non-denominat ...

, Los Angeles. Torrey was one of the three editors of ''

The Fundamentals ''The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth'' (generally referred to simply as ''The Fundamentals'') is a set of ninety essays published between 1910 and 1915 by the Testimony Publishing Company of Chicago. It was initially published quarterly in ...

'', a 12-volume series that gave its name to what came to be called "

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

". Torrey held his last evangelistic meeting in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

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. He was 72 years old.

Honors

In 1907, he accepted an honorary doctorate from

Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to: * Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...

. Torrey-Gray Auditorium, the main auditorium at Moody, was named for Torrey and his successor,

James M. Gray James Martin Gray (May 11, 1851 – September 21, 1935) was a pastor in the Reformed Episcopal Church, a Bible scholar, editor, hymn writer, and the president of Moody Bible Institute, 1904-34. Biography Gray was born in New York City as on ...

. At Biola, the

Torrey Honors Institute Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's, ...

honors him, as does the university's annual Bible conference.

Bibliography

*''How to 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 Obtain Fullness of Power in Christian Life and Service'' (1897) *''How to Pray'',

*''What the Bible Teaches'', (1898) *''Divine Origin of the Bible'',

(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) *''The Bible and Its Christ: Being Noonday Talks with Business Men on Faith and Unbelief'' (1906) *''Difficulties in the Bible'', (1907) *''Studies in the Life and Teachings of our Lord'', (1909) *''The Higher Criticism and the New Theology'' (1911) *''The Fundamentals: a Testimony to the Truth'' Editor, (four volumes) *''The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit''
E-Text
(1910) *''The Baptism with the Holy Spirit'' *''The Holy Spirit: Who He Is and What He Does and 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 Voice of God in the Present Hour'' (1917) *''Is the Bible the Inerrant Word of God?: And was the Body of Jesus Raised from the Dead?'' (1922) *''The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power'', (1924) *''The Bible, the Peerless Book: Gods Own Book and Gods Only Book'' (1925) *''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 ''Torrey's Topical Textbook'' is a reference book or concordance for topics found in the Holy Bible. It contains subject index guides to topics found throughout the scriptures. The work contains 628 entries and over 20,000 scripture references. ...

'' *''Treasury of Scripture Knowledge''

References

External links

* * *
Difficulties in the Bible
book by R. A. Torrey.
R. A. Torrey Archive (sermons and writings)
*R. A. Torrey hymn "Bless Thou Jehovah" with new melody b
Eric M. PazdzioraR. A. Torrey's ''New Topical Textbook''Torrey Honors Institute''Ten Reasons Why I Believe The Bible Is The Word Of God''
by R. A. Torrey *

', edited by R.A. Torrey (1910–15)

by R. A. Torrey
Treasury Of Scripture Knowledge
– Torrey's Bible study reference tool. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrey, Reuben Archer 1856 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Congregationalist ministers 20th-century Congregationalist ministers American Congregationalist ministers American evangelicals Protestant writers American people of the Spanish–American War American people of World War I Biola University faculty Christian fundamentalists Erlangen University alumni American military chaplains Moody Bible Institute people Writers from Hoboken, New Jersey People from Portage County, Ohio Leipzig University alumni Yale Divinity School alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni American Christian writers American sermon writers American Christian theologians Christian revivalists Spanish–American War chaplains World War I chaplains Keswickianism 20th-century American clergy 19th-century American clergy

Biography

Honors

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links