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Name:
Dwight L. Moody
Dates:
Born: 1837
Died: 1899
Biography:
Dwight L. Moody was a successful Chicago businessman who became one of
the most important religious leaders of the late 19th century. Even while still in business,
he was a successful Sunday school teacher - so successful that he decided to devote
himself to spreading the message of Christian evangelism to an even wider audience.
In 1861 Moody began missionary work in the city of Chicago with simple, colorful preaching. His sermons were not firey orations - instead, he stressed God's love and mercy. When he traveled, he drew thousands of listeners who were eager to hear his message. Through his efforts, traditional revivalism moved from small, rural towns to the big cities. Moody used modern marketing methods to promote old-time religious beliefs - one of the first to do so, but definitely not the last.
Moody avoided sectarian disputes - he worked outside of institutions and traditional denominations. In 1889 he founded his Bible Institute for Home and Foreign Missions (now the Moody Bible Institute) in Chicago, a school which was destined to have a strong influence on religious teaching and doctrine in the United States.
One important way in which Moody influenced Christianity in America even down to today is with the issue of premillennialism. In his day, most Christians were postmillennialists - they believed that once they managed to cure society's problems, there would be a thousand years of peace and righteousness and then Christ would return. Moody, however, was a premillennialist and believed that society would only get worse and then Christ would return, inaugurating the thousand years of peace and righteousness. Christians could not perfect society, only Christ could.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
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