A forgotten antisemitic statement from pre-eminent 19th century evangelist D. L. Moody ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Tuesday, December 09, 2025

A forgotten antisemitic statement from pre-eminent 19th century evangelist D. L. Moody

Dwight Lyman Moody was by far the most popular evangelical preacher of the 19th century, traveling the nation and regularly speaking to tens of thousands of people. He is considered the Billy Graham of his day.

He founded the Moody Bible Institute in 1889 in Chicago, which is one of the most influential evangelical training institutions in America. It is known to fight antisemitism, and Moody himself was said to have pro-Jewish viewpoints.

But I'm wondering if there is a little revisionist history here.

150 years ago, Moody gave a talk in Philadelphia. Here is the Philadelphia Inquirer's description of his evening service to thousands on December 29, 1875:

EVENING SERVICE.
The tabernacle last night was about half filled, the stormy weather having a very perceptible influence upon the congregation. The audience was again largely composed of ladies, who seem to brave the miserable atmosphere much better than the men to attend the ministrations of the evangelists. Mr. Sankey did not sing a single solo before Mr. Moody began on his text, which was something unusual, and after the congregation had sung the 107th hymn the revivalist took a text from the 5th verse of the 53d chapter of Isaiah, or about the death of the Son of God.
He said he wanted to tell of the sufferings of Christ, His physical sufferings, and then speak of the scenes on the battle-fields during the rebellion. The preacher then began to depict the scenes of suffering through which the Saviour passed while upon the earth. The word-painting of Christ before Pilate was so vivid and eloquent as to draw tears from the eyes of many persons in the congregation. He severely condemned the Jews for their crucifixion of Christ, and said that not long ago a thousand Jews met in Paris, and one of the orators exclaimed, "We have the honor of killing the Christian's God."
This infamous language was wildly applauded by the assembled Jews. "It was hellish," cried Mr. Moody, "that in the afternoon of the nineteenth century such a scene should have occurred. But what are the Jews to-day," he said, "a people without a kingdom, without a leader, without a home, wanderers up and down the earth."
The sermon was one of remarkable power, and its effect was seen in the increased attendance in the inquiry rooms. After the congregation had sung the 91st hymn, "There is a fountain filled with blood," the benediction and dismissal followed.

This incident caused a stir, with Jews writing to newspapers to complain about the obvious lie. Here is an example in the New York Tribune the very next day:

Another letter to the New York Sun also criticized Moody and was republished in other newspapers:

I don't see immediately any other stories of Moody disparaging Jews in his many revivals, but it is difficult to believe that he was philosemitic while saying a statement like this. Perhaps his namesake institute has managed to whitewash his reputation, or maybe no one really remembered this incident.