Charles Templeton
Encyclopedia
Charles Bradley Templeton (October 7, 1915–June 7, 2001) was a Canadian cartoonist
, evangelist
, agnostic, politician
, newspaper editor, inventor, broadcaster
and author
. He was born and died in the same city, Toronto
, Canada
. His early education was at Parkdale Collegiate Institute
.
, Chuck Templeton (as he was then known) got his first job as a sports cartoonist for The Globe and Mail
.
. In 1941, Templeton founded the Avenue Road Church of the Nazarene
, in Toronto
, in a building that formerly housed a Presbyterian congregation, where he served as senior pastor
despite his lack of formal theological training. The Avenue Road Church of the Nazarene congregation eventually became affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance
denomination, and its name was changed to Bayview Glen Church.
of Chicago, Illinois met with a number of youth leaders from around the United States at Winona Lake, Indiana
. Their agenda was to form a working group that would become an organization known as Youth for Christ International which was born in 1946. Torrey Johnson was elected as its first president and Billy Graham
was hired as the first full-time evangelist. Shortly afterward, Graham and Templeton made an evangelistic tour of western Europe, frequently rooming together, and holding crusades in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Sweden, among other countries.
heartily endorsed Templeton's evangelism, but came to feel a degree of discomfort with mass evangelistic crusades as its own evangelical Protestantism
began to settle into a theologically and socially more liberal stream. In 1948, Templeton attended Princeton Theological Seminary
. At his peak, Templeton hosted a weekly religious television show on CBS
, Look Up and Live, in the early 1950s. In 1957, after a long struggle with doubt, Templeton declared himself an agnostic. His public pronouncement of his loss of faith caused a deep backlash from the evangelical community. Although Templeton stated near the end of his life there was no way to be sure about the fact that God exists, he still professed a yearning for the faith he once had.
. In the 1960s he was hired as editorial page editor of The Toronto Star and then made a leap into politics running for the leadership
of the Ontario Liberal Party
in 1964 placing second to Andy Thompson at the 1964 leadership convention. During the campaign Templeton ran in a Toronto by-election
in an attempt to strengthen his campaign for leader by winning a seat in the Ontario legislature
but he was defeated by NDP
candidate Jim Renwick.
Thompson resigned as Liberal leader in November 1966 and Templeton was suggested as his possible successor by interim leader Robert Nixon
. However, Elmer Sopha
, who had been the only member of caucus to support Templeton in 1964, came out publicly and vociferously against this option. Templeton announced he would not again be a candidate for the Liberal leadership because of the opposition of members of the party caucus. Nixon was acclaimed party leader in January 1967.
. During his tenure at CTV News, Templeton mentored many of the next generation of news executives who led local network affiliates to ratings dominance, such as Ted Stuebing and Wayne Dayton.
co-hosting a daily radio show in which the two would debate the issues of the day. Dialogue would be on the air for 18 years starting on CFRB
in 1966 and then moving to CKEY
in 1970 where Templeton was also hired as the morning newscaster.
; Act of God, The Third Temptation and The Queen's Secret were among his other bestselling novels. He also wrote Jesus: A Bible in Modern English (1973) which is a selection of sayings by Jesus. In 1982, he wrote his Anecdotal Memoir, which includes this description of Reverend Billy Graham: "there is no feigning in him: he believes what he believes with an invincible innocence. He is the only mass evangelist I would trust."http://www.templetons.com/charles/memoir/evang-graham.html In 1995, Templeton described his eventual rejection of his faith in his final published work, Farewell to God : my reasons for rejecting the Christian faith. He was interviewed by Lee Strobel
in Strobel's book, The Case for Faith.
) of four children: Ty Templeton
, a well-known comic book
artist; Brad Templeton
, founder of ClariNet Communications; Deborah Burgess, a TV host and director;http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0121276/ and Michael Templeton, a tax attorney. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the latter part of the 1990s and died from complications of the disease in 2001.
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, agnostic, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, newspaper editor, inventor, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was born and died in the same city, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. His early education was at Parkdale Collegiate Institute
Parkdale Collegiate Institute
Parkdale Collegiate Institute is a public high school located on Jameson Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1888 in the community of Parkdale.-History:Parkdale High School opened in the Masonic Hall on Dowling Avenue in 1888...
.
Cartoonist
At age 17, during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Chuck Templeton (as he was then known) got his first job as a sports cartoonist for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
.
Christian Evangelism
In 1936, Templeton converted to Christianity and became an evangelistEvangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
. In 1941, Templeton founded the Avenue Road Church of the Nazarene
Avenue Road Church
The Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, subsequently Avenue Road Presbyterian Church, subsequently Avenue Road United Church and later Church of the Nazarene, was a church located on Avenue Road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
, in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, in a building that formerly housed a Presbyterian congregation, where he served as senior pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
despite his lack of formal theological training. The Avenue Road Church of the Nazarene congregation eventually became affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Christian and Missionary Alliance
The Christian and Missionary Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.Founded by Rev. Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887, the Christian & Missionary Alliance did not start off as a denomination, but rather began as two distinct parachurch organizations: The Christian...
denomination, and its name was changed to Bayview Glen Church.
Youth for Christ International
In 1945 Templeton and Torrey JohnsonTorrey Johnson
Torrey Maynard Johnson was a Chicago Protestant evangelist who is best remembered as the founder of Chicagoland Youth for Christ and Youth for Christ International in 1944...
of Chicago, Illinois met with a number of youth leaders from around the United States at Winona Lake, Indiana
Winona Lake, Indiana
Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,908 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Winona Lake is located at...
. Their agenda was to form a working group that would become an organization known as Youth for Christ International which was born in 1946. Torrey Johnson was elected as its first president and Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
was hired as the first full-time evangelist. Shortly afterward, Graham and Templeton made an evangelistic tour of western Europe, frequently rooming together, and holding crusades in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Sweden, among other countries.
Agnostic
At one time the United Church of CanadaUnited Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
heartily endorsed Templeton's evangelism, but came to feel a degree of discomfort with mass evangelistic crusades as its own evangelical Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
began to settle into a theologically and socially more liberal stream. In 1948, Templeton attended Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
. At his peak, Templeton hosted a weekly religious television show on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Look Up and Live, in the early 1950s. In 1957, after a long struggle with doubt, Templeton declared himself an agnostic. His public pronouncement of his loss of faith caused a deep backlash from the evangelical community. Although Templeton stated near the end of his life there was no way to be sure about the fact that God exists, he still professed a yearning for the faith he once had.
Politician
Returning to Canada, Templeton became a broadcaster hosting public affairs programming on CBC TelevisionCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. In the 1960s he was hired as editorial page editor of The Toronto Star and then made a leap into politics running for the leadership
Leadership convention
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
of the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
in 1964 placing second to Andy Thompson at the 1964 leadership convention. During the campaign Templeton ran in a Toronto by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in an attempt to strengthen his campaign for leader by winning a seat in the Ontario legislature
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
but he was defeated by NDP
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
candidate Jim Renwick.
Thompson resigned as Liberal leader in November 1966 and Templeton was suggested as his possible successor by interim leader Robert Nixon
Robert Nixon
Robert Fletcher Nixon is a retired politician in the province of Ontario, Canada. The son of former Premier of Ontario Harry Nixon, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a 1962 by-election following his father's death...
. However, Elmer Sopha
Elmer Sopha
Elmer Sopha was a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Sudbury in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1959 to 1971. He was a member of the Ontario Liberal Party.-Career:...
, who had been the only member of caucus to support Templeton in 1964, came out publicly and vociferously against this option. Templeton announced he would not again be a candidate for the Liberal leadership because of the opposition of members of the party caucus. Nixon was acclaimed party leader in January 1967.
Journalist
Following his unsuccessful political career, Templeton tried his hand as an advertising executive before returning to journalism first as editor of Maclean's Magazine and then as a newscaster for CTVCTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
. During his tenure at CTV News, Templeton mentored many of the next generation of news executives who led local network affiliates to ratings dominance, such as Ted Stuebing and Wayne Dayton.
Broadcast commentator
Templeton began a long time collaboration with Pierre BertonPierre Berton
Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist....
co-hosting a daily radio show in which the two would debate the issues of the day. Dialogue would be on the air for 18 years starting on CFRB
CFRB (AM)
CFRB, Newstalk 1010, is an AM radio clear-channel station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting on 1010 kHz, with a shortwave radio simulcast by CFRX-SW on 6.070 MHz. The station broadcasts a mix of talk and news throughout the day from its transmitter located in the community of...
in 1966 and then moving to CKEY
CHKT (AM)
CHKT is a Canadian radio station, airing at 1430 AM in Toronto, Ontario. The station, owned by the Fairchild Radio service, airs Chinese language programming.-History:The station first aired in 1925 as AM 840 CKCL, owned by the Dominion Battery company...
in 1970 where Templeton was also hired as the morning newscaster.
Author
Templeton's book The Kidnapping of the President was made into a feature filmThe Kidnapping of the President
The Kidnapping of the President is a 1980 political thriller film made by Presidential Films and Sefel Films and distributed by Crown International Pictures. It was produced and directed by George Mendeluk and co-produced by John Ryan from a screenplay by Richard Murphy and Charles Templeton,...
; Act of God, The Third Temptation and The Queen's Secret were among his other bestselling novels. He also wrote Jesus: A Bible in Modern English (1973) which is a selection of sayings by Jesus. In 1982, he wrote his Anecdotal Memoir, which includes this description of Reverend Billy Graham: "there is no feigning in him: he believes what he believes with an invincible innocence. He is the only mass evangelist I would trust."http://www.templetons.com/charles/memoir/evang-graham.html In 1995, Templeton described his eventual rejection of his faith in his final published work, Farewell to God : my reasons for rejecting the Christian faith. He was interviewed by Lee Strobel
Lee Strobel
Lee Patrick Strobel is a writer, creationist, former journalist and former megachurch pastor. He is the author of several books, including four which received ECPA Christian Book Awards and a series which addresses challenges to a Biblically inerrant view of Christianity...
in Strobel's book, The Case for Faith.
Personal
Templeton was the father (with Sylvia MurphySylvia Murphy
Sylvia Murphy was a popular singer on radio and television programs on the CBC in Canada from 1950 to 1964. Born in Montreal she got her start in nightclubs, and then was the featured singer on the radio programs Coca-Cola Refreshment Time and Club O'Connor...
) of four children: Ty Templeton
Ty Templeton
Ty Templeton is a popular Canadian comic book artist and writer who has drawn a number of popular mainstream titles, TV-associated titles and his own series.-Biography:Templeton was born on May 9, 1962...
, a well-known comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist; Brad Templeton
Brad Templeton
Brad Templeton is a software architect, civil rights advocate and entrepreneur. He graduated from the University of Waterloo....
, founder of ClariNet Communications; Deborah Burgess, a TV host and director;http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0121276/ and Michael Templeton, a tax attorney. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the latter part of the 1990s and died from complications of the disease in 2001.