author
Milton Spenser Terry
1840–1914
A Methodist scholar and teacher of the Bible, he spent decades helping readers approach scripture with patience, context, and close attention to language. His best-known works made biblical interpretation feel systematic, serious, and accessible to students and ministers alike.
1 Audiobook
The Shinto Cult: A Christian Study of the Ancient Religion of Japan
by Milton Spenser Terry
About the author
Born in Coeymans, New York, on February 22, 1840, he studied at the New York Conference Seminary in Charlotteville and at Yale Divinity School before entering the Methodist Episcopal ministry. He served as a pastor for more than twenty years, building a reputation as a thoughtful preacher and teacher.
In 1884 he joined Garrett Biblical Institute, where he taught Old Testament exegesis, and later also worked in theology and comparative religion. He became especially well known for Biblical Hermeneutics (1890), a substantial guide to interpreting the Old and New Testaments that helped shape generations of theological study.
His writing ranged widely across biblical studies, prophecy, apologetics, and travel, reflecting both scholarly discipline and a desire to explain difficult ideas clearly. He died on July 13, 1914, in Los Angeles, leaving behind a body of work that still draws readers interested in nineteenth-century Protestant scholarship.