Scofield: The Man Behind The Myth

 

 

            This is a short biographical sketch revealing little known facts about the celebrated  good portion of  the documentation.

 

 

 

 

 

            Generally speaking, dispensationalists tend to cherish his teachings without any concern whatsoever for what ki

 

    This is the general concensus among dispensationalist leaders that because his work is around in such great quantity it must be correct, so they plug it. These men, however, through their heavy promotion of Scofield’work, are largely responsible for the popularity of it (they exhibit circular reasoning).

          When giving the qualifications of a bishop, Paul states in 1 Timothy 3:2,4

 

 

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilan

s divorce was finalized at least four years after he became ‘born again’.

 

 

 

 

 

( typewritten copy of Scofield divorce decree )

 

 

 

           Leontine Scofield                       Plaintiff

 

                                               Vs

 

           C. I. Scofield                               Defendant

 

 

 Now comes the plaintiff by her attorneys Tomlinson and

Griffin and the defendant enters for appearance and files

answer and makes no further appearance.

           And thereupon this cause came on for hearing upon

the pleadings and testimony and was argued by counsel

upon consideration whereof the Court does find that the

defendant has been guilty of wilfull abandonment of the

plaintiff for more than one year prior to the commencement

of this action.

           It is therefore adjudged and decreed by the Court

here that the marriage relation heretofore existing between

the said parties be and the same is hereby set aside and

wholly annulled and the parties wholly released from the

obligations of the same.

           It is further ordered and decreed that the custody

nurture education and care of the said minor children

Abigal Scofield and Helen Scofield be and the same is

hereby given to the said plaintiff and the said defendant

is hereby forever enjoined from interfering with or disturbing

the said plaintiff in the custody care nurture and education

of the said above named children until the further order of this

Court.

 

 

     Scofield abandoned his wife and children and refused to support them. I Timothy 5:8 says “ But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”  

     When his first wife Leontine originally filed for divorce in July 1881, she listed the following reasons:

 

“ (he had)…absented himself from his said wife and children, and had not been with them but abandoned them with the intention of not returning to them again…has been guilty of gross neglect of duty and has failed to support this plaintiff or her said children, or to contribute thereto, and has made no provision for them for food, clothing or a home, or in any manner performed his duty in the support of said family although he was able to do so.”[iii]

 

 

     Below is a photo of the gravestone of Leontine in Mt. Calvery Cemetary in Atchison, Kansas. This is the woman that Scofield pretended never existed (he never referred to her publicly after he became famous).

 

 

 

 

           Cyrus Scofield had several other incidents of a downright dishonest nature after he supposedly became saved. The fact that in 1892 he began calling himself Doctor Scofield without producing any Doctorate degree from any Seminary or University is the least of his devious activities. Even the details he gave in his story of conversion are proven to be fabricated, including the time, place and other particularities, thereby placing doubt on the whole story.[iv]

            He was a self-promoter in every sense of the word, even lying about being able to comfort and calm the entire city of Belfast, Ireland with a sermon he delivered there the Sunday after the Titanic sunk.[v]  His behind-the-scenes handlers saw to it that his swindles and schemes were swept under the rug and that only a positive image of him was promoted, especially an exaggeration of his Biblical knowledge and wisdom. Men like 33^rd degree freemason George Bannerman Dealey owner of the Dallas Morning News and member of Scofield’s church contributed greatly to the cause . But occasionally, newspapers who weren’t loyal to his cause would put out damaging information on him. Here is an excerpt from the Topeka newspaper The Daily Capital dated August 27, 1881:

 

 

CYRUS I. SCHOFIELD IN THE ROLE OF A

CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER

 

             “ Cyrus I. Schofield, formerly of Kansas, late lawyer, politician and

shyster generally, has come to the surface again, and promises once more

 to gather around himself that halo of notoriety that has made him so prominent in the past. The last personal knowledge that Kansans have had of this peer among scalawags, was when about four years ago, after a series of forgeries and confidence games he left the state and a destitute family and took refuge in Canada. For a time he kept undercover, nothing being heard of him until within the past two years when he turned up in St. Louis, where he had a wealthy widowed sister living who has generally come to the front and squared up Cyrus’ little follies and foibles by paying good round sums of money. Within the past year, however, Cyrus committed a series of St. Louis forgeries that could not be settled so easily, and the erratic young gentleman was compelled to linger in the St. Louis jail for a period of six months.

              Among the many malicious acts that characterized his career, was one peculiarly atrocious, that has come under our personal notice. Shortly after he left Kansas, leaving his wife and two children dependent upon the bounty of his wife’s mother, he wrote his wife that he could invest some $1,300 of her mother’s money, all she had, in a manner that would return big interest. After some correspondence he forwarded them a mortgage, signed and executed by one Chas. Best, purporting to convey valuable property in St. Louis. Upon this, the money was sent to him. Afterwards the mortgages were found to be base forgeries, no such person as Charles Best being in existence, and the property conveyed in the mortgage fictitious…”[vi]