This study concentrates on the scientific writings of Thomas Chalmers, David Brewster, John Fleming and Hugh Miller. All belonged to the Evangelical party in the Church of Scotland and all joined the Free Church of Scotland at the Disruption in 1843. The thesis begins with a brief history of natural theology between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. It also reviews previous work on science and belief in the first half of the nineteenth century, pointing out that much of the emphasis in studies of Christian natural theology has been on the Anglican Broad Church. Chapter two describes the divisions in the Church of Scotland and the events which led to the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. It also indicates the particularly favourable circumstances for Evangelical intellectuals at the start of the nineteenth century by charting the rise and decline of the Moderate party during the second half of the eighteenth. Chapter three documents interactions amongst the four Evangelical scientists and describes their roles in the Disruption and in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. Chapters four and five trace common threads in their natural theologies and in their views about the reconciliation of science and Scripture. Comparisons are made with opinions expressed within the Evangelical party as a whole. Chapter six describes Evangelical reactions to the dissemination of materialism and deism, concentrating especially on the activities of George Combe and his circle. Combe's natural theology is shown to have been specially threatening to Evangelicals in the Established Church because of the potency of the Book of Nature metaphor in challenges to the clerical supervision of education. Chapter seven examines similarities and differences in the geological work of Miller and Fleming and examines the role of rival natural theologies in the development of theories about the Earth's origin, history and development. Particular attention is given to the astronomical nebular hypothesis and to the transmutation theory put forward in Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. Chapter eight summarises the various functions of natural theology for the Evangelicals and for the Combeists.

The title- "James Hog of Carnock (1658-1734), Leader in the Evangelical Party in Early Eighteenth Century Scotland" -has been the limiting factor in the development and scope of this thesis. It is not without significance that Hog is described as "Leader in the Evangelical Party": the claim is not that he was the leader of that school; but he is presented herein as one of the leaders in the Evangelical party. This means that the share of Thomas Boston, the Erskines, and others of that group in Evangelical leadership is by no means denied, but it is not the scope of this thesis to give an exhaustive study of these particular men, of their party, or even of the various controversies herein discussed. Their contributions are for the most part not included in the thesis, or are included only insofar as is necessary to establish Hog's function in the various scenes, to balance the discussion, or to throw light upon the overall picture. In other words, the various subjects presented in the thesis are developed as James Hog impinged upon them, or as they impinged upon James Hog. The words "Evangelical Party" are intended to apply in a broad way, for it is an accepted fact that there was, during the period under consideration, no hard and fast Evangelical--as opposed to Moderate--party. It was more properly an Evangelical school and as such the words are understood and developed. It is the early eighteenth century with which the thesis is concerned primarily, but as it is impossible to plunge into the current of events and thought in ecclesiastical and theological studies without a retrospective presentation of the contextual situation preceding the immediate problem, an introductory section, rooted in the seventeenth century background, is placed at the beginning of each chapter. The decision to take this approach was taken after consultation with my principal adviser, Principal Emeritus Hugh Watt, whose wise counsel has led the writer clear of many Charybdian hazards. In thus presenting the introductory sections, each chapter serves as a setting for that which follows, climaxing in the crucial chapter on the controversy concerning The Marrow of Modern Divinity.

Within the period 1860-1890 changes took place in the public worship of the Church of Scotland. These changes were so revolutionary that many who could recall the Church's form of public worship before 1860 confessed their astonishment at the changes which they had seen. These changes were rapid and extensive, partly because external factors facilitated change. Like most ecclesiastical reforms or revivals, the revival of Church worship in the second half of last century in the Church of Scotland was no sudden growth. There had been much preparing of the soil for a time before the growth began. The initial preparation was done by three Scottish thinkers who wrote primarily on theological, rather than liturgical questions. Yet had they not put forward their teaching, it is difficult to see how the revival of Church worship would have begun when it did, or have developed as it did. These three thinkers were Thomas Erskine of Linlathen, John McLeod Campbell and Edward Irving.

Thesis (PhD.(Church history))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [240]-256)

The Free Church of Scotland's home-mission campaign played a major role in the Church's attempt to define itself as the true national Church of Scotland following the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843. It also represented the Free Church's effort to confront the problems of irreligion and social degradation which accompanied industrialisation and urbanisation. The study begins with the contribution of Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847). As a Church of Scotland minister in Glasgow between 1815 and 1823, Chalmers endeavoured to make the parish the focal point for the local community. Chalmers was supported in his ministry by a large voluntary agency which visited local residents and encouraged self-help and communal responsibility. He created a system of day and Sunday schools, and sought to reform the system of poor relief. The aim was to create self-reliant district communities, through what was termed the 'territorial plan'. This thesis argues that Chalmers' posthumous contribution to home-mission work, through his writings on the territorial plan and missionary work in Glasgow and Edinburgh, profoundly influenced the social outreach of all the Presbyterian Churches, and especially the Free Church, in nineteenth-century Scotland. Territorialism gave the Presbyterian Churches a valuable link to those groups in society which had been adversely affected by urbanisation and industrialisation. The thesis also considers how the home-mission movement in Scotland was influenced by external forces such as political, social and economic developments as well as religious matters such as theological controversies, Church union negotiations and a growing disestablishment campaign. This thesis demonstrates how the Free Church's territorial campaign was a fundamental aspect of its commitment to an essentially new, predominantly urban society.

No description available.

The thesis research involves the first extensive survey of church extension ministers in the Church of Scotland from 1945 to 1965, who were still living in 1989. Two-thirds of those church extension ministers were surveyed for the database on leadership profiles. The thesis argument begins with an a <I>priori</I> premise. In brief, leadership is essential in beginning a new church. Vital, effective leadership from early church times through present day church history has been a crucial factor in church development. During times of church growth, this leadership is particularly evident, such as that of the reformers during the Reformation. The thesis argument develops leadership profiles of church extension ministers whose church growth ministries were integral to the Church of Scotland's greatest boom of new churches in the twentieth century. The thesis commences with a limited exploration of the <I>Sitz im Leben</I> of the church extension boom years of 1945-1965. One-quarter of Scotland's population was relocated into new housing schemes. Over one hundred church extension charges were begun in a brief twenty-year period. The explanation of the <I>Sitz im Leben</I> traces the visionary call extended to Church of Scotland ministers to establish new churches. The key renewal movements and the individuals who significantly influenced and shaped the vision are identified. The main body of the thesis starts in chapter 2 with a question by question overview and analysis of the database developed in the church extension minister survey. Succeeding chapters 3 through 5 examine additional survey responses and correlate the answers topically. Leadership profiles are deduced from the qualities and traits that emerge from the investigation of ministers' descriptions of their CE charges.

Texte remanié de: Doct.-diss.--Philosophy--Aberdeen, 1982. / Bibliogr. p. 204-211.

Recent changes in church and society have challenged the traditional ministry pattern of one-minister-one-parish. An arrangement which is being offered with increasing frequency as a possible alternative is team ministry, in which more than one minister - or ministers and (usually) full-time lay people - share in ministry to a congregation or group of congregations. Taking as starting-point a team ministry established in Craigmillar, Edinburgh, by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1970, the thesis explores the possibilities and problems inherent in this pattern of ministry. After an analysis of the situation which has brought about an increase in team work in Scotland and England, as well as in the Uniting Church in Australia, a detailed description is offered of the team based principally on two Church of Scotland congregations in Craigmillar, a housing estate to the south-east of Edinburgh. A comparison is then made with other corporate ministries in Scotland in existence at about the same time - in Greenock, Livingston, Drumchapel, Paisley and in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. The discussion about team ministry is then widened by an account of proposals made by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland's "Committee of Forty" (1971-78) of which the author was a member, and by a survey of reports, consultations and published literature relevant to the topic. In the light of this, team ministry is now explored under five headings - the potentially stronger role of the team in equipping and leading the congregation as well as attendant problems; advantages of team ministry in bringing the congregation and the wider community more effectively face to face; matters relating to the health of the team, including the questions of accountability and leadership; and forms of education which will better prepare ministers and others to work together in a team.

The Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843 was arguably the most important event in Nineteenth Century Scottish religious history. The prime factor in the dispute which precipitated this crisis was the question as to whether the Church should rule itself through its own courts or be controlled by the secular government. This tension had existed in Scotland since shortly after the Reformation, but by the nineteenth century new factors had become involved. These included the political clash between democratic rights and the privilege of the ancien regime, the economic ability of Scots to maintain a church without state aid, the proper interpretation of Scots law, personal prejudice and bias especially on the part of Judges and politicians and, not least important, the transfer of civil government to the parliament in London with the consequent loss of contact with Scottish sensibilities. This study is concerned less with the detail of national events than with the reactions of local churchmen, both clerical and lay, to the events which occurred between 1830 and 1850. It focuses on three adjacent but dissimilar presbytery areas: the industrial area of Dundee where the leaders of public opinion were the entrepreneurial and professional members of the rising middle classes; the largely rural area of St. Andrews where public attitudes were formed by landowners and university professors; and the Cupar Presbytery area where agriculture and industry co-existed and where landowners and the middle classes shared responsibility for the general climate of opinion. This diversity of views is explored in the study as also are the reactions of various groups (e.g. , laity, clergy, students) to the judgements of the civil court concerning the Veto Act and to the campaigns for non-intrusion and spiritual Independence mounted by Church leaders. The contrasting responses of the three presbyteries to the allied issue of the Chapel Act are examined, while local preparations for the Disruption are explored in detail and set in the national context. The final sections of the study are devoted to a careful examination of the local aftermath of the Disruption: the manner in which the three Established presbyteries responded to their loss of ministers and elders and their attempts to recover their earlier social dominance; the ways in which the Free Church developed during the post Disruption years; the differences between the social and economic characteristics of those ministers and elders who adhered to the Established Church and those who joined the Free Church.