Between Orthodoxy and Enlightenment

This chapter is an attempt to gauge the theology of the Church of Scotland in the first half of the eighteenth century by considering a representative selection of theological writers of that period. Each of those considered—Thomas Blackwell, Robert Riccaltoun, and Thomas Halyburton—held parish ministries, two them for most of their adult lives, and two of them held chairs of theology. Distinct personalities, each upheld the position of the Westminster Standards con animo. Yet each reveal in their different ways an awareness of changes that the Enlightenment was bringing, calling for adaptation to the literary form of theology, or in its apologetic direction.

Biblical Criticism in the Nineteenth Century

Against the background of the Enlightenment and the weakening of the restrictions imposed by the Westminster Confession, this chapter seeks to trace the development of biblical interpretation in Scotland in the nineteenth century, in terms of the evolution of ‘lower criticism’ focusing on philological and textual evidence and of ‘higher criticism’ aiming to identify the social and historical contexts within which the biblical writers operated. The chapter begins with the pioneering work of Alexander Geddes (1737–1802) and considers Scottish participation in the culmination of ‘lower criticism’ in the production of the Revised Version (1870–95) and of ‘higher criticism’ in the work especially of William Robertson Smith (1846–94).

Hume amongst the Theologians

The doyen of the Scottish Enlightenment, David Hume (1711–76) was notable for the religious scepticism evident in his writings, particularly the posthumously published masterpiece The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. This chapter explores a series of responses to Hume from theologians and religiously inclined philosophers in his native land from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. These are grouped into three categories—the rejection of Hume as a ‘dangerous infidel’, the affirmation of Hume as the catalyst for a more rationally grounded philosophical theology, and the conviction that Hume is a sceptic of perennial religious worth. Finally, Hume’s philosophical style is commended to contemporary audiences.

Episcopalian Theology 1689–c.1900

The chapter examines the principal developments in the emergence of the Scottish Episcopal Church from the end of the Stuart monarchy in 1689, when Episcopalians began to be ejected as non-jurors from the Church of Scotland to the end of the nineteenth century. It concentrates on those aspects of theology which particularly marked out these Scots as Episcopalians, especially in liturgy, the Eucharist and sacraments, episcopacy, and Jacobitism. While reviewing the development of a separate ecclesiastical and theological identity in these two centuries, the chapter also explores some of the internal theological differences between Episcopalians. External theological influences and connections from England over this period, principally from High Church, Oxford Movement Anglicanism, and Evangelicalism, are also examined.

Free Church Theology 1843–1900

This chapter explores the theology of key scholars of the Free Church of Scotland from 1843 until 1900, when only a small remnant continued as the Free Church after its union with the United Presbyterian Church. Divided into two parts, the first section looks at the theology of the Disruption fathers, Thomas Chalmers, Robert S. Candlish, William Cunningham, and George Smeaton. The second part deals with the subsequent generation of Free Church theologians, in particular with a group known as the ‘believing critics’. Influenced by new developments on the continent, scholars, such as William Robertson Smith and Marcus Dods, challenged the church with their focus on historical criticism in biblical studies. Delineating the distinctive features of individual theologians as well as taking into account the broader landscape of nineteenth-century Scotland, the chapter attempts a fresh perspective on theological debates within the Victorian Free Church.

Literate Piety

Though separated by a century, the lives and work of John Witherspoon and James McCosh are strikingly similar. Both were Presbyterian ministers, leaders of the Evangelical party in the Church of Scotland, presidents of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and public intellectuals in America. Both also attempted to unite the philosophy of the Scottish Enlightenment with the Calvinist theology of the Westminster Confession. This chapter examines the theology of both men through their careers and major works, and evaluates their legacy of literate piety.

The Significance of the Westminster Confession

This chapter discusses the relation between the Westminster Confession and Scripture, between the Confession and earlier Scottish Reformed theology, and between the Confession and the wider theological tradition of Western Christianity. It addresses the question whether obligatory subscription of the Confession inhibited the development of Scottish theology, identifies significant issues which the Confession left as open questions, and briefly examines the relevance of the Confession in notable heresy trials. It concludes by taking note of growing disquiet with the Confession, especially its doctrine of the power of the civil magistrate; the reluctance, nevertheless, to amend the text; and the ultimate resort to disclaimers, culminating in the historic Declaratory Acts passed by the major Presbyterian bodies.

Extra-Terrestrials and the Heavens in Nineteenth-Century Theology

The discoveries of late eighteenth-century astronomy bequeathed certain theological problems to nineteenth-century theologians, especially in Scotland where the Kirk’s ministers were exposed in their arts training to natural science. If other planets—as seemed likely—were inhabited, then were their populations also fallen and, if so, redeemed by Christ’s atonement on earth? Or were other divine arrangements necessary? Astronomical and soteriological questions were closely intertwined throughout the century. Scots physicists were also at the cutting edge of the new science of energy, which had implications for Christian metaphysics, including the doctrine of the afterlife. In general, however, the findings of physics and astronomy were accommodated within the existing parameters of theology. The interconnection of theology and astronomy would survive as a trope of twentieth-century Scottish literature.

Scottish Theology in Nineteenth-Century Ireland

This chapter considers how Irish Presbyterians in the nineteenth century defined Scottish theology in terms of the Westminster Standards and how this was shaped by certain philosophical and political commitments. Against the backdrop of theological liberalism and political radicalism in the eighteenth century, it begins with how conservative Presbyterians employed the Scottish Enlightenment and how Thomas Chalmers embodied for them the synthesis of Common Sense philosophy and Calvinist theology. This synthesis was reinforced by a powerful understanding of a shared history. Presbyterians in Ireland and Scotland claimed that the persistence and principles of their early modern co-religionists were the foundation of civil and religious liberty in the United Kingdom and would promote global Presbyterian unity in the aftermath of the Disruption in 1843. Yet, Irish Presbyterians were increasingly distressed as this shared definition of Scottish theology was undermined from the 1870s by Presbyterians in Scotland who advocated modern criticism and acquiesced in Irish Home Rule.

Theology, Slavery, and Abolition 1756–1848

The seventeenth-century Court of Session cases involving slaves in Scotland saw extensive use of Scripture on both sides, and the issue of Christian baptism was more significant north of the border. Scottish petitions to Parliament against the slave trade emphasized divine wrath and national guilt. The sinfulness of enslavement was generally accepted in the Church despite the widespread profits from slavery, but by the 1830s a key call from a leading minister for immediate abolition replaced the cautious gradual approach, hitherto accepted in the churches. After the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, attention turned to America in the 1840s. Support for the new Free Church from Northern and Southern States led to a nationwide campaign to ‘Send Back the Money’ and have no fellowship with slaveholders, led largely by Presbyterian Secessionists and Quaker abolitionists.