Reformed Theology in the Later Twentieth Century

This chapter discusses the wider context of Scottish theology during the period 1950–86, drawing special attention to the conflicted relations between Edinburgh and Glasgow theology. A recapitulation of the Barth–Bultmann debate here predominates, and to a great extent shapes the whole of the Scottish tradition in the period. The chapter maintains, however, that inordinate attention was given to the mediation of revelation in these theologies, and that insufficient consideration was given to the question as to the God who is thus mediated. An insight into the overall failure of Protestant theology in the later twentieth century thus emerges, and the chapter concludes that the Scottish theologian John McIntyre merits greater attention from academy and Church alike, as a thinker who recognized these theological limitations and sought to avoid them.

The Gifford Lectures

Founded by Adam, Lord Gifford, an Edinburgh lawyer, at each of the four ancient universities of Scotland, the Gifford Lectureship promotes the study of ‘natural theology ‘in the widest sense of that term’. This chapter reviews the history and reception of the Gifford Lectures from the first series in 1888 and assesses their impact in three domains—the extent to which they have led to an advance in knowledge; the educational purpose of Lord Gifford in informing a wider public of developments in the field; and the most significant work that has been generated by the series (for example, by James, Macmurray, MacIntyre, Plantinga and Taylor). Finally, the extent to which the Giffords have overcome the split between C. P. Snow’s two cultures is considered.

The Theology of the Scottish Protestant Missionary Movement

In any survey of influential British missionary thinkers, Scottish names would occupy a prominent place. The Scottish contribution was not confined to those who served with the missions of the Presbyterian churches: some influential Scottish missionaries served with English societies, and some were not even Presbyterians. Nevertheless, five generalizations can be offered: (1) Scots Presbyterians opted to do mission through ecclesiastical structures, rather than through voluntary societies. (2) Scottish Presbyterian missions aimed to bring the entire life of Christian communities under the rule of Christ. (3) Scottish missionaries tended to insist that education was integral to the missionary task. (4) Scottish missionaries trained in the early nineteenth century drew deeply from the Scottish Enlightenment. (5) From the late nineteenth century, Scottish (like English) missionary theology was affected by philosophical idealism, though the mid-twentieth-century ascendancy of Barthianism may have helped to sustain the Scottish missionary movement in the turbulent post-war environment.

Episcopalian Theology in the Twentieth Century

Bertrand Brasnett, Donald MacKinnon, and John Riches were Scottish Episcopalians who responded to the twentieth-century world with innovative theology. Between the two World Wars, the passibilist theologian Brasnett explored the eternal suffering of God in Christ and its meaning for humanity. Then MacKinnon wrestled with the reality of evil and the scope of the Church’s truthful response. Later in the century, Riches demonstrated the creative power of Scripture, as communities found their identity in an interpretative conversation with the text. Their theologies are realist, contextual, and have at their core the kenotic Christ. All three theologians were connected in some way with Hans Urs von Balthasar. They wrote in an authentically Anglican but not overtly denominational way.

Late Twentieth-Century Controversies in Sexual Ethics, Gender, and Ordination

During the second half of the twentieth century, a seismic shift in outlook, norms, behaviours, and laws transformed Western societies, particularly in relation to sexuality and gender relations. These changes were characterized and facilitated by escalating rejection of dominant sources of moral authority, including organized religion. This chapter considers the Church of Scotland’s response to the ‘permissive society’. It attempted to grapple theologically with questions concerning marriage and divorce, homosexuality, and women’s ordination, confronted unavoidably with profound questions concerning gender, power, and sexuality. These debates generated controversy and division as the moral consensus fractured. Fault lines opened up between conservatives who defended the validity of Christian moral certainties, and others who embraced more liberal and contextual interpretations of Scripture and tradition. Previously silenced or subordinated voices emerged, challenging but failing to provoke radical institutional change at a time of rapid declension in the status and cultural influence of the national Church.

Theological Constructions of Scottish National Identity

This chapter reflects theologically on the historical development of theological constructions of Scottish identity, considering disputed assessments of ‘nationalism’ in the light of insights from both political theology and theological ethics. It explores how early modern developments, from the Reformation through to the Unions of 1603 and 1707, continued to be reflected and refracted in nineteenth- and twentieth-century constructions. It traces the influence of two world wars, decolonization, and the end of the British Empire on the development of contested public theology accounts of Scotland’s twenty-first century history, in which arguments for devolution and independence continue to play a leading role.

Catholic and Protestant Sensibilities in Scottish Literature

This chapter examines Calvinist and Catholic sensibilities in the work of four Scottish writers from the late Victorian period to the twenty-first century. Selected texts from the works of Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94), Robin Jenkins (1912–2005), George Mackay Brown (1921–96), and Muriel Spark (1918–2006) are discussed as, variously, examples of Presbyterian atheism or agnosticism, Catholic devotion, and writing informed by the folkloric and supernatural inflections of the Scottish literary tradition. These works, authors, and theological perspectives are not read as inimical or unrelated to one another, but as part of the wider currents of faith and scepticism within Scottish writing.

The Scottish Theological Diaspora

The Scottish diaspora in Australasia exhibits many of the characteristics of colonialism and post-colonialism. Initially the Presbyterian churches reflected their largely Free Church origins, with its Calvinism, memories of the Disruption, and evangelical churchmanship. In the Victorian period it again mirrored the Scottish Church’s opening up to mission, biblical criticism, and evolution. Two World Wars both strengthened the links to Scottish theology and encouraged a transition to ecumenism, especially in the Uniting Church of Australia, and to indigenization, with growing attention to Asian and to aboriginal and Maori theology. American influences became increasingly evident in pastoral theology. However, the personal and institutional links to all four Scottish theological faculties, Aberdeen, St Andrews, Edinburgh, and Glasgow remained and remain creative and strong.

The Scottish Theological Diaspora

Scots were disproportionately influential in the founding of Canadian educational institutions and Scottish Common Sense philosophy was almost universal as the context for theological discussion in nineteenth-century Anglophone Canada. When Common Sense was challenged by the theory of evolution in the latter half of the nineteenth century, it was replaced by another Scottish philosophy, the idealism of Edward Caird, which presented religious belief as itself an evolutionary phenomenon. This chapter traces the influence of Scottish philosophy on prominent Scoto-Canadian philosopher-theologians, including Thomas McCulloch, J. W. Dawson, John Clark Murray, John Watson, Lily Dougall, and Walter Williamson Bryden.

Modern Christology

Three Scottish theologians contributed major works on Christology during the twentieth century. H. R. Mackintosh, Donald M. Baillie, and John Macquarrie belong to an Enlightenment tradition that was critical of Chalcedonianism while resolutely seeking to re-express its governing intention. While remaining in contact with the catholic traditions of the church, each sought to reinterpret these under the conditions of modernity. In doing so, their work manifests an intense devotional commitment to Jesus while simultaneously wrestling with problems that continue to beset contemporary articulations of Christ’s person and work. This chapter traces their work in context as it tackles problems of metaphysical entanglement, historical criticism of the gospels, and religious pluralism. Similarities and differences are considered, and the critical reception of their work is assessed.