The Scottish minister of the 19th century - His life, work, and relations with his people

Blakey, Ronald Stanton (1973) The Scottish minister of the 19th century - His life, work, and relations with his people. MTh(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

PREFACE The life and commitments of a Scottish minister of the present day are vividly enough known, with their endless demands on time, knowledge and study, personality, patience, and Christian dedication. But the Church in Scotland has evolved through recent centuries in somewhat tortuous and sometimes tempestuous fashion; and the day to day lives of, both shepherds and their flocks, as they were even a century back, are shrouded in a mist of largely unstudied memories. Anyone seeking to know and understand the patterns of our Scottish ministry six generations ago will find much of absorbing and fascinating interest - if he cares to browse among widely scattered records and reminiscences. It is the object of this study to draw together, from a wealth of diverse original sources, a clearer picture of what Scottish Church life meant to both minister and people through the long years between 1800 and the days of our immediate fathers, and to make real some of the problems and personalities which beset and led both preachers and hearers as generation succeeded generation. By this study, wo may more fully understand what manner of heritage is ours, and how the labours, the successes, and even the failures of our forefathers have contributed to the building of our present Church in Scoland, in many ways so concerned for its future, in many ways so radiantly triumphant, and in all things resolute in its faith in the guiding hand of God. OUR AIM We seek to present a picture of the life of the Scottish Parish Minister of the Nineteenth Century, both publicly among his parishioners and privately in his own hone. We examine the nature of his work, both as pastor of his congregation and as a respected leader in his own community. Finally, and in particular, we note which of his duties, responsibilities and characteristics remained substantially unchanged throughout the century, and which of them suffered major change, with examination of the reasons thereof. CONCLUSION Drawing the evidence together, we determine the aspects of the minister's life and work which, over the century, underwent the greatest change. In particular, we note the declining power of the individual minister and the increasing prominence of the layman within the Church, and summarise the effect on the ministers themselves in their daily life, their work, their attitudes and their outlook. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

• Item Type: Thesis (MTh(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Clergy, Religious history
• Date of Award: 1973
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1973-73924
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• Last Modified: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/73924