Therefore the Truth I Speak: Scottish Theology 1500 - 1700

by Donald Macleod

Overview

The Scottish church was forever altered by the arrival of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Its legacy endured, and provoked a flurry of theological re–examinations which form the foundation for much of our modern understanding of Reformed Theology. In this informed and accessible historical study, Donald MacLeod, one of Scotland’s current leading theologians, looks to the past to assess the impact of prominent theologians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, always with an eye to demonstrating how their writings speak to contemporary challenges facing the Church today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781527102415
Publisher:	Christian Focus Publications
Publication date:	09/04/2020
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x (d)

About the Author

Donald Macleod (1940–2023) was the Principal of the Free Church of Scotland College, Edinburgh until 2010. Regarded as one of Britain’s most prominent theologians he wrote extensively on a wide range of issues.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

1 The Beginnings: Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart 19

2 John Knox: 'a man well hated' 33

3 John Knox and the theology of civil resistance 57

4 Andrew Melville, Christian humanism and 'God's silly vassal' 77

5 The Second Book of Discipline and a church fit for purpose 107

6 Robert Bruce: the Sacraments, and sowing a seed in Inverness 127

7 Alexander Henderson: 'the fairest ornament, after Mr Knox' 159

8 Samuel Rutherford: saint, scholar and theological warrior 205

9 Rutherford, Lex, Rex, and the American Revolution 239

10 David Dickson and the Gleanings of Revival 279

11 David Dickson and Scottish Federal Theology 313

12 Federal Theology: The Twentieth-Century Reaction 357

13 Robert Leighton: Episcopalian Calvinist 393

Index 433

Editorial Reviews

The leading Reformed theologians of Scotland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, dedicated to making doctrine conform to the teaching of Scripture, are carefully expounded by Donald Macleod in this book. The author defends his subjects from later misrepresentations and does not shrink from the task of assessing their relevance to later years and even the church of today.

David Bebbington(Professor of History

This heart–warming and illuminative account of the debates and the personalities who contributed to the development of Presbyterianism in Scotland will inform and inspire those who long for the growth and health of the Reformed faith across the world.

Stafford Carson(Principal and Professor of Ministry

Professor MacLeod’s engaging style and elegance of expression is well known, and he has used his literary gifts to illuminate the theology of an extraordinary period of Scottish history. I simply cannot recommend this volume highly enough. It is a tour de force of perceptive scholarship.

Bruce Ritchie(Lecturer in Church History

Whether you are interested in Scottish theology or not, you will not be able to put down this intriguing volume, for it touches on the big questions that face all humans, and in so doing, takes us into the heights and depths of Christian theology. I have found him to be judicious and fair; always relating theological truth to the world we live in.

Douglas F. Kelly(Professor of Theology Emeritus

Not for over eighty years has there appeared a treatment as authoritative as this … an outstanding contribution that presents a range of important Scottish theologians from  Hamilton to Witherspoon in an appreciative but realistic light. This should be the standard for many years to come.

Robert Letham(Wales Evangelical School of Theology

I have been waiting for this book to be written for over thirty years. And Donald Macleod is the only one who could have written it. The history is important. The theology more so. 

(Chancellor and CEO

This heart–warming and illuminative account of the debates and the personalities who contributed to the development of Presbyterianism in Scotland will inform and inspire those who long for the growth and health of the Reformed faith across the world.

Stafford Carson

Professor MacLeod’s engaging style and elegance of expression is well known,

and he has used his literary gifts to illuminate the theology of an extraordinary period of Scottish history. I simply cannot recommend this volume highly enough. It is a tour de force of perceptive scholarship.

Bruce Ritchie

The leading Reformed theologians of Scotland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, dedicated to making doctrine conform to the teaching of Scripture, are carefully expounded by Donald Macleod in this book. The author defends his subjects from later misrepresentations and does not shrink from the task of assessing their relevance to later years and even the church of today.

David Bebbington

Not for over eighty years has there appeared a treatment as authoritative as this … an outstanding contribution that presents a range of important Scottish theologians from  Hamilton to Witherspoon in an appreciative but realistic light. This should be the standard for many years to come.

Robert Letham

I have been waiting for this book to be written for over thirty years. And Donald Macleod is the only one who could have written it. The history is important. The theology more so. 

Ligon Duncan

Whether you are interested in Scottish theology or not, you will not be able to put down this intriguing volume, for it touches on the big questions that face all humans, and in so doing, takes us into the heights and depths of Christian theology. I have found him to be judicious and fair; always relating theological truth to the world we live in.

Douglas F. Kelly