The kirk and the kingdom : a century of tension in Scottish social theology, 1830-1929 : the Chalmers Lectures for 2011

What did the Church ever do for us?Johnston McKay unearths a practical social theology of the church in Scotland in the century from 1820. It has been widely believed that the church was largely mute on the widespread poverty and deprivation which accompanied the rapid expanse of urban life. This study asserts that the church was not lacking in commitment to improving such conditions, through the example of theologians Robert Flint and the parish minister Frederick Lockhart Robertson. Flint's publication of Christ's Kingdom upon Earth led the Church of Scotland in Glasgow to investigate slum housing conditions and led to the idea that religion could not be complacent about the need for social action.Key Features\* Shines new light on the history of the Church of Scotland\* Shows how religion was a reforming movement in an age of deprivation\* Highlights the importance of social reformist writers within the Church This book questions the widely accepted assumption that throughout most of the nineteenth century the Church in Scotland failed both in pronouncement and in practice to take seriously the social conditions of an increasingly urbanised society. It traces the social theology which developed in the century from 1830 until 1929 by examining the views of leading churchmen such as Robert Burns of Paisley, Robert Buchanan in Glasgow, and argues that until the theologian Robert Flint published his book Christ's Kingdom upon Earth in 1860, the church had no model other than palliative pastoral care through which to respond to the urban crisis. Flint enabled the Church to see itself as a partner with secular agencies and political action in creating conditions which brought closer the Kingdom of God on earth. The practical outcome of this paradigm shift in Scottish theology in the west of Scotland was active engagement with urban housing conditions and proposals for reform. The optimism of at the beginning of the nineteenth century however gave way to regarding the Church's numerical strength and membership as more important. The needs of the movement to unite fractured Presbyterianism, accomplished by the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church in 1929, took priority over social theology and engagement Unearths the practical social theology of the 19th century church in ScotlandMany believe that the church was largely mute on the widespread poverty and deprivation which accompanied the rapid expanse of urban life in Scotland. This study shows that the church was not lacking in commitment to improving such conditions, through the example of theologian Robert Flint and the parish minister Frederick Lockhart Robertson. For example, publication of Flint's 'Christ's Kingdom upon Earth' led the Church of Scotland in Glasgow to investigate slum housing conditions and to the conclusion that religion could not be complacent about the need for social action.Key FeaturesShines new light on the history of the Church of ScotlandShows how religion was a reforming movement in an age of deprivationHighlights the importance of social reformist writers within the Church Addressing this question which is often thrown in the face of theologians, Johnston McKay unearths a practical social theology of the Church in Scotland in the century from 1830. It has been widely believed that the Church was largely mute on the widespread poverty and deprivation which accompanied the rapid expanse of urban life in Scotland. This study asserts - through the example of (among others) theologians Robert Flint and the parish minister Frederick Lockhart Robertson - that the Church was not lacking in commitment to improving such conditions. Flint's publication of Christ's Kingdom upon Earth led the Church of Scotland in Glasgow to investigate slum housing conditions and gave rise to the idea that religion could not be complacent about the need for social action. Book jacket "Many believe that the church was largely mute on the widespread poverty and deprivation which accompanied the rapid expanse of urban life in Scotland. This study shows that the church was not lacking in commitment to improving such conditions, through the example of theologian Robert Flint and the parish minister Frederick Lockhart Robertson. For example, publication of Flint's 'Christ's Kingdom upon Earth' led the Church of Scotland in Glasgow to investigate slum housing conditions and to the conclusion that religion could not be complacent about the need for social action." -- Publisher's description What Did The Church Ever Do For Us? Johnston Mckay Unearths A Practical Social Theology Of The Church In Scotland In The Century From 1820. Johnston Mckay. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [123]-129) And Index.