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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Had a visit to my eye specialist this week and got another injection in my eye which now seems to have done the trick in that my eye sight is now at 99% with just a few dots of blood remaining. Been quite an experience.
As to the pandemic I am beginning to think that we'd be better off if all of us got infected and thus get us back to normal in the shortest time possible. The financial hit we're taking from this the worse of we're all likely to be. Just my thoughts on this when I see all the harm it is doing to families and businesses.
No story this week as I've returned to providing more reading on the items I've added this week.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as world news stories that can affect Scotland and all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Scotland first country in the world to delay freedom of information access because of coronavirus
Democracy campaigners have been angered by a Holyrood vote that has resulted in the weakening of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation during the coronavirus crisis.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...f-coronavirus/
How the Cornish pasty came to prosper in Virginia
You don't expect to find a British pasty in a small corner of Virginia. So how did the Cornish delicacy wind up thousands of miles away across the ocean, asks Jonathan Turley.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52157059
New Labour leader Keir Starmer vows to lead party into new era.
The lawyer, who became an MP in 2015, won on the first round of voting, with more than 50% of ballots cast.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-52164589
Indigenous in Canada turn to the land to survive
Indigenous people describe leaving towns to live off the land, learning lessons about survival from elders.
Read more at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/fe...073446077.html
Queen addresses the nation
Those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any
Learn more at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/show...5510-The-Queen
The fallout is just beginning
There's no sugar-coating how difficult the economic picture will be beyond this crisis
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-economic-fallout...tting-started/
Coronavirus is a wake-up call: devolution isn't working
Across the UK, this crisis has exposed the limits of devolution - it's time Westminster defended its corner
https://capx.co/coronavirus-is-a-wak...n-isnt-working
Britain Just Got Pulled Back From the Edge
The country has reasserted its foundational stability, and in doing so made real change more likely once this is all over.
Read more at:
https://www.theatlantic.com/internat...ovid19/609520/
The power of education
Part I - How it empowers people
Read more at:
http://www.thinkscotland.org/todays-...ead_full=14131
Scots singer hails heroes of Clydeside community in new record
One legendary Govanite paid tribute to another last week when Sir Alex Ferguson hailed songwriter Bill Martin after his death at 81.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/govan/
Brooned off? How Scotland’s famous family survives lockdown
The prospect of weeks cooped up with loved ones is not necessarily one to relish for many. But Scotland’s most famous family have got more going on than most as Glebe Street locks down.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/broone...vives-lockdown
50 years after The Beatles split
Experts hail their enduring legacy while fans remember how band conquered Scotland and then the world
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/50-yea...then-the-world
US election 2020: Bernie Sanders suspends presidential campaign
Senator Bernie Sanders has ended his presidential campaign, clearing the way for former Vice-President Joe Biden to become the Democratic party's nominee.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52219756
The WHO faces an existential question: reform or wither away
The WHO's reliance on good faith reporting from nations is a serious weakness
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-who-faces-an-exi...or-wither-away
The UK has a winning hand, let’s not be bluffed out of playing it
The EU has great economic power, but a huge underlying monetary weakness
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-uk-has-a-winning...-of-playing-it
Nicola Sturgeon told time is up following Scotland's major fall on international stage
THE leader of the Scottish Conservative Party has unleashed a scathing attack on Nicola Sturgeon's education record during her time as Scotland's First Minister.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/12...ervative-Party
Financial crisis on steroids looms for EU leaders
Sixteen hours in a virtual meeting and virtually nothing was achieved, said one Spanish diplomat, who spoke of an exhausting EU video conference all too reminiscent of the days of the Greek financial crisis.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52221259
The Coronavirus Will Destroy Turkey’s Economy
Ankara’s finances were weak before the pandemic—but the combination of external debt, a public health crisis, and a president who chooses to protect his reputation rather than his people could spell disaster.
Read more at:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/08...rkeys-economy/
Electric Canadian
This site is now being archived by the British Library!!!
Canada: Geographical, Agricultural, and Mineralogical Sketch
Published by authority of the Bureau of Agriculture (1865) (pdf) and you can read this at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...ture/agric.pdf
Quebec
Pictures from my Portfolio by H.R.H. The Princess Louise (1882) (pdf) and this can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...bec/quebec.pdf
State of Canada's Birds
The 2019 summary (pdf) which can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...Birds-2019.pdf
Electric Scotland
Home Preacher
Added Service 25 by C. H. Spurgeon which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/h...her/week25.htm
Also added Services 26 - 41 which can be got to at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/homepreacher
Our Scottish Clergy
Fifty-Six Sketches, Biographical, Theological, & Critical , including Clergymen of all Denominations by John Smith LL.D., A.M. (1853)
PREFATORY NOTE
The respect in which the clergy, of a nation, are held may generally be considered as an index of its true civilisation. Not the mere civilisation of scientific improvement—not civilisation by the kindred arts of painting, sculpture, music, and poetry—not the civilisation of secular literature however enriched by exaltation of mind or brilliancy of fancy, but all these superstructed on the enduring basis of Christian morality and of Christian piety. For long years preceding the French revolution the writings of Voltaire and the Encyclo-prediaists, and the conduct of the Roman Catholic clergy themselves, had turned the mummeries and superstitions of the church, and the profession of the priesthood, into ridicule, and, what is worse, had brought Christianity itself into contemptuous question and disrepute. Yet France was reckoned the centre of the civilisation of the world. The fist of her celebrated men contained all that was great in science or illustrious in literature. The abilities of her generals were great by scientific rule, and the valour of her armies terrible from scientific power. Her language was the language of civilisation, and her literature the delight of the refined. Her ancient aristocracy dwelt in noble palaces exquisitely adorned with the all but breathing marble, and the canvass that seemed as if it would every moment burst into life. France was the grand nation of the Grand Monarque. She had secular civilisation enough, but her priesthood were disrespected, her people the most degraded in Europe, and from the monarch, and the peer, to the artist, and the peasant, the nation was one vast mass of moral corruption. The gorgeous ritual, the imposing but hollow ceremonies of her church were, perhaps, rated at tliefr true value, but salvation was the theme of jest, the work of Christ matter for a sneer, and the Divine glory a fertile subject for the disproving abilities of infidel philosophers. Yes, France was a civilised nation, scientific and immoral, polite and corrupt, learned and atheistical.
Then came the terrible revolution, the natural and necessary consequences of an irreligious civilisation, of a human religion and abhorred clergy. A long enslaved people robbed of their highest hopes, forgetful of the regeneration to which they were called, trampled under foot alike all that was good or bad in the national institutions. For a time the inferior clergy became popular, not from their cloth but from their acquiescence in the early progress of the revolution; but as the revolutionary car rolled on they were left behind, and perished with a heroism worthy of the first martyrs. The reign of terror, and atheism, was established. In La Vendee alone, where the philosophy of infidelity had not penetrated, where the ministers of a religion, superstitious as it was, commanded respect, the people remained faithful to humanity and morality, and horrified at the excesses of their free and enlightened brethren rallied around the royal standard, and ceased not their exertions till their homes were a desert and the bones of a million human beings lay bleaching on the fertile fields of the Bocage.
But let us not be mistaken. Superstitious respect of ministers is no criterion either of civilisation or religion, else were Spain a paragon of enlightened piety and moral excellence, and Italy, as of old, the vanguard nation of all that is great, and noble, and godlike in man. A blind, bigotted, uninquiring regard for spiritual teachers is not characteristic of a religious and enlightened people. An unquestioning reliance on the teachings of ministers, and a determination never to see aught wrong in the pastoral character, are the grossest superstitions, subversive alike of man’s reason, of the right of private judgment and of the authority of the Scriptures. It is only when we are satisfied, by the closest examination, of the truth of the doctrines taught, and of the undeviating harmony of their lives with their exalted office, that we can accord them our willing respect as the rational expounders and enforcers of God’s revealed will.
In our own country civilisation and Christianity are terms of synonymous import. The arts and sciences are the handmaids of religion. The recognition of il faith, hope, and charity,” is not speculation but a fact. Civilisation is not the patron and endorser of the truths of Christianity, but Christianity is the supporter and propagator of civilisation. The Bible is the corner stone of the social edifice, and the illuminator of scientific discovery for the instruction of man.
In no country are the clergy, as a body, more esteemed than in our own. It is because we recognise religion—not the faith of erring sects “wide as the poles asunder" in non-essentials, but as the religion of God, that we respect the ministers of our faith. We see in them men called to a high office to strew with the flowers of immortality the dreary paths of mortal existence, to smooth the pillow of sickness and death, by pointing to the portals of glory, which introduce the just to a brighter and a better world. We study the book of life for ourselves, and behold in them teachers of its hallowed truths, and naturally and justly associate them with a mission so divine. Nor do we unreflectingly bestow upon them our confidence. Nowhere are their lives more strictly watched, and their shortcomings more duly noted. It is because on the whole, considering the nature of humanity, that we find their professions and practice in reasonable agreement, that we esteem our ministers as members of the noblest profession the world knows, and as the communicators of means of happiness infinite as the boundaries of the universe of God.
Such being the views entertained by the writers of the “ Sketches,” the design of the publication is to enable ministers and people to form a correct estimate of the present state of the Scottish pulpit. The position of clergymen is unfavourable to acquiring a comprehensive and impartial view of ministerial talent and success. Occupied, as they generally are, every Sabbath-day, they have but rare opportunities of hearing others preach, and when at any time they may happen to hear a discourse, the preacher is too much in juxtaposition or competition with themselves to permit that candour which leads to truth. Of the publishing portion of ministers, data is supplied to determine the literary standing, but from special discourses very little can be learned of ordinary ministrations. In opposition to these specially-prepared discourses, the Sketches have been taken, without the knowledge of the clergymen, while they were doing their ordinary work, and though one has had less and another more than average preparation, a general average is faithfully secured. They who have been taken when their appearance was less favourable than they would have wished, will have an additional argument for being, as seldom as possible, obliged to preach with hasty preparation. As ministers have but little opportunity of judging of the matter and manner of their contemporaries, they are still more unfavourably situated for judging righteously regarding their own ministrations. Generally speaking, every congregation consider their own minister superior, taking him all in all, to others. Indeed, they chose him for that reason. Facts, however, prove that this supposed excellence cannot be absolute, though it may often be relative. Clergymen, though not possessed of superior talent or general accomplishments, may be the most acceptable and profitable for the congregations to which they minister. It is far from the intention of the writers to lower any one clergyman in the estimation of his people— that estimation being the key to their heart and conscience. But though there is no wish to weaken that feeling of admiration and affection, which is the bond of successful teaching, it is desirable that a clergyman should have other standards to try himself by than the judgment of his hearers. It is to him a small matter to be judged of any man, but in as far as opinion may stimulate him to effort or encourage him in difficulty— that opinion being viewed as the exponent of His mind whose judgments are unerring and whose decisions are ultimate. These Sketches, then, may tend to lead ministers to encourage a nobler ambition than the applause of those who, in virtue of their relationship, can scarcely do other than respect and esteem them even above their comparative excellence. On the one hand, they may encourage humble talent, and, on the other, rebuke flippant mediocrity.
Besides correcting erroneous judgments on the part of individual clergymen and individual congregations, it is hoped the work may tend to destroy sectional bigotry. While each sect ought to be fully persuaded as to its peculiarities, it is desirable that it, at the same time, should give others credit for equal sincerity. It is believed that the faithful delineation of the clergymen of different sects, when that delineation refers exclusively to their non-sectarian aspects, may tend to create or strengthen catholicity of sentiment among all denominations. Though the writers cannot pretend to be free of all sectarian bias, the fact that they are mixed up with all the sects included, goes far to destroy that partiality which concludes one clergyman, in virtue of his connexion, superior to another.
But there are still higher aims which the writers intend this work to serve. It is not merely meant to draw Christians closer together, but to show that they are already one. The doctrines and the duties taught by the different clergymen are the same. The clergyman of the National Church preaches the same gospel as the clergyman who disowns all secular control. Sectional peculiarity has been driven from the pulpit. Preachers “ teach the same thing in all the churches.” The sneer of the infidel at divisions among Christians is unmerited. Christians are one in faith, in hope, and in love.
In this volume, ministers of all the chief denominations in the country were reported as they prosecuted their usual work; and, among all the fifty-two Sketches, we challenge infidelity to point out one discrepancy—one contradiction, as regards the truths taught. Christians are ranked under different banners; but they are in the service of one King, and their different banners interfere not with their loyalty or their love. The volume will serve to prove the unity of the Church of God, and, as such, is calculated, at once, to rebuke infidelity, to dissipate doubt, and to encourage faith.
The volume is now offered to the world in the hope that' it may be of some use both to believers and unbelievers—to believers, by showing them that they hold the faith of all evangelical denominations, however much these may differ in mere forms—to unbelievers, by convincing them that Christianity is not the mere sectional thing they supposed, but, on the contrary, that unity dwells where external uniformity is absent, and that the office of the pulpit is not to gratify sectarian ambition, but to expound Christian duty and enforce Christian practice.
Glasgow, May 12, 1848.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/o...tishclergy.htm
Old Scotland - Religious and Social
By Kenneth MacDonald, Town Clerk of Inverness (1890)
THE laws and customs of a people change with increasing experience, with the changing wants of new generations, with the altered conditions which the closing of old and the opening of new departments of commerce and industry bring about, with the progressive or retrogressive motion of the people in general intelligence, with surrounding political and social conditions, and with those frequently unaccountable changes in the manner in which public opinion views certain things which the law at a particular period may regard as offences against .good order. Many things, therefore, which are now matters of everyday legal experience, may, and probably will, appear little short of unaccountable to the student of social and legal history of a century or two hence. In like manner, many things which were matters of everyday experience to our ancestors two or three hundred years ago, are no longer among us, except as recollections of a past time, and their sole interest consists in the light they throw on the history of our country, and the conditions of life in a former age.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/oldscotland.htm
Good Words 1882
Edited by Donald MacLeod D.D. (pdf)
I already have up a copy of an edition by the Rev. Norman MacLeod and thought I should also put up an edition from his brother who took over from him after his death. The first article in this copy is about...
SOME HINTS FOR A LIFE OF DEAN STANLEY
By his Grace the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.
SINCE Arthur Penrhyn Stanley's death many notices of him have been published. We have had a charming account of his early home life and training, and two able reviews of his last book. From across the Atlantic there has come a most eloquent tribute of affection and regard, and the simple French narrative of pastor E. Fontanes has sought to place the Dean of Westminster before us, and leave each reader to form his own judgment on the remarkable picture.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/Good_Words1882.pdf
Clan Munro of Australia Newsletter for April 2020.
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...wsletter53.pdf
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend and mind and keep your distance, wash your hands and stay safe.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Had a visit to my eye specialist this week and got another injection in my eye which now seems to have done the trick in that my eye sight is now at 99% with just a few dots of blood remaining. Been quite an experience.
As to the pandemic I am beginning to think that we'd be better off if all of us got infected and thus get us back to normal in the shortest time possible. The financial hit we're taking from this the worse of we're all likely to be. Just my thoughts on this when I see all the harm it is doing to families and businesses.
No story this week as I've returned to providing more reading on the items I've added this week.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as world news stories that can affect Scotland and all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Scotland first country in the world to delay freedom of information access because of coronavirus
Democracy campaigners have been angered by a Holyrood vote that has resulted in the weakening of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation during the coronavirus crisis.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...f-coronavirus/
How the Cornish pasty came to prosper in Virginia
You don't expect to find a British pasty in a small corner of Virginia. So how did the Cornish delicacy wind up thousands of miles away across the ocean, asks Jonathan Turley.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52157059
New Labour leader Keir Starmer vows to lead party into new era.
The lawyer, who became an MP in 2015, won on the first round of voting, with more than 50% of ballots cast.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-52164589
Indigenous in Canada turn to the land to survive
Indigenous people describe leaving towns to live off the land, learning lessons about survival from elders.
Read more at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/fe...073446077.html
Queen addresses the nation
Those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any
Learn more at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/show...5510-The-Queen
The fallout is just beginning
There's no sugar-coating how difficult the economic picture will be beyond this crisis
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-economic-fallout...tting-started/
Coronavirus is a wake-up call: devolution isn't working
Across the UK, this crisis has exposed the limits of devolution - it's time Westminster defended its corner
https://capx.co/coronavirus-is-a-wak...n-isnt-working
Britain Just Got Pulled Back From the Edge
The country has reasserted its foundational stability, and in doing so made real change more likely once this is all over.
Read more at:
https://www.theatlantic.com/internat...ovid19/609520/
The power of education
Part I - How it empowers people
Read more at:
http://www.thinkscotland.org/todays-...ead_full=14131
Scots singer hails heroes of Clydeside community in new record
One legendary Govanite paid tribute to another last week when Sir Alex Ferguson hailed songwriter Bill Martin after his death at 81.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/govan/
Brooned off? How Scotland’s famous family survives lockdown
The prospect of weeks cooped up with loved ones is not necessarily one to relish for many. But Scotland’s most famous family have got more going on than most as Glebe Street locks down.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/broone...vives-lockdown
50 years after The Beatles split
Experts hail their enduring legacy while fans remember how band conquered Scotland and then the world
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/50-yea...then-the-world
US election 2020: Bernie Sanders suspends presidential campaign
Senator Bernie Sanders has ended his presidential campaign, clearing the way for former Vice-President Joe Biden to become the Democratic party's nominee.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52219756
The WHO faces an existential question: reform or wither away
The WHO's reliance on good faith reporting from nations is a serious weakness
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-who-faces-an-exi...or-wither-away
The UK has a winning hand, let’s not be bluffed out of playing it
The EU has great economic power, but a huge underlying monetary weakness
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-uk-has-a-winning...-of-playing-it
Nicola Sturgeon told time is up following Scotland's major fall on international stage
THE leader of the Scottish Conservative Party has unleashed a scathing attack on Nicola Sturgeon's education record during her time as Scotland's First Minister.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/12...ervative-Party
Financial crisis on steroids looms for EU leaders
Sixteen hours in a virtual meeting and virtually nothing was achieved, said one Spanish diplomat, who spoke of an exhausting EU video conference all too reminiscent of the days of the Greek financial crisis.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52221259
The Coronavirus Will Destroy Turkey’s Economy
Ankara’s finances were weak before the pandemic—but the combination of external debt, a public health crisis, and a president who chooses to protect his reputation rather than his people could spell disaster.
Read more at:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/08...rkeys-economy/
Electric Canadian
This site is now being archived by the British Library!!!
Canada: Geographical, Agricultural, and Mineralogical Sketch
Published by authority of the Bureau of Agriculture (1865) (pdf) and you can read this at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...ture/agric.pdf
Quebec
Pictures from my Portfolio by H.R.H. The Princess Louise (1882) (pdf) and this can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...bec/quebec.pdf
State of Canada's Birds
The 2019 summary (pdf) which can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...Birds-2019.pdf
Electric Scotland
Home Preacher
Added Service 25 by C. H. Spurgeon which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/h...her/week25.htm
Also added Services 26 - 41 which can be got to at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/homepreacher
Our Scottish Clergy
Fifty-Six Sketches, Biographical, Theological, & Critical , including Clergymen of all Denominations by John Smith LL.D., A.M. (1853)
PREFATORY NOTE
The respect in which the clergy, of a nation, are held may generally be considered as an index of its true civilisation. Not the mere civilisation of scientific improvement—not civilisation by the kindred arts of painting, sculpture, music, and poetry—not the civilisation of secular literature however enriched by exaltation of mind or brilliancy of fancy, but all these superstructed on the enduring basis of Christian morality and of Christian piety. For long years preceding the French revolution the writings of Voltaire and the Encyclo-prediaists, and the conduct of the Roman Catholic clergy themselves, had turned the mummeries and superstitions of the church, and the profession of the priesthood, into ridicule, and, what is worse, had brought Christianity itself into contemptuous question and disrepute. Yet France was reckoned the centre of the civilisation of the world. The fist of her celebrated men contained all that was great in science or illustrious in literature. The abilities of her generals were great by scientific rule, and the valour of her armies terrible from scientific power. Her language was the language of civilisation, and her literature the delight of the refined. Her ancient aristocracy dwelt in noble palaces exquisitely adorned with the all but breathing marble, and the canvass that seemed as if it would every moment burst into life. France was the grand nation of the Grand Monarque. She had secular civilisation enough, but her priesthood were disrespected, her people the most degraded in Europe, and from the monarch, and the peer, to the artist, and the peasant, the nation was one vast mass of moral corruption. The gorgeous ritual, the imposing but hollow ceremonies of her church were, perhaps, rated at tliefr true value, but salvation was the theme of jest, the work of Christ matter for a sneer, and the Divine glory a fertile subject for the disproving abilities of infidel philosophers. Yes, France was a civilised nation, scientific and immoral, polite and corrupt, learned and atheistical.
Then came the terrible revolution, the natural and necessary consequences of an irreligious civilisation, of a human religion and abhorred clergy. A long enslaved people robbed of their highest hopes, forgetful of the regeneration to which they were called, trampled under foot alike all that was good or bad in the national institutions. For a time the inferior clergy became popular, not from their cloth but from their acquiescence in the early progress of the revolution; but as the revolutionary car rolled on they were left behind, and perished with a heroism worthy of the first martyrs. The reign of terror, and atheism, was established. In La Vendee alone, where the philosophy of infidelity had not penetrated, where the ministers of a religion, superstitious as it was, commanded respect, the people remained faithful to humanity and morality, and horrified at the excesses of their free and enlightened brethren rallied around the royal standard, and ceased not their exertions till their homes were a desert and the bones of a million human beings lay bleaching on the fertile fields of the Bocage.
But let us not be mistaken. Superstitious respect of ministers is no criterion either of civilisation or religion, else were Spain a paragon of enlightened piety and moral excellence, and Italy, as of old, the vanguard nation of all that is great, and noble, and godlike in man. A blind, bigotted, uninquiring regard for spiritual teachers is not characteristic of a religious and enlightened people. An unquestioning reliance on the teachings of ministers, and a determination never to see aught wrong in the pastoral character, are the grossest superstitions, subversive alike of man’s reason, of the right of private judgment and of the authority of the Scriptures. It is only when we are satisfied, by the closest examination, of the truth of the doctrines taught, and of the undeviating harmony of their lives with their exalted office, that we can accord them our willing respect as the rational expounders and enforcers of God’s revealed will.
In our own country civilisation and Christianity are terms of synonymous import. The arts and sciences are the handmaids of religion. The recognition of il faith, hope, and charity,” is not speculation but a fact. Civilisation is not the patron and endorser of the truths of Christianity, but Christianity is the supporter and propagator of civilisation. The Bible is the corner stone of the social edifice, and the illuminator of scientific discovery for the instruction of man.
In no country are the clergy, as a body, more esteemed than in our own. It is because we recognise religion—not the faith of erring sects “wide as the poles asunder" in non-essentials, but as the religion of God, that we respect the ministers of our faith. We see in them men called to a high office to strew with the flowers of immortality the dreary paths of mortal existence, to smooth the pillow of sickness and death, by pointing to the portals of glory, which introduce the just to a brighter and a better world. We study the book of life for ourselves, and behold in them teachers of its hallowed truths, and naturally and justly associate them with a mission so divine. Nor do we unreflectingly bestow upon them our confidence. Nowhere are their lives more strictly watched, and their shortcomings more duly noted. It is because on the whole, considering the nature of humanity, that we find their professions and practice in reasonable agreement, that we esteem our ministers as members of the noblest profession the world knows, and as the communicators of means of happiness infinite as the boundaries of the universe of God.
Such being the views entertained by the writers of the “ Sketches,” the design of the publication is to enable ministers and people to form a correct estimate of the present state of the Scottish pulpit. The position of clergymen is unfavourable to acquiring a comprehensive and impartial view of ministerial talent and success. Occupied, as they generally are, every Sabbath-day, they have but rare opportunities of hearing others preach, and when at any time they may happen to hear a discourse, the preacher is too much in juxtaposition or competition with themselves to permit that candour which leads to truth. Of the publishing portion of ministers, data is supplied to determine the literary standing, but from special discourses very little can be learned of ordinary ministrations. In opposition to these specially-prepared discourses, the Sketches have been taken, without the knowledge of the clergymen, while they were doing their ordinary work, and though one has had less and another more than average preparation, a general average is faithfully secured. They who have been taken when their appearance was less favourable than they would have wished, will have an additional argument for being, as seldom as possible, obliged to preach with hasty preparation. As ministers have but little opportunity of judging of the matter and manner of their contemporaries, they are still more unfavourably situated for judging righteously regarding their own ministrations. Generally speaking, every congregation consider their own minister superior, taking him all in all, to others. Indeed, they chose him for that reason. Facts, however, prove that this supposed excellence cannot be absolute, though it may often be relative. Clergymen, though not possessed of superior talent or general accomplishments, may be the most acceptable and profitable for the congregations to which they minister. It is far from the intention of the writers to lower any one clergyman in the estimation of his people— that estimation being the key to their heart and conscience. But though there is no wish to weaken that feeling of admiration and affection, which is the bond of successful teaching, it is desirable that a clergyman should have other standards to try himself by than the judgment of his hearers. It is to him a small matter to be judged of any man, but in as far as opinion may stimulate him to effort or encourage him in difficulty— that opinion being viewed as the exponent of His mind whose judgments are unerring and whose decisions are ultimate. These Sketches, then, may tend to lead ministers to encourage a nobler ambition than the applause of those who, in virtue of their relationship, can scarcely do other than respect and esteem them even above their comparative excellence. On the one hand, they may encourage humble talent, and, on the other, rebuke flippant mediocrity.
Besides correcting erroneous judgments on the part of individual clergymen and individual congregations, it is hoped the work may tend to destroy sectional bigotry. While each sect ought to be fully persuaded as to its peculiarities, it is desirable that it, at the same time, should give others credit for equal sincerity. It is believed that the faithful delineation of the clergymen of different sects, when that delineation refers exclusively to their non-sectarian aspects, may tend to create or strengthen catholicity of sentiment among all denominations. Though the writers cannot pretend to be free of all sectarian bias, the fact that they are mixed up with all the sects included, goes far to destroy that partiality which concludes one clergyman, in virtue of his connexion, superior to another.
But there are still higher aims which the writers intend this work to serve. It is not merely meant to draw Christians closer together, but to show that they are already one. The doctrines and the duties taught by the different clergymen are the same. The clergyman of the National Church preaches the same gospel as the clergyman who disowns all secular control. Sectional peculiarity has been driven from the pulpit. Preachers “ teach the same thing in all the churches.” The sneer of the infidel at divisions among Christians is unmerited. Christians are one in faith, in hope, and in love.
In this volume, ministers of all the chief denominations in the country were reported as they prosecuted their usual work; and, among all the fifty-two Sketches, we challenge infidelity to point out one discrepancy—one contradiction, as regards the truths taught. Christians are ranked under different banners; but they are in the service of one King, and their different banners interfere not with their loyalty or their love. The volume will serve to prove the unity of the Church of God, and, as such, is calculated, at once, to rebuke infidelity, to dissipate doubt, and to encourage faith.
The volume is now offered to the world in the hope that' it may be of some use both to believers and unbelievers—to believers, by showing them that they hold the faith of all evangelical denominations, however much these may differ in mere forms—to unbelievers, by convincing them that Christianity is not the mere sectional thing they supposed, but, on the contrary, that unity dwells where external uniformity is absent, and that the office of the pulpit is not to gratify sectarian ambition, but to expound Christian duty and enforce Christian practice.
Glasgow, May 12, 1848.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/o...tishclergy.htm
Old Scotland - Religious and Social
By Kenneth MacDonald, Town Clerk of Inverness (1890)
THE laws and customs of a people change with increasing experience, with the changing wants of new generations, with the altered conditions which the closing of old and the opening of new departments of commerce and industry bring about, with the progressive or retrogressive motion of the people in general intelligence, with surrounding political and social conditions, and with those frequently unaccountable changes in the manner in which public opinion views certain things which the law at a particular period may regard as offences against .good order. Many things, therefore, which are now matters of everyday legal experience, may, and probably will, appear little short of unaccountable to the student of social and legal history of a century or two hence. In like manner, many things which were matters of everyday experience to our ancestors two or three hundred years ago, are no longer among us, except as recollections of a past time, and their sole interest consists in the light they throw on the history of our country, and the conditions of life in a former age.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/oldscotland.htm
Good Words 1882
Edited by Donald MacLeod D.D. (pdf)
I already have up a copy of an edition by the Rev. Norman MacLeod and thought I should also put up an edition from his brother who took over from him after his death. The first article in this copy is about...
SOME HINTS FOR A LIFE OF DEAN STANLEY
By his Grace the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.
SINCE Arthur Penrhyn Stanley's death many notices of him have been published. We have had a charming account of his early home life and training, and two able reviews of his last book. From across the Atlantic there has come a most eloquent tribute of affection and regard, and the simple French narrative of pastor E. Fontanes has sought to place the Dean of Westminster before us, and leave each reader to form his own judgment on the remarkable picture.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/Good_Words1882.pdf
Clan Munro of Australia Newsletter for April 2020.
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...wsletter53.pdf
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend and mind and keep your distance, wash your hands and stay safe.
Alastair