The Free Church Of Scotland

The concept of missionary baptism is based on the household baptism of converts and their families described in the New Testament. This is most commonly experienced today in missionary situations, when entire families become Christians. Building on the work of nineteenth-century Scottish theologian William Cunningham, this study explores some implications for the connection between believers’ baptism, infant baptism, baby dedication, and Christian unity, particularly among evangelicals.

The Victorian period in Scotland was remarkable, with rapid changes and immense wealth coexisting alongside entrenched conservatism and great poverty. For the churches also, the Victorian period was a time of transformation - with every assumption being challenged and tested. In this context it is not surprising that some churches fragmented, and the Free Church was one of them.

A Divided Church is an account of the division that took place in the Free Church of Scotland, a conservative evangelical and reformed church, in the year 2000. The story is told of events that led to the division and the perceived inadequacies of procedures in church and state which impacted upon events leading up to the division. The book is written from the perspective of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), the smaller part of the divided Church. It is a story that requires to be told and it is written with care and conciseness by the lecturer in Church History and Church Principles at the Seminary of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing).