Rhu heresy charges rocked village in 1830-31

The case rivetted the attention of not only the wider Church of Scotland but also the whole country.

It made famous the parish minister, the Rev John McLeod Campbell, who was deposed from his living as a minister of the Church of Scotland by the General Assembly of 1831.

Local historian Alistair McIntyre, a director of Helensburgh Heritage Trust, has just completed a detailed study of the case, and I am grateful to him for what follows.

Campbell was accused of preaching erroneous doctrines, in relation to universal atonement, pardon and assurance of faith.

This did not sit well with the Calvinist view which then prevailed, that only the elect would be saved.

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The impression was often gained that Campbell was a lone wolf, expounding views of his own making, but the truth is others played a key role in his theological development.

There would appear to be little doubt that the views of Alexander John Scott played an influential part in Campbell’s thoughts and teachings.

Alexander was the son of the Rev John Scott, a prominent member of the Scottish Kirk, whose ministry was at Mid Kirk, Greenock.

Born in 1805, Alexander seemed set to follow in his father’s footsteps, and took up studies at Glasgow University at the tender age of 13 years, graduating MA when aged 17 - starting university as a child was by no means unheard of at that time.

He went on to Glasgow Divinity Hall to undertake theological studies, which went smoothly, and through the Presbytery of Paisley, he became a licensed preacher in 1827.

The first hint that he might not be destined to follow a conventional path took place around this time, when he made the acquaintance of Thomas Erskine, an unconventional laird, who believed that divine pardon was available to all. It seems likely that Scott drew inspiration from Erskine’s beliefs.

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When Scott met John McLeod Campbell, something about him made an immediate impression upon the Row minister, who had been called to the church there in 1825.

Two years later his new acquaintance was invited to preach before the village congregation. His theme was the humanity of Christ, as the means by which God’s being is revealed, namely a love for all mankind.

Campbell is said to have listened to Scott’s message with “very peculiar delight”, and he came to regard him as “of the highest intellect”.

There is little doubt that Scott was a powerful and charismatic orator, and there was a sharing of ideas.

It seems reasonable to suppose that Scott’s influence was significant, and their friendship continued well beyond this point.

Probably as a result of his own evolving views, Scott found himself struggling to go along with the terms of the Westminster Confession of Faith.

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All those aspiring to the ministry were required to accept its terms, as indeed were ruling elders and parish schoolmasters.

It might be wondered why the Church of Scotland, always vigilant in preserving its independence, should be dealing with an evidently English document.

The answer lies in the Civil Wars of the 17th century, when the English Parliament came to an accommodation with its Scottish counterpart, in what was seen as a mutually beneficial alliance.

The Westminster Confession, drawn up along puritanical lines, was one outcome, but while the Scottish Parliament adopted it without change, the English side subsequently omitted certain sections.

The document was decidedly Calvinist in outlook, and Scott found himself increasingly unable to reconcile it with his own views.

It was almost certainly more than just mere chance that he subsequently became an assistant at Edward Irving’s Presbyterian church in London, the latter being known for his unorthodox views.

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The crunch for Scott came in 1830, when he accepted a call to Woolwich Presbyterian Church, but refused to sign the Westminster Confession.

This set off a chain of events that led to his deposition from the Church of Scotland in 1831 - the very year that saw Campbell also cast adrift.

Irvine became minister of an independent church for 15 years, during which time he developed friendships with literary figures such as Thackery, Carlyle and the Gaskells.

In 1848, he was appointed professor of English literature at University College London, about the only such institution that did not require religious tests.

The early source of his inspiration, Thomas Erskine, met Campbell in 1828, and immediately formed a friendship that was to last the rest of their lives, with Erskine strongly supporting his new friend throughout the dark days of the Row Heresy Case and beyond.

Edward Irving was born in 1792, the son of a tanner at Annan. A brilliantly gifted scholar, he graduated MA from Edinburgh University in 1809, being appointed master of a mathematics school the year after.

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In due course he felt the pull of the Church, and in 1819, became assistant to Thomas Chalmers at his St John’s Glasgow Church.

He was ordained as pastor of the Caledonian Chapel, London, in 1822, where membership quickly soared from 50 to 1,000.

Irving cut a striking figure, with his “dark, melancholy looks”, while as an orator, he deeply impressed George Canning, a hardened politician.

All seemed set for a glittering career, but as time went on, Irving found himself questioning many of the prevailing tenets of the Church of Scotland. As one writer put it: “He cherished a strong antipathy towards the received ecclesiastical formulas.”

In May 1828 Campbell, having heard that Irving was coming to preach in Edinburgh, went there to meet him. According to Margaret Oliphant’s biography of Irving, the meeting saw Campbell soliciting Irving for guidance in the midst of his hopes and difficulties.

However Campbell himself, subsequently commenting on this interpretation, claimed it had been rather the other way round. Even so, the fact that it was Campbell who came calling might suggest Oliphant was nearer the mark.

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Whatever the case, Irving came to the Gareloch in June 1828, preaching at both Row and Rosneath.

Irving’s later story was a tragic one. There was a certain inevitability about his excommunication by the presbytery of London in 1830, following the publication of a paper by him on the humanity of Christ, something that Campbell also held to be the case.

A further setback took place in 1833 when he was deposed by the Church of Scotland, by which time his views had diverged even more from mainstream religious orthodoxy, and led him to found the Catholic Apostolic Church, also known as the Irvingite Church.

All these events took their toll on Irving, who was undoubtedly a driven man, and he died in 1834, completely worn out by his labours.

To be continued.

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