“The gospel is a declaration, not a debate.”
James S. Stewart was born July 21, 1896, in Dundee, Scotland. Stewart grew up in a home
that was strongly Christian. His mother was the daughter of a minister
and his father, William Stewart, worked for the YMCA in the afterglow of
the Moody-Sankey revival that had swept across Scotland.
Among the influences in his formative years, he listed the ministers in his boyhood congregation, the Christian example of his parents, and an English teacher who put great stress on essays and required them to memorize “great chunks” of the poetry of their land. He attended Edinburgh University and graduated with his college and seminary degrees from St. Andrews University.
Among the influences in his formative years, he listed the ministers in his boyhood congregation, the Christian example of his parents, and an English teacher who put great stress on essays and required them to memorize “great chunks” of the poetry of their land. He attended Edinburgh University and graduated with his college and seminary degrees from St. Andrews University.
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“Preaching exists, not for the propagating of views,
opinions, and ideals, but for the proclamation of the mighty acts of God.”
_After doing post-graduate study in Bonn, he was ordained into the
Church of Scotland in 1924. For the next 23 years he carried on a busy
ministry in three successive churches, preaching twice each Sunday,
teaching classes, doing pastoral work and researching and writing at
various levels. His pulpit work at North Morningside in Edinburgh gained
him an international reputation. People came from far and wide to hear
“Stewart of Morningside.”
In 1947 Stewart was called to the Chair of New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology at New College, Edinburgh University, where he served for nineteen years until his retirement in 1966. That appointment freed him not only to teach but also to fill pulpits throughout the British Isles and in many parts of the English speaking world. Students at New College said that his lectern sometimes became a pulpit, but his pulpit never became a lectern.
In 1947 Stewart was called to the Chair of New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology at New College, Edinburgh University, where he served for nineteen years until his retirement in 1966. That appointment freed him not only to teach but also to fill pulpits throughout the British Isles and in many parts of the English speaking world. Students at New College said that his lectern sometimes became a pulpit, but his pulpit never became a lectern.
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“One does not abstract Christianity from history or
eliminate its imagery without turning it into something quite different in the
process.”
_He was appointed a
chaplain to King George V in 1951, and later he served as a chaplain
to Queen Elizabeth. He was chosen moderator of the General Assembly of
the Church of Scotland in 1963, serving as the Church of Scotland’s
leading ambassador for a year. He died July 30, 1990.