'Echoes From Scotland's Heritage of Grace'

The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) contains some of the most gracious and exercised saints of God in Scotland. It carries on a long and distinguished history, and that history is the subject of this book.

Hugh Ferrier has not attempted to write a history of the Free Church of Scotland. What he has given in this book is a series of sketches of Church history. The first two chapters give an overview of Scottish Church history up to the time of the Disruption of 1843. Chapters 3-5 are more detailed studies of Scots religion in three settings, the Isle of Arran, the Highlands, and Inverness. Chapters six to eleven tell the story of the Free Church of Scotland, from its good beginnings through its decline and to the Union of 1900 and its consequences. With the exception of Chapter six these chapters are records of controversies, reflected in titles like 'The Union Controversy' and 'The Higher Criticism Controversy'. Whilst there are some men who we may regard as 'villains', the real story in these chapters is of good men who dithered and failed to take action when it needed to be taken. Ferrier reminds us that the problem all too often is not that of wicked men in the Church, but of good men standing idly by. Whilst there are some slight references to the recent controversy that rent the Free Church, they are oblique and there is nothing said of a personal nature. This is not a partisan book, it is an evangelical book and might just as well have been written by a man in the Free Church of today.

The moderate size of this book, and its relatively self-contained chapters, make it an excellent book for someone trying to find a 'taster' on Scottish church history, or trying to get an overall idea of the history of the Free Church of Scotland. There is an extensive bibliography for those interested in further study. We highly recommend this volume and thank Mr. Ferrier for writing such a stimulating and lively work on such an important subject.

Echoes from Scotland's Heritage of Grace (Hardcover, 265 pages) is available from Tentmaker Publications