Archibald McLean (1733–1812) was a Scots Baptist minister.

Life

Born 1 May (O.S.) 1733, at

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

, McLean was the son of a Highlander. As a child he spent time on

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica * Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highwa ...

, where he learned

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

. Sent to school at

Cathcart Cathcart (; , )
is an area of

Cucaddins, he was apprenticed to a printer in Glasgow in 1746. Marriage allowed McLean to set up as a bookseller and printer in Glasgow; on a matter of conscience he gave up the business seven years later. After a short time in London he acted from 1767 to 1786 as overseer of the printing establishment of Messrs. Donaldson & Co. in Edinburgh. Brought up a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, McLean in 1762 joined the

Glasites The Glasites or Glassites were a small Christian church founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas.John Glas preached supremacy of God's word (Bible) over allegiance to Church and state to his congregation in Tealing near Dundee in July 172 ...

(Sandemanians). In 1765 he left them for the Baptists, and in June 1768 he was chosen for pastoral office as Robert Carmichael's colleague at Edinburgh. He then toured Scotland and England, set up Scotch Baptist associations, and helped run them. A standard annual journey into England took him to London, Hull, Beverley, Chester, Nottingham, and Liverpool. McLean died at Edinburgh on 21 December 1812.

Soteriology

McLean, even when being among the eldership of the Scotch Baptists held to a Sandemanian view of salvation. He was a chief opponent of

Andrew Fuller Andrew Fuller (6 February 17547 May 1815) was an English Particular Baptist minister and theologian. Known as a promoter of missionary work, he also took part in theological controversy. Biography Fuller was born in Wicken, Cambridgeshire, and ...

, arguing in his book ''The Commission Given by Jesus Christ to His Apostles Illustrated'' that Fuller failed to uphold the doctrine of faith alone. McLean argued that faith is only a passive receiving of the gospel, without necessarily including good dispositions or holy affections towards God. The Sandemanian views held by Archibald McLean have been compared to modern Free Grace theology.

Works

McLean's works included: * ''Letters to Mr. Glas in answer to his Dissertation on Infant Baptism'', 1767. * ''A Defence of Believers' Baptism'', 1777. * ''The Nature and Import of Baptism, with its Indispensable Obligation. ... To which is added a Short Sketch of the Church Order and Religious Practices of the Baptists in Scotland'', Edinburgh, 1786. * ''The Commission given by Jesus Christ to His Apostles Illustrated'', 1786; translated into Welsh by E. Francis, Carnarvon

829 __NOTOC__ Year 829 ( DCCCXXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October 2 – Emperor Michael II dies after an 8-year reign in Constantinople, and is succeeded by his ...

* ''Essay on the Calls and Invitations of the Gospel'', originally published in the ''Missionary Magazine''. * ''A Letter on the Sonship of Christ. ... To which is added a Review of Dr. Walker's Defence of the Doctrine of the Trinity and Eternal Sonship of Christ'', 1788. * ''The Belief of the Gospel-saving Faith'', 1791. * ''A Dissertation on the Influences of the Holy Spirit, with a Defence of the Doctrine of Original Sin, and a Paraphrase, with Notes, on Romans v. 12 to the end of the Chapter'', 1799; translated into Welsh by E. Francis, Carnarvon, 1829. * ''A Reply to Mr. Fuller's Appendix to his book on "The Gospel worthy of all Acceptation," particularly to his Doctrine of Antecedent Holiness, and the Nature and Object of Justifying Faith'', 1802. * ''The Christian Doctrine of Disconformity to the World illustrated and enforced'', Liverpool, 1802; first printed in the ''New Theological Repository''. * ''Review of Mr. Wardlaw's Lectures on "The Abrahamic Covenant and its Supposed Connection with Infant Baptism",'' 1807. * ''Strictures on the Sentiments of Dr. James Watt and others respecting a Christian Church, the Pastoral Office, and the Right of Private Brethren to Dispense the Lord's Supper'', Edinburgh, 1810; translated into Welsh by E. Francis, Carnarvon, 1829. * ''A Paraphrase and Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews'', 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1811–17; 2nd edit., revised, 2 vols., London, 1820. A collected edition of McLean's works, with a biographical memoir by William Jones, appeared in six volumes, London, 1823. The tenth edition of his ''Miscellaneous Works'' was published in seven volumes, Elgin, 1847-8.

Family

In 1759 McLean married Isabella, youngest daughter of William More, a merchant, with whom he obtained a small property.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Archibald 1733 births 1812 deaths Scottish printers Scottish Baptists People from East Kilbride

Life

Soteriology

Works

Family

Further reading

Notes