Donald Macpherson Baillie (5 November 1887 – 31 October 1954) was a Scottish

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, ecumenist, and parish minister.

Early life

Baillie was born in the Free Church of Scotland manse in

Gairloch Gairloch ( ; , meaning "Short Loch") is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. A tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a golf course, a ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

, on 5 November 1887, the son of Rev. John Baillie (1829-1891) and Annie Macpherson. He was a younger brother to John Baillie (1886-1960), and older brother to Peter. His father died when Donald was three, and his mother moved her three sons to Inverness. While there, Donald was educated at Inverness Royal Academy. The family later moved to Edinburgh, to allow the boys to continue their education, with Donald enrolling at Edinburgh University in 1905. Donald began in literary studies, but like his older brother he soon changed to philosophy, winning first class medals in both metaphysics and moral philosophy as well as the George Saintsbury Prize for English Verse. He matriculated at New College, Edinburgh in 1909, where he concentrated on theological and biblical studies with H. R. MacKintosh, H. A. A. Kennedy, and Alexander Martin. He also spent two semesters at the German universities in Marburg under Wilhelm Herrmann and Adolf Julicher and in Heidelberg under Ernst Troeltsch and Johannes Weiss. Baillie began his own pastoral work as an assistant in North Morningside Church, Edinburgh and in 1917 volunteered to serve with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in France. He had to be relieved of his duties there due to a chronic asthmatic condition which plagued him all his life. He then filled an interim position at St. Boswell's Church in Edinburgh. From 1911 until 1914, he was Assistant to the Professor of Moral Philosophy. He also spent some time with the YMCA in France. Baillie completed his ministerial training at New College in March 1913.

Ministry

He was ordained into the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; , ) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), majority of the 19th-cen ...

in 1918 and was minister of Bervie United Free Church until 1923. He then moved to St. John's, Cupar he was there until 1930 (by which time, the United Free Church had mostly merged back into the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

in 1929) and then at St. Columba's, Kilmacolm until 1934.

Other work

Donald was appointed Kerr lecturer at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 1923, delivering lectures in 1926. During his time in Cupar, he wrote ''Faith in God and its Christian Consummation'' (1927), which was based on Kerr Lectures. This led to his appointment as a professor of divinity at St Mary's College,

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, where he spent the remainder of his life. In 1935 he became Professor of Systematic Theology at the

, where he had been Additional examiner for the BD degree in Divinity and Ecclesiastical History from 1921-1924, and which had awarded him an Honorary DD in 1933. Other academic positions included External Examiner for the BD in Divinity at the University of Edinburgh from 1933, Forwood lecturer in the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Liverpool, 1947, and Moore lecturer at the San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1952. In 1948 he, Isobel Forrester and his brother John formed the Scottish Churches Ecumenical Association, which in 1950 merged with the Dollarbeg group which had organised ecumenical conferences since 1945 or 1946. His more famous work was ''God was in Christ'' (1948), which explored the paradox of grace, and applied it to incarnational theology. The book went through five printings, including a separate German edition. Several of his sermons were gathered into two posthumous volumes, ''To Whom Shall We Go?'' (1955) and ''Out of Nazareth'' (1958).

Death

Baillie died, while still in post of being the Professor of Systematic Theology, of emphysema in Maryfield Hospital, Dundee, on October 31, 1954, at the age of 67 years.

References

1887 births 1954 deaths Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of St Andrews 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians {{Christian-theologian-stub