John Eadie (9 May 1810 – 3 June 1876) was a Scottish theologian and biblical critic.

Life

He was born at Alva in

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(now in Clackmannanshire). Having studied the arts curriculum 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 ...

, he studied for the ministry at the Divinity Hall of the

United Secession Church The United Secession Church (or properly the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which existed between 1820 and 1847. History The First Secession from the established Church of Scotland had ...

, a dissenting body which, on its union a few years later with the

Relief Church The Relief Church (or Presbytery of Relief) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination founded in 1761. In 1847 it united with the United Secession Church to form the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In relation to the history of the Chur ...

, adopted the title the United Presbyterian Church. In 1843 Eadie was appointed professor of biblical literature and hermeneutics in the Divinity Hall of the United Presbyterian body. He held this appointment along with his ministerial charge for the rest of his life. He received the honorary degree of LLD from Glasgow University in 1844, and that of DD from the

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in 1850. He died at 6 Thornville Terrace in

Hillhead Hillhead (, ) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated north of Kelvingrove Park and to the south of the River Kelvin, Hillhead is at the heart of Glasgow's fashionable West End, with Byres Road forming the western border of the area, the ...

, Glasgow on 3 June 1876. He is buried in the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian era, Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of St. Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have ...

not far from the John Knox monument. His book collection was bought and presented to the United Presbyterian College.

Ministry

In 1835 Eadie became minister of the Cambridge Street Secession church in Glasgow, and for many years he was generally regarded as the leading representative of his denomination in Glasgow. As a preacher, though he was not eloquent, he was distinguished by good sense, earnestness and breadth of sympathy. In 1863 he removed with a portion of his congregation to the new Lansdowne United Presbyterian Church, which became a notable landmark at

Kelvinbridge Kelvinbridge is the common name of the Great Western Bridge, a cast iron road and pedestrian bridge located in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, built to carry the Great Western Road (A82) at a high level across the River Kelvin. ...

. Cambridge Street was in one of the poorer parts of Glasgow, in stark contrast to the Lansdowne area. This gave rise to the following verse, well known in Glasgow church circles: ''This Church is not built for the poor and needy,'' ''But for the rich and Dr. Eadie''. ''The rich may come in and take their seat,'' ''But the poor must go to Cambridge Street.'' He served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

for the

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland The United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the U ...

for the year 1857/8.

Works

His publications were connected with biblical criticism and interpretation, some of them being for popular use and others more strictly academic. To the former class belong the ''Biblical Cyclopaedia'', his edition of

Alexander Cruden Alexander Cruden (31 May 16991 November 1770) was the Scottish author of an early Bible concordance, a proofreader and publisher, and self-styled Corrector of the nation's morals. Early life and career Alexander Cruden was born in Aberdeen in ...

's ''Concordance'', his ''Early Oriental History'', and his discourses on the Divine Love and on Paul the Preacher; to the latter his commentaries on the Greek text of St Paul's epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Galatians, published at intervals in four volumes. His last work was the ''History of the English Bible'' (2 vols, 1876). He rendered service as one of the revisers of the authorized version.

Memorials

In his home town of Alva the Eadie Church is named in his memory and a drinking fountain with his portrait in low relief stands in the local park.

Family

He married Allison Pringle Palfrey of

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. They had five children. She died suddenly in 1855. In 1862 he married Mary Home of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

.Alloa Advertiser (newspaper) 3 February 2021

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eadie, John 1810 births 1876 deaths Scottish Christian theologians People from Alva, Clackmannanshire Ministers of Secession Churches in Scotland Ministers of the United Presbyterian Church (Scotland)