Charles Strong

Charles Strong (26 September 1844 – 12 February 1942) was a Scottish-born Australian preacher and first minister of the Australian Church.

Strong was the third son of the Rev. David Strong and Margaret Paterson, née Roxburgh, and was born at Dailly, Ayrshire, Scotland. Strong was educated at the Ayr Academy, Glasgow Academy, and in Arts and Divinity at the University of Glasgow 1859–67 (hon. LL.D., 1887). John Caird had become Professor of Divinity in 1863 and was the principal influence on Strong. Caird was known as an attractive preacher but his theology was much influenced by G.W.H. Hegel, the German idealist philosopher. After some months experience as a private tutor 1867, Strong was licensed as a preacher on 2 October 1867 and became an assistant at Dalmellington, Ayrshire. On 7 October 1868 he was ordained to the Old North Kirk at Greenock which was then a chapel under the oversight of the Old West Kirk. On 16 March 1871 he was inducted to Anderston Parish Church in Glasgow where Professor Caird also attended. In 1872 Strong married Janet Julia Fullarton (daughter of Archibald Fairrie Denniston); they would have three daughters and five sons together.

In May 1875 Strong was chosen as pastor for the Scots' Church, Collins Street Melbourne, replacing Irving Hetherington. Strong and his family arrived on 23 August 1875.

Strong's ministry was a success and he became known as one of the leading preachers in Melbourne. He emphasised practical Christianity. The Scots' Church Convalescents' Aid Society was formed in 1879, followed by the Scots' Church District Association in 1881. Its major work was the care of neglected children (continued today as Kildonan Uniting Care). He was also a pacifist.

Strong's liberal views on theological matters, however, led to suspicion by some in the Presbyterian Church. In 1880 attention was called in the presbytery to a paper submitted by Strong titled "The Atonement" which appeared in the Victorian Review; a committee appointed to investigate the article reported that some passages required explanation. The charges appeared to some to have been tenuous, one of his principal accusers said of one passage that "the words were perfectly harmless in themselves but conveyed an impression of unsoundness to his mind". By most they were seen as inadequate given his obligation to assert, maintain and defend the doctrine of the Presbyterian Church. Of course Strong had come from a relatively liberal Church of Scotland to a church that was the result of a union in 1859 including Free Church of Scotland and United Presbyterian ministers. What might have passed in Scotland without great upheaval was likely to take a different turn in Victoria, whose Presbyterian Assembly was chaired by hard-line fundamentalist Moderator John Gardner.

...
Wikipedia