Robert William Dale
| Robert William Dale | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
1 December 1829 London |
| Died | 13 March 1895 (aged 65) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Spring Hill College |
| Occupation | Congregational minister |
Robert William Dale (1 December 1829 – 13 March 1895) was an English Congregational church leader.
Dale was born in London and educated at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, for the Congregational ministry. In 1853 he was invited to Carr's Lane Chapel, Birmingham, as co-pastor with John Angell James, on whose death in 1859 he became sole pastor for the rest of his life. In the University of London M.A. examination (1853), he came first in philosophy and won the gold medal. The degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him in 1883 by the University of Glasgow during the lord rectorship of John Bright. Yale University gave him its D.D. degree, although he never used it. He served as Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1868 and President of the International Congregational Council in 1891.
Dale normally read his sermons, because "if I spoke extemporaneously I should never sit down again". He did not use the title "Reverend". He was a strong advocate of the disestablishment of the Church of England, holding that the Christian church was essentially a spiritual brotherhood, and that any vestige of political authority impaired its spiritual work. In church government he believed strongly that congregationalism was the most fitting environment for Christianity. He published lectures on such topics as The Atonement (1875, and frequently reprinted), sermons, and the Manual of Congregational Principles (1884); and, at his death, he left an unfinished history of Congregationalism, revised by his son, A. W. W. Dale.
Dale's integrity, intelligence, moral passion and oratory soon made him a national figure in an age when the strength of non-conformity was at its highest. He welcomed social improvement and was an advocate, with George Dawson, of what became known in Birmingham as the Civic Gospel. The health, housing, sanitation and living conditions in Birmingham had suffered from its rapid population expansion in the previous thirty years. Dale argued "the public duty of the state is the private duty of every citizen": service on the town council to improve the wellbeing of Birmingham was advocated by Dale as having moral and religious worth. He was an advocate of free public education, social improvement, the extension of the franchise, the recognition of trades unions, and understanding the links between poverty and crime.
...
Wikipedia