Donald Macleod (born 24 November 1940) is a Scottish theologian.

Early life

Born in 1940 in

Ness, Lewis Ness ( gd, Nis) is the northernmost part of the Isle of Lewis, a community consisting of about 16 villages, including Lionel, Lewis, Lionel, Habost, Swainbost, Cross, Lewis, Cross, North Dell, North and South Dell, Cross Skigersta, Skigersta, Eor ...

, Macleod was educated at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and the Free Church College before being ordained as a minister of the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

in 1964.Biography

Career

Choosing an academic career, he was appointed as professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topi ...

at the Free Church College in 1978, a position he held for some 33 years. In 1996, he was considering leaving the Free Church to join the Church of Scotland, and following a new career as a writer and journalist, but remained in post and in 1999 was elected as principal of the Free Church College. He retired from that post in 2010, and as a professor in 2011. In that year, a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' was published in his honour, ''The People's Theologian: Writings in Honour of Donald Macleod''. This included contributions from

Richard Gaffin Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. is a Calvinist theologian, Presbyterian minister, and was the Charles Krahe Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2008. He became the P ...

, Derek Thomas, and

Carl Trueman Carl R. Trueman (born 1967) is a Christian theologian and ecclesiastical historian. He was Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary, where he held the Paul Woolley Chair of Church History. In 2018 True ...

Allegations

In 1996, Macleod was cleared of allegations that he had sexually assaulted four women between 1985 and 1991. The Sheriff court found that "the women had all lied in the witness box to further the ends of Professor Macleod's enemies in the Free Church of Scotland."Bruce McKain,
Church professor in sex case a free man
" '' The Herald'', 26 June 1996. People who believed Macleod should be put on trial by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

then formed the Free Church Defence Association and ultimately a new denomination, the

Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Leantainneach) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which was formed in January 2000. It claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of Scotland, hence its ...

. However, Johnston McKay later noted that although on the surface the split was about Macleod, in his view it was about theology, since Macleod belonged to the more "modernising" wing of the Free Church.Johnston McKay
A church born out of division

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, 21 January 2000.

Works

* The Spirit of Promise (Christian Focus, 1986) * Rome and Canterbury: A View from Geneva (Christian Focus, 1989) * Shared Life (Christian Focus, 1994) * Behold Your God (Christian Focus, 1995) * A Faith to Live By (Christian Focus, 1998) * The Person of Christ (IVP, 1998) * Jesus is Lord: Christology Yesterday and Today (Christian Focus, 2000) * From Glory to Golgotha (Christian Focus, 2002) * Priorities for the Church (Christian Focus, 2003) * The Living Past (Acair, 2006) * Christ Crucified: Understanding the Atonement (IVP, 2014) * Compel Them to Come in (Christian Focus, 2020) * Therefore the Truth I Speak: Scottish Theology 1500-1700 (Christian Focus, 2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Donald 1940 births Living people People from the Isle of Lewis 20th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland