John Thomas Atkinson Glass (8 September 1936 – 24 February 2004), often known as Pastor Jack Glass or simply as Jack Glass, was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

preacher, evangelist and political activist. Glass is most readily associated with his strong views on

unionism Unionism may refer to: Trades *Community unionism, the ways trade unions work with community organizations *Craft unionism, a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on a particular craft or trade * Dual unionism, the develop ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

, his

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and ...

speeches and his association with his friend and colleague

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and Firs ...

. According to his obituary in ''The Times'', Glass was seen as Scotland's answer to Ian Paisley.

Early life

Jack Glass was born in Dalmarnock,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, on 8 September 1936. His father, Samuel, was a brushmaker and

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

elder, while his mother, Isabella, was a housewife. He was the dux of his local Springfield school, which gave him an automatic scholarship to the local authority maintained but fee-paying Allan Glen's School in Glasgow. He turned the scholarship down because he did not want to be separated from his local friends. He attended Riverside Senior Secondary instead. Glass was " born again" at the age of 11 in a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. S ...

. These events shaped the rest of his life. He married Margaret (Peggy) in 1958 at the age of 21; the couple had three children.

Religion

In his early twenties, Glass collapsed in Jamaica Street, Glasgow, due to the erosion of a blood vessel. While lying in hospital recovering he felt a call to the ministry. He was ordained to the ministry in 1968 after studying

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...

and English 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 , ...

, plus a three-year theological course in the Free Church College in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. There, he obtained a college diploma for his "proficiency in the subjects required". During his studies he was awarded with a distinction in

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...

and

firsts First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...

in the subjects of Greek and Hebrew. Previous to this, Glass had left the Baptist Union College due to what he felt were its non-scriptural ecumenical involvements.

Zion Baptist Church

Glass went on to minister at Zion Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, the church he had founded in 1965. The church is

Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

and

Separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

. The church met first at Edrom St. in

Shettleston Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a mult ...

, followed by a spell at the Woodside Halls and then on to the current premises in

Polmadie Polmadie (; gd, Poll Mac Dè, lit=Son of God pool) is a primarily industrial area of Glasgow in Scotland. Situated south of the River Clyde, Polmadie is close to residential neighbourhoods including Govanhill (to the west) and Toryglen (south- ...

, Glasgow. He was the editor of the ''Scottish Protestant View'', an evangelical Protestant newspaper started by him in 1969. He was also Chairman of the Twentieth Century Reformation Movement which was reported as being considered by him to be the 'political arm' of his church.

Anti-Catholicism, Unionism, Ian Paisley and politics

In following years he was to become well known for his protests against ecumenism and

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. These protests took him all over the world, including

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Sweden, Switzerland,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and throughout the UK. This culminated in a series of protests against the Papal visit to Britain in 1982, the first time a reigning

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

had set foot on the nominally Protestant island. For added publicity, Glass had put himself up as a candidate in the Glasgow Hillhead by-election on 25 March 1982. Under the description 'Protestant Crusade against the Papal Visit' he got 388 votes. Glass had stood for Parliament before; having been a candidate in the Glasgow Bridgeton constituency, a safe Labour seat, at the 1970 general election. Standing as an Independent Protestant, he received 1,180 votes (6.7% of the poll). On 1 June 1982, Glass and

jointly led a protest march through Glasgow which culminated in a demonstration near the landing site of the Papal helicopter in Bellahouston Park. Glass and Paisley are said to have led the crowd in shouts of "The Beast is Coming", "No Surrender" and "Down with the Pope of Rome". Alongside this, Glass had debated at many Scottish and English universities, including Durham and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

. He was recognized as a

Biblical literalist Biblical literalism or biblicism is a term used differently by different authors concerning biblical interpretation. It can equate to the dictionary definition of literalism: "adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense", where literal mea ...

. Glass protested against ecumenism and, as he perceived it, the sins of an increasingly ungodly generation. He regularly preached four sermons a week. He campaigned against perceived

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

on many occasions. He protested against films ('' The Last Temptation of Christ''), plays (''Corpus Christi''), and comedians (notably Billy Connolly's crucifixion skit). When protests by Glass led to an increase in ticket sales for the Glasgow performance of the comic stage version of The Bible by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, the company announced they would like to offer Glass a free ticket as thanks. Glass often joined Paisley in his protests against

Irish Republicanism Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develo ...

and against the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief t ...

and papal authority in

. Paisley however once noted that Jack Glass was "a bit of an extremist".

Death

In January 2003, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He publicly proclaimed that this was a personal attack by the devil himself. Throughout his intense treatment of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

and

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Ra ...

, he continued to preach twice weekly, protesting and taking part in hours of filming with the BBC (they had requested to document his life). The documentary ''The Devil and Jack Glass'' was screened in January 2004. His last public statement was to say that through the power of prayer he had "beaten the cancer the devil had given him." He died on 24 February that year. He is buried in

Killearn Killearn (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cill Fhearann'', from orig. ''Ceann Fhearann'', "Head/End of (the) Land/Territory" – until the 15th century when ''Ceann'' was replaced by ''Cill''; denoting the presence of a house of worship) – is a smal ...

In popular culture

*Pastor Jack Glass was portrayed by Scottish folk artist

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow ...

on the 2006 album ''Lucky For Some'' in the song "The Devil And Pastor Jack".The Devil and Pastor Jack
Dick Gaughan's Song Archive