James Peddie D.D. (1758–1845) was a Scottish presbyterian minister of the Secession Church.
Life
The son of James Peddie, a brewer, by his second wife, Ann Rattray, he was born at
Perth, Scotland
Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...
on 10 February 1758. After schools in Perth he entered the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in 1775, and two years later became a member of the Secession Divinity Hall, under
John Brown of Haddington
John Brown of Haddington (1722 – 19 June 1787), was a Scottish minister and author. He was born at Carpow, in Perthshire. He was almost entirely self-educated, having acquired a knowledge of ancient languages while employed as a shepherd ...
. Licensed to preach in 1782, he travelled about the country for some time, speaking in pulpits where there was no regular minister. For seven months he averaged a hundred miles per month on horseback.
Towards the end of 1782, against opposition, Peddie was appointed to the Bristo Street Secession chapel in Edinburgh. The congregation split, with some moving to a new church in Rose Street, set up in 1786. Peddie remained at Bristo Street for the rest of his life. He founded the Edinburgh Subscription Library in 1794, with the Rev. Gavin Struthers.
Peddie was twice moderator, of the Associate Synod in 1789, and again in 1825 for the Synod of the
United Secession Church
The United Secession Church (or properly the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination.
The First Secession from the established Church of Scotland had been in 1732, and the resultant "Associate Pre ...
. From 1791 he was treasurer to the fund for assisting poor outlying congregations. He was also involved in missionary societies, and the Sunday school and Gaelic school movements.
Old and New Lights
Peddie took a leading, though generally restrained part in the
Old and New Lights
The terms Old Lights and New Lights (among others) are used in Protestant Christian circles to distinguish between two groups who were initially the same, but have come to a disagreement. These terms originated in the early 18th century from a spl ...
controversy in his church. In 1795 matters came to a head, and Peddie sided with the New Lights, for toleration and liberty. A matter arising was the extended Perth congregation lawsuit Craigdallie v Aikman, between supporters of John Jervie and those of Jedidian Aikman. It continued from 1799 to 1815, and decided the legal position of the party New Light: Peddie gave it his zeal and energy.
In the early days of the controversy, attempts were made by opponents to associate the New Lights with the friends of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. Peddie communicated with
William Pitt the younger
William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...
through Pulteney, and
Henry Dundas
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Pri ...
referred to the New Lights as "loyal citizens, who had been calumniated."
Later life
In 1818
Marischal College
Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...
conferred on Peddie the degree of D.D. He died in Edinburgh on 11 October 1845.
Works
Peddie's best-known work was a controversial pamphlet, against an attack of 1799 by
William Porteous
William Porteous (born 1945) is a Canadian-born Australian land developer and real estate agent.
Biography
Born in Ottawa, Canada, Porteous was raised and educated in Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He attended Simon Frase ...
, ''The New Light Examined; or Observations on the Proceedings of the Associate Synod against their Own Standards.'' Peddie's reply ''A Defence of the Associate Synod against the Charge of Sedition, addressed to William Porteous, D.D.'' had the approval of
Dugald Stewart
Dugald Stewart (; 22 November 175311 June 1828) was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician. Today regarded as one of the most important figures of the later Scottish Enlightenment, he was renowned as a populariser of the work of Francis Hu ...
as a model of invective. He published also:
* ''The Revolution the Work of God and a Cause of Joy'', Edinburgh, 1789. This work was a commemoration of the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
.
* ''The Perpetuity, Advantages, and Universality of the Christian Religion'', Edinburgh, 1796.
* ''Jehovah's Care to perpetuate the Redeemer's Name'', London, 1809.
* ''A Practical Exposition of the Book of Jonah, in ten lectures'', Edinburgh, 1842.
After Peddie's death, his son William published his ''Discourses'', Edinburgh, 1846, with a memoir.
Peddie wrote for theological publications, and from 1797 to 1802 he was one of the editors of the ''Christian Magazine''. He also edited the posthumous works of
James Meikle
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
of Carnwath (Edinburgh, 1801, 1803, 1805, 1807, 1811).
Views
When at the Divinity Hall, Peddie reportedly opposed the orthodox teaching of John Brown, that civil magistrates ought to have power to interfere in religious matters, and to have upheld the doctrine of
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
's ''
A Letter Concerning Toleration
''A Letter Concerning Toleration'' by John Locke was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in Latin, and it was immediately translated into other languages. Locke's work appeared amidst a fear that Catholicism might be taking ...
Peddie was twice married: first, in 1787, to Margaret (died 1792), eldest daughter of the Rev. George Coventry of
Stitchell
Stichill is a village and civil parish in the historic county of Roxburghshire, a division of the Scottish Borders. Situated north of the Burgh of Kelso, Stichill lies north of the Eden Water and from the English Border at Coldstream.
Stichi ...
, Roxburghshire; and, secondly, in 1795, to Barbara, second daughter of Donald Smith, lord provost of Edinburgh, with whom he had nine children. The sons included William Peddie (1805–1893), minister who from 1828 was his colleague at Bristo Street; and
Alexander Peddie
Alexander Peddie FRSE FRCPE LLD (3 June 1810 – 19 January 1907) was a Scottish physician and author. He was president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh from 1877 until 1879, and was co-founder of Royal Hospital for Sick Children, ...