John Cumming

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(10 November 1807 – 5 July 1881) was a Scottish clergyman and religious author.

Life

He was born in

Fintray Hatton of Fintray, commonly referred to as Fintray, is a village on the River Don in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the parish of Fintray. It was a textile village and its church dates from 1821, and there used to be a nearby ferry crossing the ri ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

the eldest son of John Cumming (d.1835) and his wife, Anne Mutch of

Foveran Foveran ( gd, Fobharan) is the name of both a parish and village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village is located north of Aberdeen and southeast of Ellon; the main group of houses and the village school are located adjacent to the main A90 ...

. His mother died in 1827 giving birth to his youngest brother, Hercules Cumming. She is buried in St Nicholas Churchyard in Aberdeen.http://calms.abdn.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo

%27MS%203761%2F8%27) He attended

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

and then studied divinity at King's College in Aberdeen. In 1832, Cumming was appointed to the Crown Court Church (the Scottish National Church) in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, London, a

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 ...

congregation that catered for Scots living in London. At the time, the congregation had approximately 80 members, but Cumming was able to grow his congregation to around 900, and he regularly preached to congregations of 500–600 on Sundays. Cumming was a controversial figure in his day,

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...

being the most prominent figure to criticize him for his anti-Catholicism, obsession with the

End Times Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

, and perceived

intellectual dishonesty Intellectual honesty is an applied method of problem solving, characterised by an unbiased, honest attitude, which can be demonstrated in a number of different ways: * One's personal beliefs or politics do not interfere with the pursuit of truth ...

. In 1853 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposer was Sir John Archibald Murray. Cumming retired in 1879. In total, he published approximately 180 books during his lifetime. He died on 5 July 1881 in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and was buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

Family

In 1833 he married Elizabeth Nicholson (d.1879), daughter of James Nicholson of London, in a ceremony by Rev Dr Gordon at a house at 5 Annandale Street in Edinburgh. They had several children: Lettice Anne (b.1834); John (b.1835); Fanny (b.1837); Louisa Finch (b.1838); Nicholson (b.1840)' Elizabeth (b.1842); Martin Luther Cumming (1843-1911); James (b.1844); Hugh McNeil (b.1845); Francis (1842-1908); Edward Bishop Elliott Cumming (b.1848 died aged 6 months). Elizabeth died in 1879.

Views

Cumming was one of the most virulently

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 the Uni ...

preachers of his day. Several of his books attacked

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 ...

, including ''The Romish Church a Dumb Church'' (Arthur Hall, 1853) and ''Ritualism, the Highway to Rome'' (James Nisbet & Co., 1867). He gave public lectures denouncing

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church who became the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850. Born ...

and

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' also frequently printed letters from Cumming in which he pointed to perceived misdeeds on the part of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

. Cumming also took a deep interest in

Christian eschatology Christian eschatology, a major branch of study within Christian theology, deals with "last things". Such eschatology – the word derives from two Greek roots meaning "last" () and "study" (-) – involves the study of "end things", whether of ...

, adhering to the

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

school of Christian eschatology. He believed that historical events such as 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 ...

and the Great Famine of Ireland had fulfilled

prophecies In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

contained in the

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Books of

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

and

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

. He preached that the sixth vial of judgment (discussed in Revelation 16) had been poured out in 1820. Cumming therefore taught that

Judgment Day The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

would occur some time between 1848 and 1867.

Works

''Speech ... at the annual meeting of the Reformation society, 2d of May, 1839''

''A short statement of the origin and nature of the present divisions in the Church of Scotland''
1840.
''A preservative against popery, Volume I''
1848.
''God in history, or, Facts illustrative of the presence & providence of God in the Affairs of Men''
1852. *
Book of Genesis: Volume 1 of Sabbath Morning Readings on the Old Testament
' (1864)
''Apocalyptic Sketches: Lectures on the Book of Revelation''
1854.
''Sabbath evening readings on the New Testament''
1854.
''Voices of the Night''
1854.
''Lectures on Romanism: being illustrations and refutations of the errors of Romanism and Tractarianism''
1854.
''Prophetic studies: Lectures on the book of Daniel''
1854.
''Sabbath morning readings on the Old Testament: Book of Exodus''
1854.
''The church before the flood''
1854.
''Benedictions: or, The blessed life''
1854.
''The tent and the altar: or, Sketches from patriarchial life''
1854.
''Foreshadows: Lectures on our Lord's miracles''
1854.
''The comforter, or, Thoughts on the influence of the Holy Spirit''
1854.
''Voices of the dead''
1854
''The end: or, The proximate signs of the close of this dispensation''
1855.
''The daily life: or, Precepts and prescriptions for Christian living''
1855.
''Signs of the times: or, Present, past, and future''
1855.
''Twelve urgent questions: personal, practical, and pointed''
1855.
''Infant salvation: or, all saved that die in infancy''
1855.
''Foreshadows: Lecture's on Our Lord's Parables''
1856.
''The last of the patriarchs: or, Lessons chiefly from the life of Josep''
1856.
''Cumming's minor works''
1856.
''Apocalyptic sketches: Lectures on the seven churches of Asia Minor''
1858.
''Voices of the Day''
1858.
''Sabbath morning readings on the Old Testament. The first and second books of Samuel''
1859.
''Sabbath evening readings on the New Testament. Colossians and Thessalonians''
1859
''Sabbath morning readings on the Old Testament. The book of Daniel''
1860.
''The great tribulation: or, Things coming on the earth, Volume 1''
1860.
''Sabbath evening readings on the New Testament. Hebrews''
1861.
''Readings on the prophets. Isaiah''
1862.
''Moses Right and Bishop Colenso Wrong''
1863.
''Great tribulation: or, things coming on the earth''
1863.
''The great consummation: the millennial rest; or, The world as it will be''
1863.
''Driftwood, seaweed, and fallen leaves'', Volume II
1863. * ''The Destiny of Nations as Indicated in Prophecy.'' London: Hurst & Blackett, 1864.
''The great preparation; or Redemption draweth nigh''
1864.
''The last warning cry: with reasons for the hope that is in me''
1867.
''Is Christianity from God? Or, A manual of Christian evidence''
1871.
''"Our Father", a manual of short family prayers
1871.
''When shall these things be? Or, Signs of the last times''
1878.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumming, John 1807 births 1881 deaths 19th-century apocalypticists Critics of the Catholic Church English Presbyterian ministers People from Aberdeenshire Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland