Charles Strong
Encyclopedia
Charles Strong was a Scottish
-born Australia
n preacher and first minister of the Australian Church
.
, Ayrshire
, Scotland. Strong was educated at the Ayr Academy
, Glasgow Academy, and in Arts and Divinity at the University of Glasgow
1859-67 (hon. LL.D., 1887). John Caird had become Professor of Divinity in 1863 and was the principal influence on Strong. Caird was known as an attractive preacher but his theology was much influenced by G.W.H. Hegel
, the German idealist philosopher. After some months experience as a private tutor 1867, Strong was licensed as a preacher on 2 October 1867 and became an assistant at Dalmellington, Ayrshire. On 7 October 1868 he was ordained to the Old North Kirk at Greenock which was then a chapel under the oversight of the Old West Kirk. On 16 March 1871 he was inducted to Anderston Parish Church in Glasgow
where Professor Caird also attended.
In 1872 Strong married Janet Julia Fullarton (daughter of Archibald Fairrie Denniston); they would have three daughters and five sons together.
, Collins Street
Melbourne
, Australia
, replacing Irving Hetherington. Strong and his family arrived on 23 August 1875.
Strong's ministry was a success and he became known as one of the leading preachers in Melbourne. He emphasised practical Christianity. The Scots' Church Convalescents' Aid Society was formed in 1879, followed by the Scots' Church District Association in 1881. Its major work was the care of neglected children (continued today as Kildonan Uniting Care).
Strong's liberal views on theological matters, however, led to suspicion by some in the Presbyterian Church. In 1880 attention was called in the presbytery to a paper submitted by Strong titled "The Atonement" which appeared in the Victorian Review; a committee appointed to investigate the article reported that some passages required explanation. The charges appeared to some to have been tenuous, one of his principal accusers said of one passage that "the words were perfectly harmless in themselves but conveyed an impression of unsoundness to his mind". By most they were seen as inadequate given his obligation to assert, maintain and defend the doctrine of the Presbyterian Church. Of course Strong had come from a relatively liberal Church of Scotland to a church that was the result of a union in 1859 including Free Church of Scotland
and United Presbyterian
ministers. What might have passed in Scotland without great upheaval was likely to take a different turn in Victoria.
With continuing friction in the presbytery, Strong tendered his resignation on 8 August 1881; however he agreed to take six months leave instead at the request of church officers and the congregation. Strong left his family in Melbourne and visited Scotland from March to October 1882 after a speech by a Scots Church elder, J. C. Stewart, reignited attacks on him.
On Strong's return to Melbourne he was admonished by the presbytery for supporting the opening of the Public Library and Art Gallery on Sundays. With George Selth Coppin
in 1883, Strong promoted lodging-houses.
In August 1883 Strong was chairman at a meeting of the Scots' Church Literary Association when Judge Higinbotham
gave a lecture on 'Science and Religion', and Strong was attacked again. At the meeting Strong dissociated himself front some of Higinbotham's statements, and later on replied to them in a sermon. Strong was, however, charged with promulgating unsound and heretical doctrine and he resigned from the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and as minister of the Scots' Church, although by the law of the church these could not be accepted while charges were pending.
On the 14 November 1883 a large number of his friends met at the Melbourne Town Hall
to express their sympathy with Strong and to present him with cheque for £3000. On that evening he received an invitation from the Presbyterian assembly to attend and disavow all complicity with the doctrines of the lecture and declare his faith in the true deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the propitiatory character of his death and the real resurrection of his body from the dead. Strong, who was on the eve of his departure to Europe
declined to attend, and the assembly passed a motion the day after his departure declaring him no longer a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, by a vote of 136 to 6. The procedure was hardly regular.
Strong returned to Melbourne in October 1884; in November 1885 the Australian Church was founded and he was invited become its first minister. A large church was built in Flinders Street, Melbourne
, and for several years Strong had a congregation of about 1,000, but was in trouble in the 1890s. For various reasons, including difficulties with his assistants, the economic sitiuation and Strong's sympathy for the manual workers, the richer members of his congregation dropped away and in 1922 a smaller church was built in Russell Street
. Strong ministered there to the end of his life, in his last years accepting no salary.
Strong founded the first crèche in Australia at Collingwood
, one of the poorer suburbs of Melbourne, was an earnest supporter of the Anti-Sweating League
, the Criminology Society, the Peace Society, and other organisations for social reform. Strong was unselfish; when an admirer left him £250 he immediately sent it to Dr Maloney for his milk for children fund.
, on 12 February 1942, aged 97. Strong was survived by five sons and two daughters.
Strong's published works included Unsectarian Services for Use in Schools and Families (1888), Church Worship (1892), Christianity Re-interpreted and other Sermons (1894), and various separate addresses and sermons. From 1887 until his death Strong edited a monthly periodical known variously as Our Good Words (1887-89), The Australian Herald (1889-1908) and The Commonweal (1908-42). Strong received the degree of Doctor of Divinity
from the University of Glasgow
for his thesis upon the "Doctrine of the Atonement". Strong always claimed "that he was neither an iconoclast
nor an innovator. Changes were taking place in modern thought and if he prepared his people for them it was that they might be strengthened in the faith".
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n preacher and first minister of the Australian Church
Australian Church
The Australian Church was founded by Dr. Charles Strong at Melbourne in 1884.Strong was a Presbyterian minister who, previously, had been charged with heresy because of his liberal theology. The Australian Church had a firm commitment to social justice and had been active in the anti-conscription...
.
Early life
Strong was the third son of the Rev. David Strong and Margaret Paterson, née Roxburgh, and was born at DaillyDailly
Dailly is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the Water of Girvan, south of Maybole, and east of Old Dailly. "New Dailly", as it was originally known, was laid out in the 1760s as a coal-mining village...
, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, Scotland. Strong was educated at the Ayr Academy
Ayr Academy
Ayr Academy is a non-denominational secondary school situated in the centre of the town of Ayr in South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children from the ages of 11 to 18 from Ayr. Ayr Academy's catchment area covers Newton-on-Ayr, Whitletts and the outlying villages of Coylton, Annbank,...
, Glasgow Academy, and in Arts and Divinity at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
1859-67 (hon. LL.D., 1887). John Caird had become Professor of Divinity in 1863 and was the principal influence on Strong. Caird was known as an attractive preacher but his theology was much influenced by G.W.H. Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
, the German idealist philosopher. After some months experience as a private tutor 1867, Strong was licensed as a preacher on 2 October 1867 and became an assistant at Dalmellington, Ayrshire. On 7 October 1868 he was ordained to the Old North Kirk at Greenock which was then a chapel under the oversight of the Old West Kirk. On 16 March 1871 he was inducted to Anderston Parish Church in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
where Professor Caird also attended.
In 1872 Strong married Janet Julia Fullarton (daughter of Archibald Fairrie Denniston); they would have three daughters and five sons together.
Australia
In May 1875 Strong was chosen as pastor for the Scots' ChurchScots' Church, Melbourne
The Scots' Church, a Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia, was the first Presbyterian Church to be built in the Port Phillip District . It is located in Collins Street and is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia...
, Collins Street
Collins Street, Melbourne
Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, replacing Irving Hetherington. Strong and his family arrived on 23 August 1875.
Strong's ministry was a success and he became known as one of the leading preachers in Melbourne. He emphasised practical Christianity. The Scots' Church Convalescents' Aid Society was formed in 1879, followed by the Scots' Church District Association in 1881. Its major work was the care of neglected children (continued today as Kildonan Uniting Care).
Strong's liberal views on theological matters, however, led to suspicion by some in the Presbyterian Church. In 1880 attention was called in the presbytery to a paper submitted by Strong titled "The Atonement" which appeared in the Victorian Review; a committee appointed to investigate the article reported that some passages required explanation. The charges appeared to some to have been tenuous, one of his principal accusers said of one passage that "the words were perfectly harmless in themselves but conveyed an impression of unsoundness to his mind". By most they were seen as inadequate given his obligation to assert, maintain and defend the doctrine of the Presbyterian Church. Of course Strong had come from a relatively liberal Church of Scotland to a church that was the result of a union in 1859 including Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
and United Presbyterian
United Presbyterian Church of Scotland
The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which in turn united with...
ministers. What might have passed in Scotland without great upheaval was likely to take a different turn in Victoria.
With continuing friction in the presbytery, Strong tendered his resignation on 8 August 1881; however he agreed to take six months leave instead at the request of church officers and the congregation. Strong left his family in Melbourne and visited Scotland from March to October 1882 after a speech by a Scots Church elder, J. C. Stewart, reignited attacks on him.
On Strong's return to Melbourne he was admonished by the presbytery for supporting the opening of the Public Library and Art Gallery on Sundays. With George Selth Coppin
George Selth Coppin
George Selth Coppin was a comic actor, entrepreneur and politician, active in Australia.-Early life:Coppin was born at Steyning, Sussex, England, son of George Selth Coppin and Elizabeth Jane, née Jackson. His grandfather had been a well-known clergyman at Norwich...
in 1883, Strong promoted lodging-houses.
In August 1883 Strong was chairman at a meeting of the Scots' Church Literary Association when Judge Higinbotham
George Higinbotham
George Higinbotham was a politician and was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria.-Early life:...
gave a lecture on 'Science and Religion', and Strong was attacked again. At the meeting Strong dissociated himself front some of Higinbotham's statements, and later on replied to them in a sermon. Strong was, however, charged with promulgating unsound and heretical doctrine and he resigned from the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and as minister of the Scots' Church, although by the law of the church these could not be accepted while charges were pending.
On the 14 November 1883 a large number of his friends met at the Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall is the central municipal building of the City of Melbourne, Australia, in the State of Victoria. It is located on the northeast corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, in the central business district. It is the seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Melbourne...
to express their sympathy with Strong and to present him with cheque for £3000. On that evening he received an invitation from the Presbyterian assembly to attend and disavow all complicity with the doctrines of the lecture and declare his faith in the true deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the propitiatory character of his death and the real resurrection of his body from the dead. Strong, who was on the eve of his departure to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
declined to attend, and the assembly passed a motion the day after his departure declaring him no longer a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, by a vote of 136 to 6. The procedure was hardly regular.
Strong returned to Melbourne in October 1884; in November 1885 the Australian Church was founded and he was invited become its first minister. A large church was built in Flinders Street, Melbourne
Flinders Street, Melbourne
Flinders Street is a notable street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Running roughly parallel to the Yarra River, Flinders Street forms the southern edge of the Hoddle Grid. It is exactly one mile in length and one and half chains in width...
, and for several years Strong had a congregation of about 1,000, but was in trouble in the 1890s. For various reasons, including difficulties with his assistants, the economic sitiuation and Strong's sympathy for the manual workers, the richer members of his congregation dropped away and in 1922 a smaller church was built in Russell Street
Russell Street, Melbourne
Russell Street is a north-south street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia, part of the Hoddle Grid laid out in 1837. At its southern end it intersects with Flinders Street and Federation Square, while at its northern end it becomes Lygon Street, a street famous for its...
. Strong ministered there to the end of his life, in his last years accepting no salary.
Strong founded the first crèche in Australia at Collingwood
Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, one of the poorer suburbs of Melbourne, was an earnest supporter of the Anti-Sweating League
Anti-sweatshop
Anti-Sweatshop refers to campaigning movements to improve the conditions of workers in Sweatshops, i.e. manufacturing places characterized by low wages, poor working conditions and often child labor...
, the Criminology Society, the Peace Society, and other organisations for social reform. Strong was unselfish; when an admirer left him £250 he immediately sent it to Dr Maloney for his milk for children fund.
Late life and legacy
Still active in mind and body, Strong died after a fall at Lorne, VictoriaLorne, Victoria
Lorne is a seaside town on Louttit Bay in Victoria, Australia. It is situated about the Erskine River and is a popular destination on the Great Ocean Road tourist route...
, on 12 February 1942, aged 97. Strong was survived by five sons and two daughters.
Strong's published works included Unsectarian Services for Use in Schools and Families (1888), Church Worship (1892), Christianity Re-interpreted and other Sermons (1894), and various separate addresses and sermons. From 1887 until his death Strong edited a monthly periodical known variously as Our Good Words (1887-89), The Australian Herald (1889-1908) and The Commonweal (1908-42). Strong received the degree of Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
from the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
for his thesis upon the "Doctrine of the Atonement". Strong always claimed "that he was neither an iconoclast
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
nor an innovator. Changes were taking place in modern thought and if he prepared his people for them it was that they might be strengthened in the faith".
External links
- Rev. Charles Strong (1844-1942) Gravesite at Brighton General Cemetery (Vic)