The Cooneyites at Work in the Highlands.
A friend has called attention to the fact that this sect are at work in certain parts of the Highlands. The originator of this cult was a Mr. William Weir Irvine, a Scotsman who went to Ireland over fifty years ago as a preacher in connection with the Faith Mission. He afterwards started an independent mission on his own lines at Nenagh, County Tipperary. He was afterwards joined by Edward Cooney, hence the name Cooneyites. They have been sometimes designated “Go-Preachers” and “Tramp-Preachers.” They go in pairs (preferring the country districts to the towns), without money, purse or scrip, and tramp from place to place, claiming to obey Christ’s words to His disciples in Matt. x. 7: “As ye go, preach;” hence the name “Go-Preachers.” Every profession of conversion through other instrumentality than their own is regarded as Satanic. When they come to a place they say they belong to no sect and are come to preach the gospel in the “Jesus Way.” It would take more space than we have at our disposal at present to state some of their teaching on the human nature of Christ, the atonement and regeneration; on all of which they have views that are contrary to Scriptures; but we take this opportunity of directing attention to a very useful book for our ministers, students, and people generally—W. C. Irvine’s Heresies Exposed (Pickering and Inglis, Glasgow) in which this heresy and many other modern heresies are dealt with and exposed.
Queen Astrid.
The Protestant Woman makes the following comment on the late Queen Astrid:—”While deeply sympathising with the Royal House of Belgium in the tragic accident that snatched Queen Astrid from those who loved her, it must not be forgotten that she was reared in the Lutheran faith. She came to Belgium as a Protestant, and for four years stood fast. In 1930, a month before the birth of her son, unhappily she joined the Church of Rome. The love that bound her to her husband no doubt caused her to falter, and in the end death came to her in a car steered by him. It is sad to find that Protestant representatives of the Royal Houses of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and our own Duke of York were present at the funeral Mass, though good to know that no members of the Royal Family attended the Mass at Westminster. May God grant unto us all courage to stand bravely for the right; and may He bring blessing to the land of Belgium through this tragedy!”
Decrease of Funds in Church of Scotland since the Union.
At a meeting of the Edinburgh Presbytery of the Church of Scotland held at the beginning of October it was reported that the minimum stipend of £300 was in danger as the Maintenance of the Ministry Fund showed an alarming decrease. It was pointed out that yearly decreases had been recorded ever since the Union (1929). The decrease covering the years 1929-1935 amounted to £29,000. It was decided to circulate printed statements among their congregations as to state of the Fund.
Sabbath Football.
When the Rev. M’Intosh Mowat submitted the report of the Church and Nation Committee to Dundee Presbytery the Rev. D. H. Soutar, Tayport, as reported in the press, admitted that he himself had played “Sunday” football under certain circumstances. He is reported as saying: “It seemed rather difficult to condemn out of hand a sport which was perfectly harmless in itself, involving no labour, not so much as ministers some-times involved who went in ‘buses and trams on ‘Sunday.”” Comment is needless.
Sabbath Excursions.
At the above meeting the Rev. M. Mowat called attention to gambling by young men every Sabbath afternoon. “It is a disgrace to our city,” he added, “and so are the football games which are frequently played there on a ‘Sunday’ afternoon. The whole countryside is flooded with excursion trains and ‘buses on ‘Sundays,’ simply because when these were first mooted the Church did not protest with the authority and power which are inherent in her divine calling. The Committee would remind the Town Council that all Sunday concerts must be for charitable purposes and that the programmes must be of an elevating and sacred character. There is undoubtedly a tendency for music and song of the dancing variety to creep into these programmes,” he added. It is sad to think that such a state of things should exist in the city that had such honoured servants of Christ as Willison and MacCheyne.
Reputation Assassins.
The Americans who are clever at coining phrases have coined the above to describe those who recklessly set themselves to blacken the reputation of respectable men. The phrase is not common on this side of the Atlantic though the practice it describes is common enough. These reputation assassins usually do their work where they are free, or imagine themselves to be free, from attack. It has been well said: “Tell me who your enemies are and I will tell you your character.” If this be applied to the Free Presbyterian Church then she need not hang her head. We have been able to track to their dens a few of her detractors. It was with no pleasure we made the discoveries and were it not for certain reasons something more might be said about these detractors of the Free Presbyterian Church. These busybodies were not sufficiently expert in concealing their trails. We are on the track of others. Anonymity cannot always hide.
Origin of the Free Presbyterian Church.
A copy of the Northern Times (Golspie) has been sent us containing an unsigned and uninitialed article under the above heading. The writer among other stupid things seriously gives “an authenticated case of a good woman” who when asked her reason for seceding from the Free Church said: “Was it not high time to leave? for if we had accepted of the Declaratory Act, Duncan might have eight wives and I might have eight husbands and none of us could find fault with the other.” This is the kind of rubbish printed by the Northern Times and published broadcast to its readers. It seems almost incredible in this enlightened twentieth century that any man writing the history of the origin of a Presbyterian denomination would be so left to himself as to pen such stuff. He must have rated the intelligence of the editor at a very low level and the editor must have reckoned his readers as simpletons indeed when he served up such rubbish for their consumption. We may, if space permit, have something more to say about modern church history as served up in the Northern Times. Meantime let us say, our readers know that the origin of our church is set forth in authentic printed documents that it is very different from the above.