Life of the Rev. William Anderson, LL.D. By George Gilfillan.
(Hodder and Stoughton.)—The biography of a man who has been for some years an admired preacher in a large town will always find a sufficiently numerous circle of readers. These have a right to some permanent record of what is very probably one of the most elevated and beneficial experiences of their lives ; nor have those who stand out- side any cause to complain. The biography of an honest man, even if' he be in no way above the average, is more useful and probably more entertaining than two-thirds of the volumes which are published. Dr. W. Anderson was a minister of the United Presbyterian community, somewhat inclined to take a line of his own, as regarded outward things, such as the introduction of organs into Presbyterian worship, and the practice of reading in the pulpit, but following pretty closely in the old paths of orthodoxy. "He could not be called a Broad Churchman," says his biographer, " and his opinions about the Canon inspiration and other vexed questions of the aay were, with perhaps a few modifications, those of his clerical neighbours His views on the Atonement had always been liberal." What an extraordinary expression this is, "liberal views on the Atonement," when we come to think what the Atonement really is ! The chief doctrinal peculiarity about him seems to have been his Millenarianism. He seems to have been a man of kindly and genial temper, and the picture which his biographer,- who lays on the colours with commendable moderation, draws, is interesting and attractive. The volume is primarily, of course, intended for the circle of friends and admirers, but it is not unworthy of a wider circulation.
Previous page
