Modern British Heresy

William Angus Knight ( wiki ) was Minister of St Enoch’s Church , Dundee in the Free Church of Scotland though he was more an academic than a local minister. In 1872 he offended his presbytery by accepting an invitation from his friend, the Rev James Martineau ( wiki ), and preaching in his Unitarian Church. The invitation to preach did not come out of the blue: the men had known one another for some years and had long corresponded on their theological differences. (Newcastle Daily Chronicle - Friday 12 July 1872 p2 col 6-7) Knight was not accused of heresy itself, but of causing offence by publicly associating with and, at least by implication, endorsing a renowned heretic. Knight is included in this blog mostly because I found his story interesting in itself and in particular because his case comes closer than any other I have so far found to drawing a border in the sands between who was and was not a heretic. (He wasn’t.) The course of events Knight preached in Martineau’s church on

On Saturday 11th April, 1896, the Bishop of Limerick, Edward O’Dwyer, charged the Rev Richard Henry Cotter, incumbent of Kildimo, County Limerick ( wiki ), with having deliberately avowed and maintained that 1) the baptism of infants was not agreeable with Scripture, and should not be retained by the Church;  2) that, following his own logic, Rev Cotter had himself baptised publicly within a service of worship in the Baptist House of Prayer, in Limerick;  3) That he failed to baptise “ the child of Isaac Langrill, a parishioner of Kildino, though requested to do so by its parents.” Cotter had published his views in: Deliberate Steps towards Hell Fire!!! now being made by Freemason sorcerers, Episcopalian idolaters, and Government liars-and inevitable political ruin! (1886) I have not found a copy online.  He had also described the martyred Roman Catholic Archbishop, Plunket, as “as a member of the blaspheming scorpion Freemasons, the Grand Pontiff scorpion president of the Synod.” (Pl