The Irish Presbyterian Mind
Conservative Theology, Evangelical Experience, and Modern Criticism, 1830-1930
Andrew R. Holmes
Reviews and Awards
"Often only seen in stereotypical terms, Irish Presbyterians have now found a worthy expositor in Andrew R. Holmes ... It turns out there were some remarkable and unexpected things going on in the Irish Presbyterian mind." - Timothy Larsen, Times Literary Supplement
"Holmes's achievement in providing this thoughtful analysis of the Presbyterian Churchs institutions and clergy in turn points toward the importance of further study to explore the varied lay cultures of Irish Presbyterians." - Graeme Murdock, Trinity College Dublin, Journal of Reformed Theology
"...this superb volume should be required reading." - Alvin Jackson, University of Edinburgh, Irish Historical Studies
"Throughout, the book highlights the elasticity of 'conservative evangelicalism' and the needed recovery of confessional categories." - Stephen Steele, The Banner of Truth Magazine
"Andrew Holmes provides a much welcome historical perspective on high-level theological debates in PCI during a crucial period. . . . The Irish Presbyterian Mind is a welcome addition to scholarship that takes religion seriously as religion, and not merely a social-cultural phenomenon that it is subservient to political aspirations." - Gladys Ganiel, Queen's University - Belfast, Slugger O'Toole
"This new book...will be of wide interest at a time when many in the Church are having to ask hard questions about our ambitions to play a leading role in society." - Herald, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Magazine
"The Irish Presbyterian Mind is nevertheless a significant contribution to our understanding of the making of modern Ireland, and especially of Ulster. It is a major achievement, that Holmes has completed despite the (surprising) paucity of manuscript sources and the inaccessibility of the some of the records (including much of the Davey Collection, which is important for 20th-century developments and post-Partition attitudes to social and economic - as well as theological - issues)." - Professor Eugenio F Biagini, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, The Irish Times