Book Review
W. Stanford Reid: An Evangelical Calvinist in the Academy
By Jeff McDonald, The Layman Online, June 1, 2005
A. Donald MacLeod; W. Stanford Reid: An Evangelical Calvinist in the Academy (Montreal; McGill-Queen’s University Press; 2004; 403 pages)
Harold Shapiro, the recently retired president of Princeton University, once commented that one of the greatest classes he ever took in college was a class in intellectual history taught by W. Stanford Reid at McGill University in Montreal.
Reid (1913-1996) was a distinguished professor of history and a key evangelical leader in the Presbyterian Church of Canada during the second half of the twentieth century.
Growing up in Quebec, where his father was a Presbyterian pastor, Reid earned two degrees from McGill before moving to the United States to study under the famous Presbyterian scholar J. Gresham Machen. Later, Reid claimed that it was Machen who had the greatest influence on his life.
After receiving his doctorate in history from the University of Pennsylvania, Reid returned to Canada where he served as a part-time pastor while teaching history at McGill. Soon, he became a full-time professor, teaching history for 24 years, before moving to the University of Guelph (Ontario). There, he set up a history department and a Scottish studies program.
MacLeod shows that Reid was a tremendous encourager to Christian students and scholars throughout his career. In addition, he wrote many articles and books on Presbyterian history and the Reformation, as well as one of the most significant biographies of Scottish Reformer John Knox.
Even though he was one of the most learned historians of the Scottish Reformation, many liberals in the Presbyterian Church of Canada referred to him simply as “that fundamentalist” because of his opposition to liberal church officials and scholars. As a combative and often despised evangelical, he was passed over numerous times for church history professorships in church seminaries.
Despite being ostracized by his denomination on many occasions, Reid refused to leave and, in fact, made lasting contributions to the evangelical wing of his denomination. He worked with evangelicals, confessional conservatives, and Barthians to form a coalition in the denomination that worked for renewal and reformation. He also helped and worked with lay people frustrated by the liberalism of church bureaucrats and denominational leaders.
Reid also edited an evangelical Presbyterian magazine titled The Presbyterian Comment from 1960 to 1979, and had an impact on American evangelicalism by serving as an editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine for many years.
Reid believed that the study of history could be of immense help to evangelical movements within liberal denominations. He once said, “What we should do is become better acquainted with the history of the church that it may encourage us, strengthen us, and build us up in our knowledge of the Scriptures and of the doctrines of the gospel of God.”
This is a well-written and thoroughly researched biography that discusses in detail Reid’s life, thought and contributions to church reform. MacLeod’s biography helps us understand the rich history of evangelical Presbyterianism in both Canada and the United States. As evangelical Presbyterians seek to reform the Presbyterian Church (USA), they can look to Reid’s life and accomplishments to gain inspiration, confidence and courage.