History

The Scottish Tyndale Fellowship (STF) was initiated in 1958 under the inspiration of R. A. Finlayson and G. W. Grogan and, as the name of the new body suggests, it was associated with the Tyndale Fellowship south of the border.

While relations with the Tyndale Fellowship have always been friendly and helpful, by the late 1970s our colleagues south of the Tweed-Solway line became concerned that the disparity between the two bodies sharing a common brand was confusing. … So in 1981 the Scottish Tyndale Fellowship became the Scottish Evangelical Theology Society (SETS). At the same time the Scottish Tyndale Bulletin metamorphosed into the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology (SBET) in partnership with Rutherford House which was founded that year by William Still and Sinclair Ferguson.

The 30th anniversary of the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology in 2012 provided an opportunity for some reflection. In the first number of the Bulletin that year, Fergus Macdonald—then Chairman of SETS—provided a ‘Guest Editorial’ in which he looked back to the origins of the Bulletin and the Society which founded it. The lines quoted above come from its opening paragraphs.

The histories of the Society and its Bulletin are inextricably linked. Although a few years have passed since that anniversary, Dr Macdonald’s ‘Guest Editorial’ remains well worth reading. His article not only fills in the back story very nicely, it also takes a judicious look at the theological contours in Scotland over these years.