In terms of religious persecution rather than being an early modern version of the Taleban in Afghanistan, the Scottish Calvinists ran a society that was, for the times, remarkably tolerant and in which the Scottish Enlightenment flourished. His figure of thousands of women being burned at the State for being witches is to say the least speculative, as it his claim that homosexuals were burnt to death on Carlton Hill. They taught that only Christ could save them and that their own good works, including martyrdom, had nothing to do with it.

The Covenanters did not believe that martyrdom was a fast track to heaven. Likewise with the assertion that the Scottish Covenanters believed that they were on a ‘fast track to heavenly rewards’, an attempt to put them on a par with Islamist terrorists and their promise of 70 virgins awaiting them in paradise. If Chris Bambery had bothered to read their primary document, the Westminster Confession of Faith, he would have saved himself from making this embarrassing faux pas. They were New Testament Christians, who, whilst not disregarding the Old, knew that the Mosaic civil law was superseded by the New Testament. Scottish Presbyterians did not hold to the ‘rigid views’ of the Old Testament. No monarch can take the role of the King of Kings. It is a basic doctrine of Scottish Presbyterianism that the head of the Church is Christ. The Monarch did not remain the ‘head of the Church’. To equate it with the Paris murders is like saying that the French resistance were the Daesh of World War II! His assassination was part of a civil war and many in Scotland rejoiced at the death of a persecuting tyrant. Sharp was a member of a ruling class that persecuted, murdered and tortured those who dared to challenge their rule. Archbishop Sharp was responsible for the deaths of many Covenanters including eleven prisoners at Rullion Green who had surrendered on the promise of mercy. Space does not permit a catalogue of all his errors but to illustrate the point here are a few inconvenient truths. The demonization of 17th Century Scottish Calvinists as the Daesh of their day may suit the prejudices of 21 st Century atheistic secularists today (‘look at how we have advanced away from religion, if only these poor ignorant Arab Muslims could become as enlightened as we are), but it is historically illiterate and logically absurd.Ĭhris is entitled to have his own opinions, but he is not entitled to have his own facts. We Should Celebrate, not Demonise the Scottish CovenantersĬhris Bambery’s article in The National is an interesting rewrite of Scottish history. I reproduce my article in full, the parts in bold, are the parts they did not print.

I also find it interesting the ‘editing’ that the National did to my article. It was a piece greeted with general ridicule by people who actually know anything about the subject (as evidenced by the letters accompanying my article). A piece which was welcomed by the historically illiterate secularist atheists only because it fitted their prejudices. It is in response to a silly piece which tried to equate the Covenanters with ISIS. I have an article with the above headline published in The National today.

Protesters and resolutioners