James Philip, minister of Holyrood Abbey Church, Edinburgh (from 1958 to 1997), had probably the most searing intellect of his generation in the Church of Scotland. He was a humble man, warm in his pastoral concern, and much loved in the CUs.
His output was prolific; many of his sermons and Bible reading notes (covering the whole Bible) are on the web (http://www.proctrust.org.uk, http://www.thetron.org). He loved the arts, classics and music, drawing on their grand themes to illustrate Scripture. There was something of the Apostle Paul’s burden upon him as he climbed the pulpit steps; he yearned to present everyone mature in Christ.
In the Calvinist tradition, he taught the whole Bible to build the whole Christian. His preaching reflected his sheer hard work in preparation. Bibles open in front of us, we engaged with him as he expounded the text. It was a thrilling experience, and we were stretched intellectually, and in our grasp of spiritual truth.
