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Ralph Erskine (minister)

Ralph Erskine
Portrait of Ralph Erskine by Richard Waitt
Personal details
Born	(1685-03-18)18 March 1685
Died	6 November 1752(1752-11-06) (aged 67)
Buried	Dunfermline
Nationality	Scottish
Denomination	(1) Church of Scotland (2) Secession Church (3) Burgher Seceder
Occupation	poet minister

Part of a series on
The Marrow Controversy
Origin of the First Secession from the Kirk of Scotland
Background Auchterarder Creed Marrow of Modern Divinity Edward Fisher
Marrow Brethren Thomas Boston James Hog Ebenezer Erskine Robert Riccaltoun Ralph Erskine Associate Presbytery
Opponents Neonomians James Hadow General Assembly
Doctrines Republication of the Covenant of Works Assurance Free offer of the gospel Covenant theology Law and Gospel
Topics Antinomianism Legalism Sola fide Repentance
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Ralph Erskine (18 March 1685 – 6 November 1752) was a Scottish churchman.^[1]

Ralph Erskine was the son of Henry Erskine. He was also the younger brother of another prominent churchman, Ebenezer Erskine.

He was chaplain and tutor to the 'Black' Col. John Erskine from 1705 to 1709. After studying at the University of Edinburgh, Ralph was ordained assistant minister at Dunfermline in 1711. He ratified the protests which his brother laid on the table of the assembly after being rebuked for his synod sermon, but he did not formally withdraw from the establishment till 1737.

He was also present at, though not a member of, the first meeting of the "associate presbytery". When the severance took place over the oath administered to burgesses, he adhered, along with his brother, to the burgher section.

His works consist of sermons, poetical paraphrases and gospel sonnets. The Gospel Sonnets have frequently appeared separately. His Life and Diary, edited by the Rev. D Fraser, was published in 1834.

There is a larger than life size bronze statue of Ralph Erskine on a pedestal, not far from the High Street in the centre of Dunfermline.^[2]

He was a Free Gardener being Initiated in the Dunfermline Lodge of Free Gardeners in 1721.^[3]

• "Faith, without trouble or fighting, is a suspicious faith; for true faith is a fighting, wrestling faith." – Ralph Erskine, 1733
• "A rigid matter was the law,
  demanding brick, denying straw,
  But when with gospel tongue it sings,
  it bids me fly and gives me wings"
  – Ralph Erskine^[4]

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Erskine, Ralph". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 755–756. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Fraser, Donald (1834). The life and diary of the Reverend Ralph Erskine, A.M., of Dunfermline, one of the founders of the secession church. Edinburgh: William Oliphant.
• Gordon, Alexander (1889). "Erskine, Ralph". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 17. London: Smith, Elder & Co. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Harper, James; Eadie, John; Lindsay, William (1849). Lives of Ebenezer Erskine, William Wilson, and Thomas Gillespie, Fathers of the United Presbyterian Church. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton & Co.
• MacEwen, A.R. (1900). The Erskines (Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine). Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier.
• McCrie, C. G. (1893). The Free Church of Scotland : her ancestry, her claims, and her conflicts. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. pp. 59-60. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
• McKerrow, John (1839a). History of the Secession Church. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Son. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
• McKerrow, John (1839b). History of the Secession Church. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Son. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
• Scott, Hew (1923). Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. Vol. 4. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. p. 364. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Scott, Hew (1925). Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. Vol. 5. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. pp. 30-32. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Small, Robert (1904a). History of the congregations of the United Presbyterian Church, from 1733 to 1900. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: David M. Small. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
• Small, Robert (1904b). History of the congregations of the United Presbyterian Church, from 1733 to 1900. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: David M. Small. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
• Thomson, Andrew; Struthers, Gavin (1858). Historical sketch of the origin of the Secession Church and the History of the rise of the Relief Church. Edinburgh and London: A. Fullerton and Co. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
• Young, David; Brown, John (1849). Memorials of Alexander Moncrieff, M.A., and James Fisher, fathers of the United Presbyterian Church. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton.

• Works by or about Ralph ErskineatInternet Archive
• Works by Ralph ErskineatLibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

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