Podcast appearances and mentions of John Sergeant

  Documentary Filmaker John Edginton Len first discovered John's documentaries, finding John's interview with Col. Fletcher Prouty. Intrigued, Len discovers John's library of interviews, including a BBC film on Martin Luther King. John started out as a journalist, worked as a print journalist in the early 80's, then got involved in TV. Worked on a TV series with a new television station in the UK, channel 4, promoting independence. John's big break as a filmmaker happened when in 1989 he interviewed James Earl Ray. James was in prison in East Tennessee at Brushy Mountain Prison near Knoxville. John wrote to James, asking permission from Ray to visit the prison & interview him. The prison & James agreed with the prison requesting that John not bring any recording devices. John was able to spend 4 hours interviewing James Earl Ray, without any security whatsoever. The more John talked to James he realized James was a patsy. John managed to persuade the BBC into helping fund the documentary with James Earl Ray. John & his colleague friend, researcher John Sergeant from the UK, toured the US for six months. John ended up meeting Fletcher Prouty and others during their intense tour recording interviews. Full interview with James Earl Ray Video Here At this time Dr. William Pepper was just beginning to be involved in James Earl Ray’s case. What extent was the government involved in the assassination of Martin Luther King? Col. Prouty was a wonderful source of information on deep state covert operations. Col. Fletcher Prouty interview Watch Video Here It took years for John to realize the value of his interview with Col. Fletcher Prouty. The BBC junked the documentary, but John had VHS copies he was able to recover. The documenatry "Who Killed Martin Luther King" Watch Here Len remembers watching John's documentary on Chappaquiddick when it was featured by Bill Kurtis. Everything that Col. Fletcher wrote in his book 'The Secret Team' was all about the deep state. David Ratcliffe interviewed Prouty for his book 'Understanding Special Operations'. Len was impressed seeing John's documentaries on Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, David Gilmour etc.. John's documentaries are unfiltered interviews, 'over coffee talk', completely unscripted. People told John that David Gilmour would never let him into his house, but he was fascinated by John. Len enjoys the long form interviews, that aren't rushed, similar of Joe Rogan's interview style. John has managed to capture many artists as they talked about their craft without censorship. Len found a great value in watching John's list of older interviews, including Genesis & Phil Collins! John recently found the Boiler Girl interview & uploaded it to his channel. Why did they never have an autopsy on Mary Joe Kopecky? People are really interested in all of the raw material. Kamala Harris recently had a 60 minute interview, but it was edited to 45 minutes. Why? When 'The Men Who Killed Kennedy' came out, it was a big deal, Len recalls watching the episodes. Fletcher Prouty was the 'authentic eyewitness' from inside the Pentagon. No contradictions. John recommends his 1996 HBO documentary 'Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt?' Please visit John Edginton's Youtube Channel Part Two starts at 31:23 Ray McGuinnis - Author and researcher Ray's website Unanswered Questions has a number of articles about 911 & the 2022 Trucker’s Convoy. Ray attended the 2022 Trucker's Convoy hearings at Ottawa in mid July. Mid January 2022 the Canadian government implemented illegal vaccine mandates on truckers. If the truck drivers did not have their Covid vaccines, mandatory 10 days quarantine upon entry. A 10 day quarantine requirement would mean truckers could only work 2-3 days a month. Protests were incited because of these illegal vaccine mandates being enforced on Ca...

Brian DeJong explores the history of Presbyterianism in Wisconsin by focusing on several key figures in the development Presbyterian churches in the area. In 1821, the Stockbridge Mohican Indians relocated to the Fox River area, just north of Appleton. These Indians had been under the Christian ministries of David Brainer, Jonathan Edwards, and John Sergeant in Massachusetts. They eventually moved to the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago. The Rev. Jesse Miner came to minister among them in 1825. Later, Mr. Cutting Marsh served among them as well. Rev. DeJong also describes the ministries of Rev. Moses Ordway and Stephen Peet in Green Bay and beyond and Pieter Zonne in what is known today as Cedar Grove. Overall, we gain a sense of the pioneering mindset and strong commitment to missions and church planting among these early Wisconsin Presbyterians. Links Henry Stephen Lucas, Netherlanders in America Robert P. Swierenga, Dutch Chicago: A History of the Hollanders in the Windy City Christ the Center episode 713, The Committee of Nine and Evangelicalism Stephen Peet, History of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches and Ministers in Wisconsin Christ the Center episode 339, Dutch Immigration and American Presbyterianism Brian DeJong Sunday school lesson on Presbyterians in Wisconsin

Brian DeJong explores the history of Presbyterianism in Wisconsin by focusing on several key figures in the development Presbyterian churches in the area. In 1821, the Stockbridge Mohican Indians relocated to the Fox River area, just north of Appleton. These Indians had been under the Christian ministries of David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, and John Sergeant […]

Looks Unfamiliar is a podcast in which writer and occasional broadcaster Tim Worthington talks to a guest about some of the things that they remember that nobody else ever seems to.Joining Tim this time is quiz expert David Smith, who's trying to recharge the remembering batteries for Have I Got Unbroadcastable News For You, Stranger In This Town by Richie Sambora, 28 Acts In 28 Minutes, the soundtrack from Billy Connolly's World Tour Of Australia, the Sega Game Gear, Grand Theft Auto Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set, Police Squad!, Bart Simpson's Guide To Life and Duck Tales The Movie - Treasure Of The Lost Lamp. Along the way we'll be finding out how to spot anyone doing the Have I Got News For You Walk Of Shame, querying the dictionary definition of 'Didactogreekophobia', revealing why Davro's Sketch Pad is official Star Wars canon, and debating how to react if you order John Sergeant and get sent John Humphrys by mistake instead.You can find more editions of Looks Unfamiliar at http://timworthington.org/.If you enjoy Looks Unfamiliar, you can help to support the show by buying us a coffee here. At least it'll be easier to carry around than a Sega Game Gear.

George Parker of the Financial Times is joined by the former chief whip and Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith MP and the Labour leader in the Lords, Angela Smith, who also speaks on Northern Ireland to discuss the Queen's Speech and rising tensions over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland. The former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP discusses the housing crisis and planning reform. Should there be a deal between the Liberal Democrats and Labour is debated by Labour MP for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw and Baroness Olly Grender, who runs the Lib Dem communications operation and has advised successive party leaders, including Paddy Ashdown. And as Chris Mason takes up his new job as BBC political editor, Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby and former ITN political editor John Sergeant look at the shifting demands of such a high profile role.

On this episode of Dan Wootton Uncancelled:US broadcasting superstar Megyn Kelly speaks about how on earth the Be Kind showbiz Hollywood loonies can ever claim moral superiority again, after actor Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock at The Oscars.Uncancelled sees Dan and columnist Rod Little discuss politicians ignoring basic biology when asked to define what a woman is.And, will justice be served over the horrific treatment of care homes during the pandemic? Ex-Coronation Street actress Leandra Ashton joins for her first interview since launching a new care home watchdog.Dan is also joined by revered political journalist John Sergeant, the activist and entrepreneur Adam Brooks and royal and political commentator Daisy McAndrew. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today's guest brings a set of wonders that have been heavily inspired by a highly successful career of more than 30 years. It's journalist, political correspondent and television broadcaster, John Sergeant.Taking a reflective look at his life and career, John's wonders range from a patriotic celebration of British life to real wonders of the world. It's a fascinating list that's not to be missed!**If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!** See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Polly Toynbee, John Sergeant & Alex Massie assess 6 months of Boris Johnson's leadership

Here we have another VP Candidate for the upcoming 1832 election. His story is a typical one! Except for maybe the canals thing? Yeah, I don't get the canals thing. Become a Patron!

The broadcaster and journalist John Sergeant joins fellow Strictly alumnus Aled to reflect on his career and choose musical favourites.

Mark Carruthers is joined by John Sergeant, Polly Toynbee and Guto Harri to talk communicating with the public during a pandemic.

In this four part documentary series, we explore how geology and landscapes have influenced the communities and cultures of the British Isles. We’ll discover what connects ice-age floods and the dialects we speak. And how pre-historic geological events can form the bedrock of community, or become the driving force behind neighbourhood feuds.   People’s Landscapes is hosted and presented by radio journalist, broadcaster and star of Strictly Come Dancing, John Sergeant; Horrible Histories writer Terry Deary; historian and broadcaster Eleanor Barraclough and Welsh broadcaster and actress Caryl Parry Jones.

Recent polling data and election results paint a picture of woe for Britain's two main political parties. Of course both Labour and the Conservatives have suffered periods of decline throughout their history. But arguably never before have both parties been so riven by internal divides and suffered such a loss of public confidence at the same time. Edward Stourton looks to historical precedents for guidance on today's political turmoil and asks if the two parties' decline is now terminal. With Tim Bale of Queen Mary University of London; Lord Lexden, official historian of the Conservative Party; Deborah Mattinson of Britain Thinks; Charlotte Lydia Riley of the University of Southampton; John Sergeant, former BBC Chief Political Correspondent; and Adrian Wooldrige, author of the "Bagehot" column at The Economist.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal," said Winston Churchill. The American satirist Joe Queenan thinks he might be wrong. In this archive hour follow up to his previous programmes on Blame, Shame, Anger and Irony, Queenan rails against the very idea of failure. His sharpest attack is reserved for the supposed romance of defeat. From Braveheart in Scotland via the heretic Cathars in France to the pretend soldiers in Virginia still re-enacting the American Civil War, Queenan explores whether there may be something noble about losing a war. "I'm in the south, at one of the many re-enactment battles of the American civil war that go on every year. Thousands have turned up to re-fight a war they lost. We don't do this in the north - it would be odd, and divisive, perhaps even inflammatory. But the memories of a conflict that took place over 150 years down here - they don't go away." This is the first of two archive programmes from Joe Queenan, with A Brief History of Lust coming next week. Failure features archive contributions from classics professor Edith Hall; historian Geoffrey Regan; writer Armando Iannucci; former political correspondent and Strictly star John Sergeant; plus music from Laura Marling, Viv Albertine of the Slits and rock and roll's greatest failure, John Otway. The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Former political correspondent, pasa doble specialist and now narrow boat enthusiast John Sergeant celebrates 50 years of broadcasting and reveal show he got his break into the industry Garden designer Juliet Sargeant tells us about her preparations for the pinnacle of the horticultural year - the Chelsea Flower Show. Saturday Live listener Freya Rodger reveals why she is attempting to do all 41 Olympic Sports before the closing ceremony in this year's Games Swedish elite athlete Mikael Lindnord took part in endurance race across the Ecuador. After taking pity on a stray dog and feeding him some meatballs, the dog then followed Mikael hundreds of miles across mountains rivers and the jungle. Mikael named him Arthur and eventually took him back to live with his family in Sweden. Plus the singer, actor and now writer, John Barrowman shares his Inheritance Tracks And the school teacher and his pupils who were so inspired by Saturday Live guest Liesbeth Langford, that they made an award winning film of her life.

Jeremy Corbyn's opposition to the renewal of Britain's nuclear deterrent has opened up divisions within the Labour Party that run very deep. The issue will come to a head when Parliament votes on whether to replace the Trident weapons system, following a recommendation from the Government. While Labour formally reviews its position, will Corbyn be able avoid a damaging split that beset the party in the 1980s? It was a Labour government which decided to make Britain a nuclear power. "We've got to have this thing, whatever it costs. We've got to have a bloody Union Jack on top of it," declared Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary in the postwar Labour government. Ever since that decision in 1946, the question of whether to keep 'the bomb' has divided the party between those who believe it is the cornerstone of Britain's defence policy within NATO and others who have long campaigned to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Twice before in Opposition the party has opted for unilateral disarmament, only for the policy to be reversed after a period of acrimonious debate and electoral defeat. In this programme, the veteran political reporter John Sergeant examines Labour's troubled relationship with the bomb. Former party leader Neil Kinnock and other senior figures reflect on how the party discarded unilateralism in the late 1980s and offer advice on what lessons can be learned. Can Jeremy Corbyn overcome opposition with the Parliamentary Labour Party to changing the official policy of multilateral disarmament? Does his recent suggestion of maintaining submarines without nuclear missiles satisfy those who want Britain to disarm come what may? Producer: Peter Snowdon.

Political editor turned Strictly contestant John Sergeant and Helen Lewis, Deputy Editor of the New Statesman, tell Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books. They include Sebastian Faulks' new Jeeves and Wooster novel, and children's classic The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford.

US entertainment group ABC has brought such classics as Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy to TV. As president since 2010, Paul Lee is responsible for all development, programming and scheduling. He joins Steve to discuss the enduring popularity of Modern Family, the importance of diversity in the commissioning process, and how research into the Great Depression, of all things, has influenced recent dramas on ABC.BBC2's natural history offering this Christmas, The Snow Wolf Family and Me, is promising an intimate portrait of Arctic wolves. The presenter wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan explains how with a small crew he got up close and personal with a pack of wild wolves in the Arctic. With them, Caroline Hawkins, filmmaker and creative director at Oxford Scientific Films. They discuss whether Gordon's back to basics, hands-on approach is a turning point in a genre that has become increasingly reliant on high-tech gadgetry.John Lewis' Monty the Penguin Christmas advert has made the humble penguin the surprise media sensation of the year. The two-minute tale of a boy and his imaginary feathered friend has driven up sales of penguin toys and all-important John Lewis brand awareness. Ewen Brown, the producer of Monty the Penguin explains what is involved in making an ad with viral potential and why the penguin stole the public's hearts.The journalist, diplomat and Labour MP John Freeman has died at the age of 99. He was perhaps best known for his interviews with public figures like Martin Luther King and Tony Hancock for BBC television series Face to Face. He was renowned for his persistence and direct approach as an interviewer. Former political editor and correspondent John Sergeant talks about his style and legacy.Producer: Katy Takatsuki. Editor: Karen Dalziel.

This week's guest, John Sergeant, talks about his political career and meeting Rab C. Nesbitt, and Rob chooses music especially for him.

ABSTRACT: All buildings modify their sites, some radically. There will be other sites from which material came and to which it goes. Carbon and other costs now reward a strategy of incorporating all excavation into the design. The talk will explore the history of this practice, from work by Rem Koolhaas to ancient Indian temples, particularly tracing the connection between Rafael Moneo's Kursaal at San Sebastian, Jorn Utzon's Sydney Opera House and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. BIOGRAPHY: John Sergeant is an Architect, former Lecturer in the Dept. of Architecture and Emeritus Fellow of Robinson College. He was a Visiting Professor at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India in 2009-10 and led a Symposium on Wright at the University of Tokyo in December 2009. His research is best known for Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian Houses and his local practice for recycling Adden-Brooke's Outpatients' Department into Brown's Restaurant. His orientation has always been toward organic, or sustainable, architecture. He is currently working on a book on recent Responsive Architecture.

This week Libby Purves is joined by John Sergeant, Rufus Sewell, Wasfi Kani and Tom Pey. John Sergeant is the former political editor of ITN. Since appearing on Midweek in 2002 ahead of the publication of his autobiography 'Give Me Ten Seconds' he has left political journalism behind in favour of writing, acting, presenting and making documentaries about everything from Grimefighters to Indian railways to tourism. He also won a place in the nation's heart when he took part in the BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Rufus Sewell is probably best known for period roles such as Will Ladislaw in 'Middlemarch' and Charles in 'Charles II: the Power and the Passion' and Channel 4's 'Pillars of the Earth'. He is about to star in three films for BBC One as the fictional Italian detective Aurelio Zen. Set in and around Rome, and based on the best-selling novels by the late Michael Dibdin. Wasfi Kani OBE is the founder and director of Grange Park and Pimlico Opera which is one of the leading small scale touring companies. There are two strands to its work: an autumn tour and an annual prison project. In addition to the annual tour Pimlico Opera spends six weeks a year working inside Her Majesty's Prisons culminating in public performances in which inmates share the stage with professionals. Ten years ago Tom Pey was Policy Director of Guide Dogs for the Blind. He is author of 'Bang, You're Dead' which tells of how a childhood accident caused him to lose his sight many years later. By then, a highly successful businessman, Tom was plunged into a nightmare world in which he lost his job, his money and self-esteem. In October this year he became Chief Executive of the Royal London Society for the Blind.

This episode of CS is titled Results.Now that we've taken a look at some of the movements and luminaries of the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment, it's time for a review of the results and their impact on The Church.Once we embark in the next Era of Church History, we'll find ourselves in the weeds of so many movements we're going to have to back up and take it in an even more summary form than we have. Turns out, the warning Roman Catholics sounded when Protestants split off turned out to be true. They warned if Luther and other Reformers left the Mother Church, they'd commence a fragmenting that would never end. They foretold that anyone with their own idea of the way things ought to be would run off to start their own group, that would become another church, then a movement of churches and eventually a denomination. The hundreds of denominations and tens of thousands of independent churches today are testimony to that fragmenting.The problem for us here with CS is this – There's no way we can chronicle all the many directions the Church went in that fragmenting. We'll need to stand back to only mark the broad strokes.Though the Enlightenment heavyweight John Locke was an active advocate of religious tolerance, he made it clear tolerance didn't apply to Catholics. The fear in England of a Catholic-Jacobite conspiracy, valid it turned out, moved Locke and the Anglican clergy to be wary of granting Catholics the full spectrum of civil rights. On the contrary, the English were at one point so paranoid of Rome's attempt to seize the throne, a 1699 statute made the saying of a Latin mass a crime.Many Roman Church apologists were talented writers and challenged Anglican teachings. In 1665, Bishop Tillotson answered John Sergeant's treatise titled Sure Footing in Christianity, or Rational Discourses on the Rule of Faith. Sergeant worried some Protestants might convert to Catholicism for political reasons. His anxiety grew in 1685 when the Roman Catholic Duke of York, James II, became king. King James's Declaration of Indulgences removed restrictions blocking Catholics from serving in the government.The arrival of William III and the Glorious Revolution ended James' efforts to return England to the Catholic fold. He was allowed to leave England for France at the end of 1688. Then in 1714, with the Peace of Utrecht ending the War of the Spanish Succession, France's King Louis XIV, promised he'd no longer back the Stuart claim to England's throne.During the 18th C, Catholics in England were a minority. At the dawn of the century, there were only two convents in England, with a whopping 25 nuns. By 1770, the number of Catholics still only numbered some 80,000. They lacked civil and political rights and were considered social outsiders. The Marriage Act of 1753 disallowed any wedding not conducted according to the Anglican rite, excepting Quakers and Jews.This is not to say all English Protestants were intolerant of Roman Catholics. Some of the upper classes appreciated varied aspects of Roman culture. They owned art produced by Catholic artists and thought making the continental Grand Tour a vital part of proper education. One of the chief stops on that Tour was, of course, Rome.Still, anti-Catholic feelings on the part of the common people were seen in the Gordon Riots of 1780. When the 1699 statute banning the Mass was removed, a mob burned down Catholic homes and churches. Catholics didn't receive full civil liberty until the Emancipation Act of 1829.While Anglicans, Baptists, and Catholics sniped at each other, they all agreed Deism represented a serious threat to the Christian Faith. England proved to be Deism's most fertile soil.In 1645, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Father of English Deism, proposed five articles as the basis of his rationalist religion.1) God exists;2) We are obliged to revere God;3) Worship consists of a practical morality;4) We should repent of sin;5) A future divine judgment awaits all people based on how they've lived.Charles Blount published several works that furthered the Deist cause in England. John Toland's Christianity not Mysterious in 1696 opened the floodgates of Deistic literature. Contemporaries of John Locke viewed his The Reasonableness of Christianity as preparing the way for Toland's explicitly Deist work. Locke tried to blunt the accusation by saying while Toland was a friend, his ideas were his own and had no connection to his own.The first half of the 18th C saw an onslaught of literature from Deists that seemed to batter Anglicans into a corner and make the Gospel seem insipid. So much so that in 1722 Daniel Defoe complained that “no age, since the founding and forming the Christian Church was ever like, in openly avowed atheism, blasphemies, and heresies, to the age we now live in.” When Montesquieu visited England in 1729 he wrote “There is no religion, and the subject if mentioned, excites nothing but laughter.” The Baron certainly over-stated the case since other evidence indicates religious discussion was far from rare. But in his circle of contacts, the place theological discussion had once played was now greatly diminished.Eventually, in response to this wave of Deist literature, Christian apologists embarked on a campaign to address a number of -isms that had risen to silence the Faith. They dealt with Deism, Atheism, a resurgent Arianism, Socinianism, and Unitarianism. Their task was complicated by the fact many of their Deist opponents claimed to be proponents of the “true” teachings of the Christian faith.Richard Bentley observed that the claims of Deists attacked the very heart of the Christian faith. He summarized Deist ideas like this – “They say that the soul is material, Christianity a cheat, Scripture a falsehood, hell a fable, heaven a dream, our life without providence, and our death without hope, such are the items of the glorious gospel of these Deist evangelists.”A number of Deists argued that God, Who they referred to as the Architect of the Universe, does not providentially involve Himself in His creation. Rather, He established fixed laws to govern the way the world runs. Since the laws are fixed, no biblical miracles could have taken place. So, the Bible is filled with errors and nonsense, a premise deists like Anthony Collins claimed was confirmed by critics like Spinoza. Prophetic pointers to a Messiah in the Old Testament could not have been fulfilled by Christ since prophecy would violate the fixed law of time.Deists maintained that salvation is NOT an issue of believing the Gospel. Rather, God requires all peoples to follow rationally construed moral laws regarding what's right and wrong. Since a measure of reason is given to everyone, God is fair, they contended, in holding everyone accountable to the same rational, moral standards.The astute listener may note that that sounds close to what some scientists advocate today. We hear much about the growing number of once atheist scientists coming to a faith in God. That report is true, but we need to qualify the “god” many of them are coming to faith in. It's a god of the small ‘g', not a capital “G” as in the God of the Bible. The god of many recent scientist converts is more akin to the Watchmaker deity of the Deists than the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and The Apostle Paul.Deists believed what they called “natural religion” underlying all religion. We learn of this religion, not from the special revelation of Scripture. We learn it from, as Immanuel Kant would say “the starry heavens above, and the moral law within.”Christian apologists unleashed scores of books in an anti-deist counterattack. One of the most effective was Jacques Abbadie's Treatise on the Truth of the Christian Religion. Published in 1684, it was one of the earliest and most widely circulated apologetics for the truthfulness of the Christian faith based on “facts.” Abbadie was a Protestant pastor in London. He countered Deist arguments against the resurrection and alleged discrepancies in Scripture. The points he made remain some of the most potent apologetics today. He pointed out the public nature of Christ's appearances after the resurrection. The change in the disciples' attitudes, from trembling in fear to confidence in the truthfulness and power of The Gospel as evidenced by their preaching and willingness to die for the Faith. In the 18th C, Abbadie's work was found in the libraries of more French nobles than the best-selling works of Bossuet or Pascal.You may remember a couple of episodes back, our brief coverage of the work of the skeptic David Hume. Hume attacked the concept of “cause and effect,” claiming it was only an unsubstantiated presupposition allowing for it that made cause and effect a rule. Hume's criticism turned those who bought his ideas into inveterate critics unable to come to conclusions about anything. John Wesley described Hume as “the most insolent despiser of truth and virtue that ever appeared in the world, an avowed enemy to God and man, and to all that is sacred and valuable upon earth.”The Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid developed an erudite response to Hume's skepticism. In his An Essay on Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense, published in 1764, Reid critiqued Hume's theory: “The theory of ideas, like the Trojan horse, had a specious appearance both of innocence and beauty; but if those philosophers had known, that it carried in its belly death and destruction to all science and common sense, they would not have broken down their walls to give it admittance.” Hume's principles, Reid showed, led to absurd conclusions.While Skepticism and Deism gained many adherents early on, and Christianity struggled for a while as it adjusted to the new challenge, it eventually produced a plethora of responses that regained a good measure of the intellectual ground. This period can be said to be the breeding ground for today's apologetic culture and the core of its philosophical stream.In 1790, Edmund Burke rejoiced that Christian apologists had largely won out over the Deists.At the dawning of the 18th C, the Scottish clans with their rough and tumble culture and the warlike tradition continued to reign over a good part of the Scottish Highlands, which accounts for about a third of the total area. In contrast, the capital of Edinburgh was a small city of no more than 35,000 crowded into dirty tenements, stacked one above another.By the Act of Union of 1707, Scotland and England became one. The Scottish Parliament was dissolved and merged with the English. Scots were given 45 members in the House of Commons. But tension remained between north and south.In the Patronage Act of 1712, the English Crown claimed the right to choose Scottish pastors; an apparent end-run by the Anglican Church of England around the rights of Presbyterian Scotland. Seceder Presbyterians refused to honor the pastors appointed by England. They started their own independent churches.Then, in 1742 the Cambuslang Revival swept Scotland. For four months, the church in Cambuslang, a few miles from Glasgow, witnessed large numbers of people attending prayer meetings and showing great fervency in their devotion to God. In June, George Whitefield visited and preached several times. In August, meetings saw as many as 40,000. The pastor of the church wrote, “People sat unwearied till two in the morning to hear sermons, disregarding the weather. You could scarcely walk a yard, but you must tread upon some, either rejoicing in God for mercies received, or crying out for more. Thousands and thousands have I seen, melted down under the word and power of God.”Whitefield then preached to large crowds in Edinburgh and other cities. Other centers of revival popped up.In the second half of the 18th C, Scotland gained a reputation as a center for the Enlightenment under such men as David Hume, Thomas Reid, Adam Smith, and Francis Hutchison. Voltaire wrote that “today it is from Scotland that we get rules of taste in all the arts, from epic poetry to gardening.”An interesting development took place in Scotland at that time, maybe born by a weariness of the internecine conflict endemic to Scottish history. A cultured “literati” in Edinburgh participated in different clubs, but all aimed at striking some kind of balance where people of different persuasions could hold discourse without feeling the need to come to blows. They sought enlightened ways to improve society and agriculture. In the inaugural edition of the Edinburgh Review, 1755, the editor encouraged Scots “to a more eager pursuit of learning themselves, and to do honor to their country.”Evangelicals like Edinburgh pastors John Erskine and Robert Walker hoped to reform society using some of the new ideas of Enlightenment thinkers. They embarked on a campaign to safeguard and expand civil liberties. But unlike more moderate members of the Church of Scotland, they believed conversion to personal faith in Christ was a prerequisite for reform. Erskine appreciated George Whitefield and edited and published a number of Jonathan Edwards' works.In Ireland, the Glorious Revolution was not at all “glorious” for Catholics. On July 1, 1690, the armies of the Protestant King William III defeated the forces of the Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne and seized Dublin. In 1691, Jacobites in Ireland either fled or surrendered. The Banishment Act of 1697 ordered all Catholic clergy to leave Ireland or risk execution. Poverty and illiteracy made life miserable for large numbers of Irish Catholics.English restrictions on Ireland were brutal. Power resided in the hands of a small group of wealthy Anglican elite of the official Church of Ireland. Even Scottish Presbyterians who had settled in Ulster were excluded from civil and military roles. And the Irish had to pay the cost of quartering English troops to keep the peace.Not to be denied, some Catholic priests donned secular clothes so as to continue to minister to their spiritual charges without putting them in danger.In the last decades of the 18th Century the Irish population grew rapidly. Methodists numbered some 14,000 in 1790 and allied with other Protestants who'd come over from England, settled the north of the Island. Protestants in Ireland, whatever their stripe, typically held fierce anti-Catholic sentiments, just as Catholics were hostile toward Protestants.In 1778 the Catholic Relief Act allowed Catholics to buy and inherit land. In 1782 the Irish Parliament gained independence, and laws against Catholics were changed. But the English monarchy managed to maintain its authority and put down the Irish Rebellion of 1798.The upshot is this à The Gospel faced a withering barrage from some of the most potent of Enlightenment critics, skeptics, and foes. The Church was slow to respond, which allowed the ideas of rationalism to poison the well of much Western philosophical thought. The challenge was eventually answered, not only with an eloquent reply but by the stirring of the Holy Spirit Who brought winds of revival for which the most elite skeptic had no comeback.Christianity was tested in the British Isles during the 18th C, but it passed the test.