A Short Biography
Dr. Paisley, born on 6th April 1926 in the Cathedral City of Armagh, N. Ireland, was raised in Ballymena, Co. Antrim. He married Emily Cassells in 1956 with whom he has had five children. The academic life of Dr. Paisley began in 1951 where he received theological training at Reformed Presby Theological: South Wales Bible College. He was awarded a Bachelors Degree in Divinity from Pioneer Theological Seminary, Rockville U.S.A., and was later made a honourary doctorate in 1954. However the validity of this doctorate has been somewhat disputed and he was later awarded a further honourary doctorate in Divinity by Bob Jones University, South Carolina.
The Rt Hon. Rev. Ian Paisley was ordained at the tender age of twenty by his father. Five years later, in 1951, he founded the Free Presbyterian Church of Northern Ireland. Following a vote he was elected as Moderator of the same, where he served at Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church, Belfast until September 2008. Furthermore Ian Paisley also founded The Democratic Unionist Party (D.U.P.) and was elected leader in 1971. He has served his constituency as a Member of the Westminster Parliament since 1974 and as a member of the European Parliament since 1979. In April 1998 he controversially refused to sign the Good Friday Agreement, although he made an historic u-turn in October 2006 by signing the St. Andrew’s Agreement that subsequently had him elected First Minister of the new Northern Ireland Assembly. He retired from politics and stepped down as the moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church in May 2008.
Ian Paisley: The Religious Man
Having been known for his prolific preaching for a number of years, he can assuredly be considered a God-elected leader. However, in contrast to this, Paisley has spared no discretion when sharing his antagonistic opinions on the church of Rome. He will be infamously remembered for his tirade toward Pope John Paul II at a session of the European Parliament in 1988 where he denounced him as ‘the Antichrist’.
Like Paul the apostle, Dr Paisley also wrote a book in prison entitled ‘An exposition of the Epistle to the Romans’. In this book he covers one of his main arguments against the Catholic Church; that is Justification through faith and faith alone. Paisley indicates that Romans 5:6 is the central verse in proving that we are ‘unable of ourselves to do anything’ for our salvation.
It is Dr Paisley’s religious belligerence towards the Catholic Church that compromises his authority when preaching the word of God. For even though he makes a strong argument for the case of heresy against Catholicism’s doctrine on justification, perhaps he goes too far when he depicts the church as the ‘Whore of Babylon’ mentioned in Revelation 17. Dr Paisley was certainly never a mild man of God, but Lord Carrington exaggerates when he claims he was ‘The bigot of all bigots’ as that would be likening him unto Hitler.
Ian Paisley: The Political Juggernaut
Despite being an outstanding advocate of Christianity, Dr Paisley’s political methods have been questionable. He is arguably most commonly known for the ‘Ulster says NO!’ campaign in response to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 that lead him to give a famous speech outside Belfast City Hall:
“Where do the terrorists operate from? From the Irish Republic ... And yet Mrs Thatcher tells us that that republic must have some say in our province. We say never! Never! Never! Never!”
The man once famous for saying no, had a sudden gross policy shift near the death of his career by signing the St Andrew’s Agreement of 2006. Some claimed Dr. Paisley had ‘gone soft in his old age’; others have said that he sold Unionism short, but this politician was more sagacious than that. Only eight years prior, U.U.P. Leader, David Trimble and S.D.L.P. Leader, John Hume won the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the Good Friday Agreement. Dr. Paisley refused to sign this agreement despite 71.1% of the population voting ‘Yes’ in a national referendum. So what caused this sudden change of heart in a man who claimed he would enter into power-sharing with IRA/Sinn Fein ‘over his dead body’?
It could be argued Dr. Paisley has reaped what David Trimble and John Hume had sown in April 1998. Perhaps they tried to achieve too much in the early days of a tentative peace process that still bore the scars of years of sectarian hatred. One might liken the situation to that of change within the church, that is, if you are to move the piano from the left side of the church to the right, one must move it one inch at a time. However by the time of St Andrew’s, the country was crying out for change and Dr. Paisley being privy to these cries, spotted his chance to create a long lasting legacy for the future of Northern Ireland.
The current climate in Israel/Palestine and the possibility of a two-state solution can draw hope from the political life of Dr. Paisley. For surely if God can move a heart that once seemed hardened as the Pharaohs’ in time of Moses, then surely He can mould the hearts of cruel leaders all around the world.
In Conclusion...
Finally if the likes of Ian Paisley and former I.R.A. leader (and murderer) Martin McGuiness can lay aside their differences to work together for the common good, why can’t leaders of the church stand together on the issues that divide them - such as: homosexuality and the place of women in the church - and be the answer to one of Christ’s last prayers, that His bride would be united (John 17:20-21)?
