Alexander
Whyte
Contributor
Alexander Whyte rose from humble beginnings to become one of Scotland's greatest preachers. His mother and father were unmarried at his birth. His father was unsaved and his Christian mother refused to compound her sin by marrying an unbeliever. Later his father would be saved as a soldier for the Union army in the American Civil War. He was killed at Bull Run. His mother took him to many church meetings as a child and as a young man he was a shoemaker's apprentice. Always a careful student, he seemingly came out of nowhere by preaching in revival meetings of 1859. His preaching caught the eye of educators and he was taught theology by Robert Candlish and others. A shy person by nature, he was like a lion in the pulpit. He preached hard on the depravity of man and the need of salvation. His messages are described as "imaginative, arresting, and awakening." He was very knowledgeable on a variety of subjects and used that knowledge in his sermons. It is said that he studied with Roget's Thesaurus at his elbow. His written sermons stand the test of time and are valuable for the Christian to study today.
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