This article sprang out of an email I sent to a Christian bother who felt that the Free Presbyterian Church’s actions in its protests in the past could not be justified from the Word of God. Naturally, I disagreed.
I tried to set forth the reason why back in the heyday of our protests, when Dr Paisley was in his prime, we believed we were obeying the Word of God in going out to challenge the Ecumenists, Modernists and Romanisers, who had taken over the established denominations.
I hope the article it is helpful to younger Free Presbyterians.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster
Explaining the stand of the Free Presbyterian Church since its founding.
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear,” 1 Peter 3:15.
In this article, I would like to try and give the Protestant perspective of the political and religious controversies here in Northern Ireland.
As we look at the state of things today in Northern Ireland, there is one in high office who upholds the political view that the IRA were right in their terrorism and generally did no wrong. Sinn Fein leader, Michelle O’Neill, who is ‘First Minister’ in the Stormont Assembly, has the support of many in the electorate who believe that the only ones who had the right ‘to shoot to kill’ were the members of the IRA.
It is for this reason that there have been ongoing attempts by such to punish, by imprisonment, soldiers and policemen, who in the course of their duty and in the defence of life, shot those engaged in terrorism.
Now, back in the 60s and 70s and later, there were many of us who foresaw that the state of affairs pertaining today, is what the likes of the Civil Rights lobbyists in the 1960s were seeking to achieve.
That caused great alarm and concern, especially when it was perceived that ‘ecumenical’ Unionism was blind to this objective and the Westminster government was happy to allow and encourage such a thing to develop.
Those fears have been proved justified. Supporters and advocates of political terrorism now run the country in conjunction with ‘ecumenical’ unionists of varying shades!
The Protestant Heritage
The Protestant, whether he was a true believer in Protestant principles or not, was born into a society which had a most rich and blessed history.
When I was saved back in April 1964, I was a twenty-year old Protestant who was as ignorant of my spiritual heritage as any heathen. I had many ancestors, going back a number of generations, who were converted to Christ. My own father and mother were just emerging, by the grace of God, from years of backsliding and spiritual carelessness, within the Church of Ireland.
Learning
Within weeks of my conversion and as a result of sitting under Dr Ian Paisley’s ministry, I had learned the fundamentals of the true faith and, what’s more, I had learned of God’s mercy to the people of Ulster in past times. Dr Paisley’s book, ‘The ’59 Revival’ was not long published back then and I avidly read of the mighty movings of God’s Holy Spirit in 1859, and the years previous to that time when He prepared His people for revival, chiefly through the labours of Dr Henry Cooke. That man was God’s instrument to purge the Presbyterian Church in Ireland of Bible-denying Arianism/Unitarianism.
I began to recognise the wonderful grace and mercy the Lord had bestowed upon my Protestant forefathers, though, it must be noted, many, many Roman Catholics were brought to a saving faith in Christ in that time of blessing, despite the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church to the revival meetings and her attempts to deter her people from attending such gatherings to hear the gospel.
I further learned of the emergence of the ‘World Council of Churches’, in 1948, with its objective of combining all forms of heresy within the established Protestant denominations, to pursue ‘Ecumenism’!
As a Free Presbyterian, I was horrified to learn of the 1927 decision by the General Assembly of the PCI, (it had greatly backslidden from the days of the 1859 revival) to exonerate Prof J E Davey of all charges of heresy, despite his open and repeated denial of the deity of Christ, the atonement by His blood and the inerrancy of Holy Scripture (to list but some of his false teachings). Furthermore, the PCI elected him as moderator in 1953 in another blatant endorsement of his evil teaching.
I began to see that what God had wrought in our land was under severe attack and if it were not stopped, would result in the death of the gospel light in our Province.
When Ezra heard of the sins of Israel, which he knew could result in a dreadful judgment from God, given the privileges and merits they were thus throwing away, his reaction was broken-heartedness!
“And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.”
He then prayed.
“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this,” Ezra 93-4, 6-15.
I can truly say before God that such was the spirit in Dr Paisley’s congregation back then, as he uncovered the wickedness that was afoot amongst the ecumenical churches who were seeking ’spiritual union’ with Roman Catholicism.
Distress of mind
The distress of mind of Ezra, and which drove him to manifest his agony of soul, was likewise to be found amongst many Free Presbyterians back then. The distress of mind that God wrought amongst the guilty back in Ezra’s day brought about acts of repentance that were truly astonishing.
“Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware,” Ezra 10:1-5.
This is what it means to,“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,” Matthew 6:33.
The reaction to Ezra’s stand explains the Saviour’s words in Matthew 10:34-38.
A sword
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”
June 6th, 1966.
Dr Paisley & Rev John Wylie on the picket line!
Some of the Free Presbyterian ministers at the protest.
Dr SB Cooke &. Rev I Foster.
Some of those at the General Assembly meeting who, according to the press and the police, were terrified by the protest!!
Alfie Martin, the new moderator of the PCI that year, was highly amused! I wonder is he laughing now?
More scenes from that protest may seen here.
Ian Paisley Protests Outside Presbyterian General Assembly, 1967
Back in those days in the 60s-80s, the reaction of many faithful souls to the exposure of the evils of ‘ecumenism’ was to separate from such churches as were involved in it, no matter what the response of family, friends or neighbours. There was a spirit of obedience to: “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach,” Hebrews 13:12-13.
And: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.,” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
God was indeed a ‘Father’ to us in those days and many hundreds of souls were saved, including Roman Catholics, and new congregations formed.
But the activities of ecumenism was not confined to churches! Politicians such as O’Neill and his supporters began to push the ideology of ecumenism on the political front. Such a backing away from Bible Protestantism encouraged those who desired the overthrow of Northern Ireland and the Provisional IRA was born, for it was seen that there was a weakening within the ranks of Protestantism.
Is this not in keeping with the many portions of God’s Word such as Judges 6, which indicate the consequences of an abandoning of truth?
“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,” Judges 6:1-7.
It was in response to such Scriptures that Free Presbyterians manifested their opposition to what was happening by protesting outside churches and also holding protest parades. Such action was not easy and cost many Free Presbyterians their employment. I could give examples but will not take the time to do that.
Now, there are those who would say that such militancy has no Biblical justification and I don’t think I am being unfair to you, XXXXX, when I say that I perceive that to be your position.
Providence
This morning, in the providence of God, I read Luke 19 for I follow ‘Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Bible Reading Calendar’. In that chapter I read in verses 41-44: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
It is surely right to weep when a people ignore their gospel heritage and cast away their Redeemer.
But the Saviour did more than weep!
“And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.,” verse 45-46.
His weeping gave rise to ‘violently drive out’ (the meaning of the Greek word – ‘cast out’) violators of His Father’s house.
This was the second time He had acted so for He began His ministry in like fashion. “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.,” John 2:13-17.
Now, I would say that when faced with deliberate violations of God’s Word by those in ecclesiastical or civil authority, it becomes us to show something of the zeal the Saviour demonstrated here.
Not for one moment would I say that everything we, as Free Presbyterians, did was entirely right. Even Moses, a man “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth,” Numbers 12:3, was so vexed by the sins of his people that he acted inappropriately and paid the price.
“And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them,” Numbers 20:11-12.
I believe it is to the honour of the nominally Protestant community that very little electoral support was ever given to those who associated themselves with the loyalist paramilitaries. If I am not mistaken, the first supporter of loyalist paramilitaries to enter Stormont did so by virtue of him being ‘nominated’ by Westminster!
There have been many wrongs committed by the ‘Protestant community’ but I believe it is testimony to the influence of the gospel, still found to some degree amongst them, that it did not embrace terrorism as did the Irish Republican community. To this day, murderers are still extolled and honoured by the likes of Michelle O’Neill. In truth, if she did not, she would pay the price at the polls!
Here is an example of the vile blasphemies of the ecumenists of today. It has been posted on YouTube by I don’t know who but a friend sent me the link just as I was writing this!
So-called ‘Christian minister’ calls for the removal of the calling of Christ as ‘Saviour’ from Christian websites!!!!
I cannot see how anyone would NOT react strongly and in the spirit of Christ’s cleansing of the temple to such wickedness.
We should bear in mind that God’s reaction to such wickedness is to eternally cast such “into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:15.
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd).
7th March, 2025