ABERNETHY, JOHN. - Irish Presbyterian theologian, of liberal ideas, b. to a Protestant minister in Ulster, according to some at Brigh, according to others at Coleraine, in 1680 and d. in Dec. 1740.
After studying successfully at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, he was appointed as pastor at Antrim, where he worked with zeal and charity, intent on the duties of his own ministry. His fine qualities caused him to be esteemed by other Presbyterian communities, which requested him. The Presbyterian synod then ordered him (1717) to assume the care of the congregation of Usher's Quay in Dublin. A. refused, on the pretext that his conscience forbade him to leave Antrim; indeed, protesting against the tyrannical exercise of ecclesiastical power, he set himself in opposition to the authority of his Church. Many associated themselves with his protest and formed with him a society of independent Presbyterian ministers (non subscribers) determined to vindicate the rights of individual conscience against the oppression of synods - the Belfast Society - which, in 1726, having separated from the body of the Irish Presbyterian Church, formed a separate presbytery. This act alienated from A. a good number of the faithful of Antrim, wherefore he, regretful, decided to depart and in 1730 accepted the care of the community of Wood Street in Dublin. From that time dates his fame as a valiant orator. His Discourses on the Attributes of God (Dublin 1743) are celebrated. In 1731 he took a stand against the laws by which it was sought to deprive Catholics and non-conformists of political rights, since he could not admit that a citizen should be excluded from the service of his own country solely by reason of his religious convictions. From this period date his Scarce and Valuable Tracts (London 1751).
Bibliography3 works
Cesare Bertola