Hugh Mackintosh

Hugh Ross Mackintosh (1870-1936) was a Scottish theologian, and parish minister. He was born in Paisley, where his father was a pastor, and later attended Edinburgh University, before proceeding to New College, Edinburgh to study Divinity. He also took sessions at Freiburg, Halle and Marburg, where he became a particular friend of the liberal theologian Wilhelm Herrmann.

Among his major theological works were Ritschlian doctrine of theoretical and religious knowledge in 1899 and The Person of Jesus Christ in 1912. Notably, he was a major figure in the Christian student movement of his time, and also taught theologian T.F. Torrance in dogmatics (systematic theology).

He was a Free Church minister at Tayport (1897-1901) and Beechgrove, Aberdeen (U.F. Church) (1901-1904), before becoming professor of divinity at New College (1904-1936). Following the unification of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland in 1929, Mackintosh was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1932.

One of Mackintosh's most enduring quotes is that "Theology is created in Germany, corrupted in America and corrected in Scotland." He most certainly had a twinkle in his eye when he said it.