Robert John Henry MCGOWAN

MCGOWAN, ROBERT JOHN HENRY (b. Ballarat, Vic, 25 Aug 1870; d. Ashfield, NSW, 14 Jan 1953). Presbyterian clergyman.

After working as a Bank officer in Ballarat, McGowan commenced theological training at the Presbyterian Theological Hall, Ormond College. Ordained in 1899, and following pastorates in Birchip (1899-1905) and Beaufort (1905-7), he ministered at Ashfield, NSW 1907-49. Under his care, the Ashfield church grew into one of the largest Presbyterian churches in NSW. McGowan had an enthusiasm for the way in which archaeology verified Bible truths and had a wide knowledge of church history. Within the Presbyterian church in NSW, he served for many years as convenor of the Foreign Missions Committee and the Jewish Mission Committee, and was a member of the Council of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Croydon for 40 years. He was moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in New South Wales in 1931.

A part-time lecturer at the Sydney Missionary and Bible College and a supporter of the British Bible League, McGowan became, in the post-war era, an entrenched opponent of theological liberalism. In 1920, he opposed renewed Presbyterian moves to form a United Church with the Congregational and Methodist Churches because the proposed Basis of Union was too liberal, with insufficient safeguards against heretical teachings. In August 1921, he spoke at the first self-confessed 'fundamentalist' meeting in Sydney, where he expressed concern about the theological views of Ronald Macintyre (q.v.). In 1931, in his moderatorial address, he again warned against the influence of 'certain individuals' who 'were trying to unite Christianity with un-Christian philosophies'. The following year, he somewhat unwillingly assumed the leadership of the movement to expose Samuel Angus, Professor of NT at the Theological Hall, as a heretic. He argued that he was willing to do his part by supporting the teaching of 'true doctrine' in the Bible College and in his own parish, and by using his position as moderator and his membership of Theological Hall Committee to guide the wider church. Ultimately, however, he believed that it was the church as a whole, and not a single individual that must recognise and purge itself of liberal influence. McGowan's pursuit of Angus in the Presbyterian courts, and through the columns of the Sydney Morning Herald, were ultimately unsuccessful, and earned him the derision of supporters of Angus, who declared that 'Mr. McGowan would no doubt, one day, enter heaven and make a heresy trial against St. Luke'. Following his death, his colleagues remembered him as one whose ministry had been marked by evangelical fervour, and by passionate devotion to the truth which he saw and to the convictions which he held.

Blue Books of the Presbyterian Church in NSW, 1949, 1953; S Emilsen, A Whiff of Heresy (Sydney, 1991, and reprints)

SELECT WRITINGS; A Doctrinal Backslide (Ashfield, 1920); Address of the Rev R H J McGowan to the Presbytery of Sydney of March 14, 1933 (Sydney, 1933); Address of the Rev R J H McGowan to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, 15 September 1933 (Sydney, 1933); No Compromise on the Deity of Christ. Address of Rev R J H McGowan on the Angus case at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of NSW, May 1934 (Sydney, 1934)

SUSAN E EMILSEN