“Abuse is the weakest expression of strength. It is weakness to destroy what you ought to protect, build and make better.” ― Kingsley Opuwari Manuel.

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TWW went down this afternoon, so there may be a few formatting issues.

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Today I was sipping my coffee, watching my new 2-year-old pug, Poppy, run in and out her doggy door. She looked so happy while my two elderly pugs, Tulip and Princess Buttercup, wondered why she was so excited. But, then I spotted this at The Gospel Coalition and choked on my oatmeal. Donald Macleod (1940–2023): In Memoriam. Hunter Nicholson wrote this article:

(MDiv, RTS Jackson) is a PhD candidate in systematic theology at the University of Edinburgh and a minister-in-training at St. Columba’s Free Church. He, his wife, and their three children live in Edinburgh, Scotland

Hunter lives in Edinburgh and should have acknowledged the serious charges raised by women against MacLeod, whose charges were curiously dismissed.

This post is based on the information I wrote five years ago in these two other posts. The #churchtoo Movement Comes to the Free Church of Scotland’s Donald Macleod and Is Professor Donald Macleod Too Sexy For His Own Good? Even more importantly, the information in those two posts comes from this vital source. I cannot stress this incredible work enough.

                When Justice Faile in Church and State: link: when-justice-failed

The two posts are a good overview of what transpired. Hunter Nicholson, who wrote for TGC, should be ashamed for overlooking Macleod’s real legacy-broken and hurt women. And yes, you will see that MacLeod considered himself “sexy” with many women who clung to him because he was a woman magnet. I will not italicize my posts so they will be easier to read. I may also leave out some extraneous material found at the above links.

Begin:

Last year, I decided to investigate the suicide and hidden life of Iain D Campbell when I read a newspaper article in which it appeared that locals were blaming his wife for his decades of serial adultery. I know some people were surprised that a woman in Raleigh, North Carolina, would be interested in this story. However, my interest in the situation brought some people into my life who shared more deeply about the actual events. I wrote about it here. Blindsided: The True Story of the Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Iain Campbell.

Why I am interested in Donald Macleod

In the midst of gathering information on Iain D Campbell (hereafter referred to as IDC), I became aware of several matters.

1. An obituary for IDC, written by Donald Macleod, appeared to be vaguely threatening towards IDC’s family, who had endured so much. His gushing account of IDC’s life did not track with reality. Here is a link to the wayback version because the obituary was quietly removed from the Internet. Why? I have no idea, and Donald Macleod isn’t talking. Here is the parting shot from Rev. Macleod. Do him proud? Seriously? You mean the guy with multiple affairs who hurt his marriage and refused to reconcile? Who disregarded his family by spending untold amounts of time with his various mistresses? Who abused his clergy privilege in something we, in the States, refer to as clergy sex abuse. And it is up to his family to *do him proud?* “In the meantime, we have a duty of care to Iain’s wife, Anne; to his mother, Lily; to his sons, Iain and Stephen; to his daughter Emily; and to his sisters, Margaret and Alma. He was their hero. May they do him proud.”
2. Various individuals have been after me to reveal my source’s name(s). That will NEVER happen. One of my sources for the original story suggested that I look into Donald Macleod. I was told that IDC initially supported the proceedings against Macleod. But, suddenly, with no reason given to others, IDC decided to support Macleod!
3. One commenter in my original post claims there was no way that IDC could carry out his extensive and decades long extracurricular activities on the small Isle of Lewis without someone finding out about it. Could it be that some fellow pastors in the Free Church of Scotland knew about IDC and kept it secret since IDC was internationally renowned and important to the status of the Free Church? IDC could have gone anywhere but chose to remain in the Isle of Lewis. Why? Did Donald Macleod have knowledge of IDC’s activities? Was there a quid pro quo? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I think about them.

Main reason for this post: Long overdue support for the victims of Donald Macleod

My main reason for writing this post and subsequent posts is for the women who reported abuse by Donald Macleod and were branded as liars. I believe they were telling the truth, and I want to be an advocate for a group of women with whom I have never met nor spoken with.

There were multiple women who claimed that Donald Macleod behaved inappropriately with them. They were all branded as liars during a 1996 trial by the Sheriff Court. Another possible victim in Australia was also blown off as a liar! I was shocked to read the statements by the Sheriff and to realize that such statements would not be tolerated today.

So, for over 20 years, those brave women who came forward and told their stories have had to live with being called liars. These women have lived with both the pain of the abuse they endured and then the pain of being re-abused, in my opinion, by a callous Free Church and a cold-hearted Sheriff Court.

Ladies, if you are reading this, please know that I believe your stories, and I am sorry for the pain that you have endured these long years. But, as you will see, I have reason why I believe you, and I will document these reasons for as many posts as it takes.

Who is Donald Macleod and why he is important to those of us in the United States.

Donald Macleod is well-regarded in the United States by those within the Neo-Reformed set.

Here are some facts.

• John Piper and Desiring God admire his writings and have featured them on the website.
• Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia awarded Macleod an honorary degree, DD, in 2008. Some people refer to him as Dr. Macleod, which is incorrect. Unlike his BFF, IDC, Macleod does not have an earned PhD.
• Carl Trueman endorsed his book, Christ Crucified: Understanding the Atonement. Challenge question for TWW readers. Who else has Carl Trueman endorsed that was involved in a ministry with serious questions about child sex abuse coverup?. ……...CJ Mahaney! “Those who have heard Donald Macleod preach or who have read his writings will know that the crucified Christ is, of all theological topics, his forte. He has dazzling insight matched by a way with words which together serve to bring out aspects of the person and work of Christ with memorable beauty. Thus it is a pleasure to be able to commend this book. If you are familiar with Donald’s work, you know what to expect and know that you will be challenged and edified. If you have never read him before, you are in for a treat.” (Carl R. Trueman, Paul Woolley Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia)
• Saunter on over to The Gospel Coalition website and enter his name. You will see he is mentioned not infrequently.
• Ligon Duncan recommends his books for his courses. 
• None other than CJ Mahaney himself recommends Donald Macleod.

Do you catch my drift? Donald Macleod is important in the Neo-Calvinist movement in the United States. So, it is important that we understand him. Just like Mahaney, his past is no problem for these leaders since his theology is correct. However, I wonder how well they really know him?

Donald Macleod’s biography

This is from Donald Macleod’s website, which is now offline.

As an interesting aside, his first pastorate was in a bi-lingual church in Glasgow. That language was Gaelic, and Macleod often preached his sermons in Gaelic.

Donald Macleod retired as professor of systematic theology at the Free Church of Scotland College in Edinburgh in 2011. He was born on the Isle of Lewis, off the north-west coast of Scotland, in November 1940. Macleod was educated at the University of Glasgow (Master of Arts, 1961) and the Free Church College, Edinburgh (1961-1964). He was ordained on 5 November 1964 to his first charge, Kilmallie Free Church, where he served for six years.

The Free Church General Assembly appointed him to the chair of Systematic Theology at the Free Church College in 1978. In 1999 he was chosen as principal of the College by the General Assembly, and in that role he spearheaded the College”s relationship with the University of Glasgow (where he is a visiting Professor) leading to the validation of the College”s degree of Bachelor of Theology.

In 2008, Donald Macleod was honoured with a Doctorate of Divinity by Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He retired from the post of principal of the Free Church College in May 2010.

Donald Macleod is well known as a previous editor of The Monthly Record of the Free Church and as a former columnist in the West Highland Free Press and The Observer newspaper.

Professor Macleod’s main theological interest centres on the link between theology and preaching. Over five decades he has sought to emphasise the primacy of the intellect in religious experience and the primacy of doctrine in preaching. In recent years Donald Macleod has focused on the theme of objective piacular atonement through the cross; and he continues to explore such topics as divine impassibility and Calvinistic libertarianism.

I am hoping our many readers from Scotland can help us out. It appears that Donald Macleod does not hold an academic Masters degree like we have in the US. Macleod received his MA at University of Glasgow in one year before completing his undergraduate work. According to the University:

At Glasgow (and the other three ancient universities in Scotland), an Honours level degree in the Arts is called a Master of Arts (MA) and an Honours level degree in the Social Sciences a Master of Arts (Social Sciences). These should not be confused with the Master of Arts offered by some universities in England, which refers to a postgraduate qualification.

He then attended Free Church College run by the Free Church of Scotland. It is now known as Edinburgh Theological Seminary.

Since Macleod was ordained the year he graduated, it appears that 4 years of education is all that is needed to be ordained in the Free Church of Scotland. This appears to differ from the US in which it is traditional to complete a 4 year undergraduate curriculum and then a 3 year Masters of Divinity.

Macleod became a Professor of Systematic Theology at Free Church College about 14 years after his graduation. He was instrumental in helping the college obtain validation for its Bachelor of Theology degree.  My guess is that means that degree finally became accredited. He later became a principal at that college.

Understanding US law

In the United States, we are allowed to say/write things that we believe to be true. In other words, we must not knowingly lie. However we are not mandated to conclusively prove that what we are saying or writing is correct. We must also never knowingly lie in order to bring harm to another person. We write this post to tell what we believe is the truth of the women who accused Macleod of sexual harassment. We do this to support them.

We are not required to believe that exoneration of an individual by a court means that a person is truly innocent. For example, ask the average US citizen if they believe OJ Simpson was innocent of the murder of his wife, even though he was declared *not guilty.* Most of the people I know believe he is guilty. We are free to say that in the US.

I say this for one reason. I believe the women who accused Donald Macleod of sexual harassment/abuse were telling the truth, and I am upset for the way they were treated by the church and by the Sheriff’s Court.

A brief overview of this complicated mess.

I am going to present documentation on this overview in my next post. Apparently, Donald Macleod was/is looked at as a liberal by some former and present leaders of the Free Church of Scotland. Macleod apparently believed that these individuals were jealous of his success. This sounds like typical infighting that goes on in any church group in the world and should not be considered rare or unusual.

Enter the women. Macleod was accused of an affair with a woman in Australia and was acquitted of that charge. Then other women came forward in Scotland with similar accusations. Sadly, these brave women were accused of being involved in a conspiracy to bring down Macleod. Make sure you understand this. Women decided to subject themselves to embarrassing questions and outright indignities because they were part of some ill-defined conspiracy. I don’t believe it.

Is Donald Macleod. Too Sexy for His Own Good?

As you will see, Macleod really thought highly of his animal magnetism…

The Free Church of Scotland never adequately addressed the multiple complaints of sexual abuse and harassment by Donald Macleod.

The church turned a blind eye to credible reports of one long term relationship with a women in Australia. A number of women in Scotland also complained of his behavior. The Free Church, in my opinion, demonstrated that church leaders are willing to overlook vulnerable women in order to cover for a celebrity theologian.

Whenever the *it’s a conspiracy* card is played, victims’ advocates like myself know that there is no credible evidence of the innocence of the accused party.

The Sheriff Court exhibited profound ignorance in dealing with women who had been abused. The actions of the court likely caused further pain to the already traumatized women.

Five women would eventually go to court. However, there were other women who apparently decided not to subject themselves to a court trial. Given the disturbing treatment of these women by the court system, I have serious concerns that women who have been assaulted by *well known* men can get a fair hearing in the Sheriff Court.

I was distressed to learn that an officer of the court in Scotland would declare these women to be liars as well as dupes for an unproven conspiracy to take down Donald Macleod. Where is the proof? Or was proof really needed since Macleod had influence and the women didn’t really matter in the scheme of things?

The Sheriff appeared to demonstrate a lack of insight into the difficulties that abused women (and men) experience when forced to discuss details of their abuse in stressful situation such a court trials.

The sheriff in the case at Edinburgh Sheriff Court said that alleged conspirators had opposed the professor’s reformist views and plotted his downfall without any proof but his own feelings. Sheriff John Horsburgh said the complainants had allowed themselves to be associated with people involved in a campaign against the professor to the extent that they had perjured themselves in court.

The outcome of this trial was not universally applauded by church members which caused Iain D Campbell (yes, that Iain Campbell) to accuse those who expressed concern of being wicked. ( I guess he gave himself a pass in the wickedness department..)