Jack Glass
Encyclopedia
John Thomas Atkinson Glass, often known as Pastor Jack Glass or simply as Jack Glass (1936 - 24 February 2004), was a Scottish
Protestant preacher, evangelicalist and political activist. Pastor Glass is most readily associated with his strong views on unionism
in Northern Ireland
, his anti-Catholic
speeches and his association with his friend and colleague the Rev. Ian Paisley
. According to his obituary in The Times, Glass was seen as Scotland's answer to Ian Paisley. Pastor Glass died of lung cancer in 2004.
, Glasgow
, in 1936. His father, Samuel, was a brushmaker and Church of Scotland
elder, while his mother, Isabella, was a housewife. He was the dux of his local Springfield school, which gave him an automatic scholarship to the fee-paying Allan Glen's School
in Glasgow. He turned the scholarship down down because he did not want to be separated from his working-class friends. He attended Riverside Senior Secondary instead.
Pastor Jack Glass was "born again" at the age of 11 in a Salvation Army
Sunday School
, dedicating himself wholly to his Lord at the age of 16. These events shaped the rest of his life.
He married Margaret (Peggy) in 1958 at the age of 21; the couple had three children.
and English at the University of Glasgow
, plus a three-year theological course in the Free Church College
in Edinburgh
. There, he obtained a college diploma for his "proficiency in the subjects required". During his studies he was awarded with a distinction in homiletics
and firsts in the subjects of Greek and Hebrew. Previous to this, Glass had left the Baptist Union
College due to what he felt were its non-scriptural ecumenical involvement.
and Separatist
. The church met first at Edrom St. in Shettleston
, followed by a spell at the Woodside Halls and then onto the current premises in Polmadie
, Glasgow.
He was the editor of the Scottish Protestant View, an evangelical Protestant newspaper started by him in 1969. He was also Chairman of the Twentieth Century Reformation Movement which was reported as being considered by him to be the 'political arm' of his church.
and Roman Catholicism. These protests took him all over the world, including Rome
, Sweden
, Switzerland
, Kenya
, Vancouver
and also at a local level throughout the UK.
This culminated in a series of protests against the Papal visit to Britain in 1982, the first time a reigning Pope
had set foot on the nominally Protestant island. For added publicity, Glass had put himself up as a candidate in the Glasgow Hillhead by-election
on 25 March 1982. Under the description 'Protestant Crusade against the Papal Visit' he got 388 votes. Glass had stood for Parliament before; having been a candidate in the Glasgow Bridgeton
constituency, a safe Labour seat, at the 1970 general election
. Standing as an Independent Protestant, he received 1,180 votes (6.7% of the poll).
On 1 June 1982, Glass and Paisley jointly led a protest march through Glasgow which culminated in a demonstration near the landing site of the Papal helicopter in Bellahouston Park
. Glass and Paisley are said to have led the crowd in shouts of "The Beast is Coming", "No Surrender" and "Down with the Pope of Rome". Alongside this, Glass had debated at many Scottish and English universities, including Durham
and Cambridge. He was recognized as a biblical literalist
.
Pastor Glass protested against ecumenism and, as he perceived it, the sins of an increasingly ungodly generation. He regularly preached four sermons a week.
He campaigned against perceived blasphemy
on many occasions. He protested against films (The Last Temptation of Christ
), plays (Corpus Christi), and comedians (notably Billy Connolly
’s crucifixion skit). When protests by Pastor Glass led to an increase in ticket sales for the Glasgow performance of the comic stage version of The Bible by the Reduced Shakespeare Company
, the company announced they would like to offer Pastor Glass a free ticket as thanks.
Glass often joined Ian Paisley
in his protests against Irish Republicanism
and against the Irish Republican Army
and papal authority in Northern Ireland
. Paisley however once noted that Jack Glass was "a bit of an extremist".
and radiotherapy, he continued to preach twice weekly, protesting and taking part in hours of filming with the BBC
(they had requested to document his life). The documentary The Devil and Jack Glass was screened in January 2004. His last public statement was to say that through the power of prayer he had "beaten the cancer the devil had given him." He died on 24 February that year. He is buried in Killearn.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
Protestant preacher, evangelicalist and political activist. Pastor Glass is most readily associated with his strong views on unionism
Unionism in Ireland
Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, his anti-Catholic
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
speeches and his association with his friend and colleague the Rev. Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
. According to his obituary in The Times, Glass was seen as Scotland's answer to Ian Paisley. Pastor Glass died of lung cancer in 2004.
Early life
Pastor Jack Glass was born in DalmarnockDalmarnock
Dalmarnock is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde. It is bounded by the Clyde to the south and east, Parkhead to the north, and Bridgeton at Dunn Street to the north west...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, in 1936. His father, Samuel, was a brushmaker and Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
elder, while his mother, Isabella, was a housewife. He was the dux of his local Springfield school, which gave him an automatic scholarship to the fee-paying Allan Glen's School
Allan Glen's School
Allan Glen's School was for most of its existence a selective fee-paying independent secondary school for boys in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded by the Allan Glen's Endowment Scholarship Trust on the death in 1850 of Allan Glen, a successful Glasgow tradesman and businessman, "to give a good...
in Glasgow. He turned the scholarship down down because he did not want to be separated from his working-class friends. He attended Riverside Senior Secondary instead.
Pastor Jack Glass was "born again" at the age of 11 in a Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
, dedicating himself wholly to his Lord at the age of 16. These events shaped the rest of his life.
He married Margaret (Peggy) in 1958 at the age of 21; the couple had three children.
Religion
In his early twenties he collapsed in Jamaica Street, Glasgow, due to the erosion of a blood vessel. While lying in hospital recovering he felt a call to the ministry. He was ordained to the ministry in 1968 after studying moral philosophyEthics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and English at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, plus a three-year theological course in the Free Church College
Free Church College
The Free Church College is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of the Disruption of 1843...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. There, he obtained a college diploma for his "proficiency in the subjects required". During his studies he was awarded with a distinction in homiletics
Homiletics
Homiletics , in theology the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching. The one who practices or studies homiletics is called a homilist....
and firsts in the subjects of Greek and Hebrew. Previous to this, Glass had left the Baptist Union
Baptist Union of Scotland
The Baptist Union of Scotland is the main denomination of Baptist churches in Scotland.-From the 1650s to 1869:Baptists first arrived in Scotland with the armies of English republican Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, who established small churches in Leith, Perth, Cupar, Ayr and Aberdeen, but they did...
College due to what he felt were its non-scriptural ecumenical involvement.
Zion Baptist Church
Glass went on to minister at Zion Baptist Church, the church he had founded in 1965. The church is Calvinistic, BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and Separatist
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
. The church met first at Edrom St. in Shettleston
Shettleston
Shettleston is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Like many of the city's districts, Shettleston was originally a small village on its outer edge. Today Shettleston lies between the neighbouring districts of Parkhead to the west, and Baillieston to the east, and is about 2 and a...
, followed by a spell at the Woodside Halls and then onto the current premises in Polmadie
Polmadie
Polmadie is a district of Glasgow, a city in Scotland. Polmadie is situated south of the River Clyde, and adjacent to the Gorbals....
, Glasgow.
He was the editor of the Scottish Protestant View, an evangelical Protestant newspaper started by him in 1969. He was also Chairman of the Twentieth Century Reformation Movement which was reported as being considered by him to be the 'political arm' of his church.
Anti-Catholicism, Unionism, Ian Paisley and politics
In following years he was to become well-known for his protests against ecumenismEcumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
and Roman Catholicism. These protests took him all over the world, including Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and also at a local level throughout the UK.
This culminated in a series of protests against the Papal visit to Britain in 1982, the first time a reigning Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
had set foot on the nominally Protestant island. For added publicity, Glass had put himself up as a candidate in the Glasgow Hillhead by-election
Glasgow Hillhead by-election, 1982
A Glasgow Hillhead by-election was held on 25 March 1982. The by-election was caused by the death of the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Glasgow Hillhead Tam Galbraith on 2 January 1982....
on 25 March 1982. Under the description 'Protestant Crusade against the Papal Visit' he got 388 votes. Glass had stood for Parliament before; having been a candidate in the Glasgow Bridgeton
Glasgow Bridgeton (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Bridgeton was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Glasgow. From 1885 to 1974, it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
constituency, a safe Labour seat, at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
. Standing as an Independent Protestant, he received 1,180 votes (6.7% of the poll).
On 1 June 1982, Glass and Paisley jointly led a protest march through Glasgow which culminated in a demonstration near the landing site of the Papal helicopter in Bellahouston Park
Bellahouston Park
Bellahouston Park is a public park in the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Mosspark, Craigton, Ibrox, and Dumbreck, covering an area of . It is based around Ibrox hill in the centre, with commanding views over most of the city, exceptions being views to the east that are...
. Glass and Paisley are said to have led the crowd in shouts of "The Beast is Coming", "No Surrender" and "Down with the Pope of Rome". Alongside this, Glass had debated at many Scottish and English universities, including Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
and Cambridge. He was recognized as a biblical literalist
Biblical literalism
Biblical literalism is the interpretation or translation of the explicit and primary sense of words in the Bible. A literal Biblical interpretation is associated with the fundamentalist and evangelical hermeneutical approach to Scripture, and is used almost exclusively by conservative Christians...
.
Pastor Glass protested against ecumenism and, as he perceived it, the sins of an increasingly ungodly generation. He regularly preached four sermons a week.
He campaigned against perceived blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
on many occasions. He protested against films (The Last Temptation of Christ
The Last Temptation of Christ
The Last Temptation of Christ is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1953. It was first published in English in 1960. It follows the life of Jesus Christ from his perspective...
), plays (Corpus Christi), and comedians (notably Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
’s crucifixion skit). When protests by Pastor Glass led to an increase in ticket sales for the Glasgow performance of the comic stage version of The Bible by the Reduced Shakespeare Company
Reduced Shakespeare Company
The Reduced Shakespeare Company is an American acting troupe that writes and performs unsubtle, fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of huge topics.- Overview :...
, the company announced they would like to offer Pastor Glass a free ticket as thanks.
Glass often joined Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
in his protests against Irish Republicanism
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and against the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
and papal authority in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Paisley however once noted that Jack Glass was "a bit of an extremist".
Death
In January 2003, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He publicly proclaimed that this was a personal attack by the devil himself. Throughout his intense treatment of chemotherapyChemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and radiotherapy, he continued to preach twice weekly, protesting and taking part in hours of filming with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
(they had requested to document his life). The documentary The Devil and Jack Glass was screened in January 2004. His last public statement was to say that through the power of prayer he had "beaten the cancer the devil had given him." He died on 24 February that year. He is buried in Killearn.
In popular culture
- Pastor Jack Glass was portrayed by Scottish folk artist Dick GaughanDick GaughanRichard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
on the 2006 album Lucky For Some in the song "The Devil And Pastor Jack".