William Menzies Alexander

The grave of Prof William Menzies Alexander, Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh

Prof Rev William Menzies Alexander M.D. MA DSc DD (Shettleston, then in Lanarkshire, May 12, 1858 – Edinburgh August 30, 1929) was a Scottish medical and theological writer.^[1]

After graduating B.Sc. from the University of Glasgow in 1885 Alexander trained as a medical missionary and taught biology and chemistry at Wilson College in Bombay, before returning to Scotland to complete M.B. (1888), B.D. (1889) and M.D. (1891). He then returned to Bombay where he was examiner to the Technical College and the University of Bombay until he contracted an illness that permanently damaged his hearing. He returned to Scotland and was appointed Professor of the new Free Church College in 1904, teaching most subjects in the curriculum including Hebrew. Later he was moderator of the General Assembly, 1911. He obtained the degree of D.Sc. in 1919.

Works

Alexander is best remembered for his work Demonic Possession in the New Testament (1902) which attempted to explain accounts of demonic possession in the synoptic Gospels in medical and scientific terms. This caused a controversy in regard to his position as Professor of Divinity at Free Church College, Edinburgh, with accusations of non-belief in the inspiration of Scripture being made against Alexander and the College.^[2] In fact Alexander did retain belief in the miraculous, and considered that the affirmations of the possessed of the Messiah were the miraculous element, but that descriptions of the illness were simply largely the language of the day.

Personal life

Alexander was the son of John, a farmer, and Margaret (née Menzies). He married Agnes Campbell Blair September 18, 1889 in Glasgow, Scotland.

He is buried with his wife, Agnes Campbell (1852-1933) in Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh. His unusual polished black stone stands on an east-west path near the centre, towards its western end.

Publications

• Demonic Possession in the New Testament: Its Relations Historical, Medical, and Theological (1902)

References

1. "Rev. William Menzies Alexander, M.D". British Medical Journal 2 (3584): 522. 1929. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.3584.522-a. PMC: 2452182. PMID 20774929.
2. Donald MacLeod The Free Church College 1900-1970 in David F. Wright, Gary D. Badcock Disruption to diversity : Edinburgh divinity, 1846-1996 p221-

• "Biography of William Menzies Alexander". The University of Glasgow Story. University of Glasgow.

External links

Alexander, William Menzies. Demonic Possession in the New Testament. ISBN 9780766147072.