Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber, and Badenoch spoke in a member’s debate on the floor of Parliament to praise the life and Christian faith of Dr David Livingstone in honour of the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Dave recounted the values which brought Dr Livingstone such great success.
Dave said, “Throughout David Livingstone’s journeys, there was one defining feature of his life that stood out from the rest—his Christian faith.
“He believed that Science and Faith are not at odds with each other but are both essential to a fulfilled life. During his travels, he preached a Christian message, but he never forced it on unwilling ears.
The famous Scottish explorer is well known for charting the Zambezi River, exploring the Nile, and being the first European to see Victoria Falls. His encounter with reporter Henry Stanley resulted in the now famous greeting ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’
Dave continued, “The First Minister recently said that David Livingstone’s values are the values of Scotland, those values were Christian values and we should not forget that.
“At a time when it is unfashionable to admit that Scotland was once known as the land of the book, let us reflect on the life of David Livingstone—a man whose values stem from a deep faith in Jesus Christ, a factor that was also instrumental in shaping who we were, and are, as the Scottish nation.
Note:
Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP): I, too, congratulate Bob Doris on securing this debate on the bicentenary of the birth of Dr David Livingstone, which is on 19 March 1813. The list of David Livingstone’s exploits and accomplishments is long. He travelled the Nile and explored the Zambezi and he was the first European to lay eyes on Victoria falls.
Throughout David Livingstone’s journeys, there was one defining feature of his life that stood out from the rest—his Christian faith. The young David Livingstone grew up in a household in which he was surrounded by Christian values. His father was a door-to-door salesman who gave out Christian tracts while doing his job, and was also a Sunday school teacher at church.
The young David Livingstone grew up in a household in which he was surrounded by Christian values—I will say it again so that people get it this time. [Laughter.] His father was a door-to-door salesman who gave out Christian tracts while doing his job, and was also a Sunday school teacher at church. David emulated his father’s love of theology and his father’s faith in Christ, but he mixed it with a distinct passion for the sciences, which led him to study medicine and to being ordained as a missionary.
David Livingstone’s father feared that reading science books would undermine David’s Christianity. David’s deep interest in nature led him to investigate the relationship between religion and science. However, after reading the book “The Philosophy of a Future State” by Thomas Dick, the young David reconciled his two loves of faith and science. He believed that the two are not at odds with each other but are both essential to a fulfilled life.
David Livingstone went on to establish Christian missions in central Africa and to become one of the most famous missionaries in history. His motto, which is inscribed on the base of the statue to him at Victoria falls, was “Christianity, Commerce and Civilisation”. He saw his mission as opening a path for commerce and Christianity. It is important to note that his championing of commerce was not colonialist; it was more to do with providing an alternative economy to the slave trade.
David Livingstone encouraged small groups of Presbyterian men, and eventually their families, to form communities in Africa that would bring their skills and pass those on to local people. He saw that not as a means of European settlement but as a transfer of skills and techniques and a way of Christian living.
During his travels, David Livingstone preached a Christian message, but he never forced it on unwilling ears. He listened to the African chiefs with respect and courtesy; he treated them as equals, which was in stark contrast to the treatment of the African people by many other Europeans.
In taking that attitude, David Livingstone was acting just as he had learned in his readings of the Bible. As 1 Peter 3:8 says:
“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
The First Minister recently said that David Livingstone’s values are the values of Scotland. I agree. Of course, those values were Christian values and we should not forget that.
At a time when it is unfashionable to admit that Scotland was once known as the land of the book, we could do worse than look back at the life of David Livingstone—a man whose values of humanity did not stem from humanism, but from a deep faith in Jesus Christ, a factor that was also instrumental in shaping who we were, and are, as the Scottish nation.
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=7813&i=71255&c=1433028
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