The origins of the Free Protestant Church in South Africa : David P Faure Contra Dutch Reformed Calvinism

Abstract

The origins of the Free Protestant Church, subsequently also called the Unitarian Church, in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope during the 1860s have almost completely escaped scholarly attention. The present article explores how, under the leadership primarily of David P Faure, a native of Stellenbosch who studied at the University of Leiden from 1861 until 1866, theological liberalism inspired by J H Scholten and other scholars was transplanted to the Cape during a time of intense strife within the Dutch Reformed Church. It is demonstrated that Faure initially sought to minister within that denomination, but in 1867 concluded that he was theologically incompatible with its leadership. He consequently began to proclaim the “Nieuwe Rigting” in a series of public lectures and, despite stiff opposition from Andrew Murray and other Dutch Reformed conservatives, in 1869 gathered an independent congregation which rejected doctrinal formulae and stressed the love of Christ as its cornerstone.