David Syme Russell (theologian)

Rev Dr David Syme Russell CBE (1916–2010) was a distinguished theologian and author, former Principal of Rawdon College, Leeds, and General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Early life and career

David Syme Russell was born in Glasgow on 21 November 1916. A pupil of the famous Hamilton Academy school, Russell then entered Trinity College, Glasgow, subsequently continuing his studies at the University of Oxford.

Russell’s first charge was as pastor at the Castlegate church, Berwick, and between 1945 and 1951 he was minister in Acton, London, where in his final year there he conducted the funeral of the Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, preaching to a congregation including the cabinet of the Attlee government.

Later career

In 1953, Russell was appointed Principal, Rawdon College, the Baptist college at Leeds, England, and was much involved in the merging of Rawdon College with the Northern College, Manchester, in 1964, the merged colleges becoming the Northern Baptist College of which he was Joint Principal.

Becoming active in the European Baptist Federation and the Human Rights Programme of the Conference of European Churches, Russell was to advocate human rights in meetings with communist authorities and managed to secure funding for a translation into Russian of William Barclay's New Testament commentaries. He traveled widely in eastern Europe and Africa.

Russell was appointed General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain in 1967, a position he was to hold ‘till his retirement in 1982. Among other appointments, he also served as Moderator of the Free Church Federal Council (1973-74) and as its president (1983-84).

In 1967 Russell was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Glasgow and in 1982 was invested Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

David Russell married Marion Campbell in 1943, the couple having a son and daughter. Retiring in 1982 he moved to Bristol where he died, aged 93, on 8 November 2010.

Published works

Russell was the author of numerous works, writing six of his fourteen published books during his retirement. He also made significant contributions to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Among his published works:

Between the Testaments (1960)

The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic: 200 BC – AD 100 (1964)

Jews from Alexander to Herod (1975)

Daniel (with John C. L. Gibson, 1981)

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Patriarchs and Prophets in Early Judaisim (1987)

Daniel: An Active Volcano: Reflections on the Book of Daniel (1987)

Divine Disclosure: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic (1992)

Prophecy and the Apocalyptic Dream: Protest and Promise (1994)

References

The Scotsman Obituary, 6 Dec 2010. Rev Dr David Russell CBE. Retrieved 2011-04-14

Baptist Union of Great Britain Death of ‘remarkable’ David Russell. Baptist Times 1 November 2010. Retrieved 2011-04-14

The Herald Obituary, 3 December 2010. Rev. Dr. David Russell, Baptist Leader. Retrieved 2011-04-14

News Archive The Glasgow Herald 31 December 1981, New Year Honours. The Rev. David Syme Russell CBE, educated at Hamilton Academy. Retrieved 2011-04-14

Amazon Books Works by D. S. Russell. Retrieved 2011-04-14

External links

• Baptist Union of Great Britain
• Baptist Historical Society

Persondata
Name	Russell, David Syme
Alternative names	Russell, David Syme
Short description	Scottish theologian and author
Date of birth	21 November 1916
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death	8 November 2010
Place of death	Bristol, England