Alexander Marshall (evangelist) explained

Alexander Marshall (13 December 1846 – 9 August 1928) was a Plymouth Brethren Evangelist from Scotland involved in much pioneering work, including Canada.^[1]

Early life

Marshall was born in Stranraer in Wigtownshire, Scotland, on 13 December 1846.^[1] In Stranraer he worked as a solicitor's clerk until the age of eighteen, then moved to Glasgow where he became a member of the Plymouth Brethren Church.^[2]

In 1879 he travelled to America and then on to Canada.^[1] In 1882, he married Amy Florence Tate.^[1]

Evangelism

He travelled extensively, crossing the Atlantic 36 times during his lifetime.^[1] In 1897 he travelled to Iceland.^[1] His evangelist activities also took him to Egypt, Palestine Central America, Mexico and New Zealand.^[1]

Initially, Marshall was connected with some of the early Needed Truth Brethren, but could not go on with them over disagreements regarding what is a legitimate breaking of bread meeting. Marshall insisted that any gathering of two or three believers to break bread could be recognized as an assembly around the Lord's Table. Marshall spent much time preaching with other pioneers like Donald Ross and Donald Munro. These men who worked together are sometimes considered to be the beginnings of the Gospel Hall Brethren.

Marshall had urged Christians to make public protests against theological modernism.^[3] However, Marshall was also accused of heresy himself.^[4]

He died on 9 August 1928.^[1]

Publications

He was author of several works, including:

• Holding Fast the Faithful Word - Whither are we Drifting? (1908) 56 pages^[5]
• God's Way of Salvation, a 32-page booklet first published in the 1920s^{[6] [7]} The booklet was published in eighteen languages with over four million copies in print.^[8]
• Christ or the "critics": Whom shall we believe? first published in 1920.^[9]

Further reading

• Book: Hawthorn, John . Alexander Marshall: evangelist, author & pioneer . 1929 . Pickering & Inglis . 5914138 . London, Glasgow.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Alexander Marshall - Another Pioneer . . 8 July 2015.
2. Web site: Interesting ancestor – Alexander Marshall, evangelist . judyfamhist.com . 14 August 2014 . 8 July 2015.
3. Book: Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism in the United Kingdom During the Twentieth . Tim . Grass . David W. . Bebbington . David . Ceri Jones . 7. How Fundamentalist were British Brethren in the 1920s? . October 2013 . 120 . 9780199664832 . https://books.google.com/books?id=xe_1AAAAQBAJ&q=Alexander+Marshall+evangelist&pg=PA120.
4. Book: Rawlyk. George A.. Aspects of the Canadian Evangelical Experience. 1997. McGill-Queen's University Press. 53. 9780773515475. 8 July 2015.
5. Web site: Holding Fast the Faithful Word - Whither are we Drifting? . 8 July 2015.
6. Book: Formats and editions of "God's way of salvation: illustrated by comparison and contrast" . . 219833789 . 8 July 2015.
7. https://archive.org/details/godswayofsalvati00mars digital version at archive.org
8. Bring the Books: Alexander Marshall: Evangelist, Author & Pioneer By John Hawthorne . Dr. Robert . Dennison . Truth & Tidings . 61 . 1 . January 2010.
9. Book: all editions for 'Christ or the "critics" : whom shall we believe?' . WorldCat . 314796798 . 8 July 2015.