GLAS, JOHN Scottish divine, founder of the Glasite church, was born at Auchtermuchty, Fife, where his father was parish minister, on Oct. 5, 1695. He became minister of Tealing, Dundee, and in 1725, in a letter to Francis Archibald, minister of Guthrie, Forfarshire, he repudiated the obligation of national covenants. In the same year his views found expression in the formation of a society "separate from the multitude" num bering nearly a hundred, and drawn from his own and neighbour ing parishes. Its members pledged themselves to follow Glas's doctrine. From the scriptural doctrine of the essentially spiritual nature of the kingdom of Christ, Glas in his public teaching drew the conclusions: (1) that there is no warrant in the New Testa ment for a national church; (2) that the magistrate as such has no function in the church; (3) that national covenants are with out scriptural grounds; (4) that the true Reformation cannot be carried out by political and secular weapons but by the word and spirit of Christ only. This argument is most fully exhibited in Glas's treatise entitled The Testimony of the King of Martyrs Glas was summoned (1726) before his presbytery, and he was in 1728 suspended from the discharge of ministerial functions, and finally deposed in 17 3o. The members of his society for the most part continued to adhere to him, thus constituting the first "Glassite" or "Glasite" church. The seat of this congregation was shortly afterwards transferred to Dundee (whence Glas subse quently removed to Edinburgh), where he officiated for some time as an "elder." He next laboured in Perth for a few years, where he was joined by Robert Sandeman (see GLASITES), who became his son-in-law, and eventually was recognized as the leader and principal exponent of Glas's views; these he developed in a direction which laid them open to the charge of antinomianism. Ultimately in 17 3o Glas returned to Dundee, where the remainder of his life was spent. In 1739 the General Assembly removed the sentence of deposition which had been passed against him, and restored him to the character and function of a minister of the gospel of Christ, but not that of a minister of the Established Church of Scotland. He died in 1773.
A collected edition of his works was published at Edinburgh in 1761 (4 vols., 8vo), and again at Perth in 1782 (5 vols., 8vo). Glas's True Discourse of Celsus (1753), from Origen's reply to it, is a competent and learned piece of work. The Testimony of the King of Martyrs concerning His Kingdom (1729) is a classic repudiation of erastianism and defence of the spiritual autonomy of the church under Jesus Christ.