I have now transitioned from Calvin to his disciple John Knox in my "polity pilgrimage." Edinburgh is the birthplace of the Reformation in Scotland: the ancient and present capital, a sacred site for Presbyterians the world over. It is also miserably wet and cold. Maybe it's just the abnormal weather we are experiencing, but in the first two days of my visit, it has rained no fewer than ten times. Not just sprinkles, real rain. I suppose it's actually a good thing. A heat wave would make the city unbearable as it is in the midst of a sanitation strike (technically a slow-down). That's Calvinist Providence for you! Edinburgh lacks the excitement of Paris or the gentility of Geneva. It has the capacity to evoke a gothic perspective; not surprisingly, it is the location in which J.K. Rowling conjured up a world of wizards and magic.
Yesterday, I visited the two main centers of Presbyterian history here in Edinburgh: the John Knox house, on the Royal Mile next to the old city gate; and St. Giles' Cathedral, where Knox was the first Protestant minister. As was the case in Geneva, Edinburgh seems almost apologetic for their Reformer. The John Knox house carefully balances Knox's history with that of John Mosman, a goldsmith who later owned the house and was loyal to the crown during the Scottish revolution. Granted, Knox lacked the intellectual rigor of Calvin, and was considerably less restrained than his mentor. But a local bookstore boasts a series on famous Scots and there isn't a single volume on Knox. Perhaps it reflects the pervasive secularism of the city.
Knox, it seems to me, is a classic "second generation" follower of a charismatic leader. Like the Apostle Paul, the Caliph Ali, or even Brigham Young, Knox brought the passion of a "true believer" to his defense of the cause. His fire-breathing sermons seem perfectly suited to a city where heat may be a greater necessity than light.
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