Ivan Foster
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| Ivan Foster | |
| Religious beliefs | Free Presbyterian |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Northern Irish |
| Education | Theological Hall, Ravenhill Road, Belfast |
| Church(es) | Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church (Current), Bethel Free Presbyterian Church |
| Years active | ordained 1967, Bethel Free Presbyterian Church, 1968 - 1978, Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church 1978 - present |
| Titles | Rev. Ivan Foster, Minister of Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church, Editor of The Burning Bush |
| Spouse | Ann Foster |
Ivan Foster is a senior minister in the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and a former Democratic Unionist Party politician. He is a lifelong friend and associate of the Democratic Unionist politician and Free Presbyterian Church leader Ian Paisley. But in November 2006, he became the most prominent Free Presbyterian to openly challenge Ian Paisley's decision to enter into a power-sharing government with Sinn Féin and went on to denounce Ian Paisley from the pulpit of his church in January 2007.
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[edit] Minister of Religion
Foster was ordained a minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in 1967. His first pastoral charge was as minister of Lisbellaw (later called Bethel) Free Presbyterian Church in May 1968. Since 1978, he has served as minister of Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church, Old Junction Road, Kilskeery, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland.[1] His weekly sermons are broadcast in parts of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on Christian and community radio stations, including Community Radio 102.9 FM (county Mayo), Radio Star Country, 981 AM (county Monaghan) and Radio North Country, 846 AM (county Donegal).
Since March 1970, he has edited The Burning Bush, a magazine describing itself as 'a Protestant witness in a time of Apostasy', which began live as a congregational newsletter. This magazine is not an official publication of the Free Presbyterian Church, but it is nevertheless influential in shaping the views of some Free Presbyterians. Originally distributed free of charge, a subscription fee was set in 1999. Foster also operates a Christian fundamentalist website.[2] He has also undertaken evangelical missions in Canada and was for many years the head of the Free Presbyterian Education Board.
Foster has also gained a reputation as an outspoken critic. He has denounced the Belfast-born Christian writer and apologist C.S. Lewis as an 'apostate'.[3] He is also outspokenly in favour of corporal punishment and in 2001, in response to a public debate about the British government's plans to ban corporal punishment in the home, he condemned the NSPCC as having a part in an 'evil' plan to abolish it.[4]
[edit] DUP Politician
Foster was a member of the DUP during the 1980s and for a time served as deputy leader of the party as well as being a member of Omagh District Council.[5] He was elected[6] for the DUP in the Northern Ireland assembly elections of 1982 for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency. He gained his greatest notoriety in 1986 when he was one of the three founders of Ulster Resistance.[7] Foster had previously been the commander of the Fermanagh battalion of Paisley's previous initiative, the Third Force, one of the few regions of the group that undertook any real activity.[8] Subsequently, Foster abandoned political life to concentrate on his work as a Free Presbyterian minister, having decided that the policies of the DUP were becoming too liberal.[9]
[edit] Criticism of Ian Paisley
Although now out of politics Rev. Foster has recently re-emerged to criticize the political path currently being taken by Ian Paisley. This began on Thursday 23 November 2006, when Foster gave interviews to the media and met with Ian Paisley in person to express his concerns that the DUP were considering forming a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, under the terms of the St Andrews Agreement.[10] Foster's condemnation grew stronger on Sunday 7 January 2007 when, in a sermon lasting 70 minutes, Foster denounced Dr. Paisley because of his apparent willingness to enter into a coalition government with Sinn Féin. In the sermon, (entitled Where have we gone astray? -- A Question for Free Presbyterians) which was also webcast, Foster said, 'We do pray for Dr Paisley and I never thought I would see the day that I would stand in this pulpit and say I think him wrong entirely and say I could never support what he is doing, but that day has come.'[11]
[edit] References
- ^ 'A word of introduction from the Editor'
- ^ The Burning Bush
- ^ 'CS Lewis-safe guide/confused soul?'
- ^ 'NSPCC in coalition with Sinn Fein in opposition to God’s Word'
- ^ Rev. Ivan Foster
- ^ Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1973-1982
- ^ Ulster Resistance from CAIN
- ^ 'All Our Yesterdays'
- ^ Malcolm Anderson and Eberhard Bort, The Irish Border: History, Politics, Culture, p. 132
- ^ Paisley-SF move 'heartbreaking'
- ^ 'Where have we gone astray?'
