Barclay was a student of Rudolph Bultmann, but did not consider himself a disciple of the German scholar. He started out as a fundamentalist but moved to the theological left in subsequent years. He said, "I am a fundamentalist in that I believe there is an historical event behind all scripture." He rejected the notion that the gospel stories were the inventions of the early Church.

The professor was perhaps least orthodox in his view of Jesus' Virgin Birth. He said, "If this is true then Jesus arrived in a way no one else has and therefore he would not be fully human." This argument is interesting in that the early Church saw the Virgin Birth as proof of Jesus' humanity -- he was actually born of woman and not an angel come slumming, as the Gnostics might suppose.

Barclay held a dynamic view of the inspiration of Scripture. He believed the Holy Spirit inspired its writing, and the same Spirit inspires us to understand the Bible as we read it today.

Willie and Katherine's health was not the best in their later years. He made reference to this in his correspondence. He retired from his Chair at Trinity College and Lady Collins (a devout Roman Catholic who owned Collins Publishers) made him an offer he could not refuse. She provided him an office, secretary and carte blanche to publish his Daily Study Bible on the Old Testament. He wrote about this opportunity with excitement as he started writing on Genesis and the Psalms. Unfortunately Parkinsons disease cut short that ambitious project.

The Church of Scotland wanted to elect Barclay its Moderator. However, he refused this high honor saying he was too busy to take the denominational post and he did not want to wear the Moderator's ceremonial costume. While he had been a devoted pastor, visiting each family in his parish annually, and a seminary professor, Barclay had a Free Church antiestablishment bias. He was not a good Churchman for he often did not attend Presbytery meetings.

The professor's outstanding accomplishments in publication and television broadcasting was recognized by the Crown. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Due to his writing Barclay became one of the wealthiest clergymen in Scotland. He kept a balance of $150,000 in his checking account at a time when the average pastor in the Church of Scotland made less than $3,000 annually. Generous to a fault, he was a fun-loving man who worked hard but also enjoyed life. While he had a host of acquaintances he confessed to having few close friends.

Barclay was out of step with the ecumenical movement in Britain during his time. Serious talks of union were under way between the Anglican Church of England and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Some Scots feared "having Bishops in the Kirk!" Barclay felt that Church union was the wrong way to go. He did not see uniformity as a good thing but felt we "all should be at liberty to come to each other's Communion Tables."

He compared Church denominations to units in the same army. His example was the Argyll and Sutherland Highland regiment as a part of the Eighth Army within the British Army. He preferred retaining denominations as distinct members of the same family -- not one World Church.

William Barclay popularized New Testament studies and put insights from the Greek New Testament into the hands of ordinary laity in language they could understand. His purpose "to bring to ordinary people the insights of modern scholarship" was achieved. His fertile mind and prolific pen blessed untold millions. What even greater treasures we would have, had he lived and written for another decade or so.

The Christian world can be grateful to the Father for this remarkable communicator of the Gospel: servant of the Word, William Barclay.