Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Alan Cairns (clergyman)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   delete.  Sandstein  17:20, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

Alan Cairns (clergyman)

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No activity as a Bible teacher or pastor seems to meet the notability threshold spelled out in WP:BIO, and the subject's works as an author (per WP:AUTHOR) are not notable either. References for the article are also deficient. —Eustress talk 20:26, 10 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Cairns is founder of a seminary and effectively the Free Presbyterian Church of North America because the majority of its clergy are his former students.--John Foxe (talk) 21:26, 10 April 2012 (UTC)
 * It would help to have some reliable sources in the article stating he founded the seminary and to have that noteworthy event in the lead. If these two issues were resolved, I'd support a keep, but without them, Cairns is just a non-notable evangelist. —Eustress talk 00:58, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * How about an unreliable source, the | seminary website? It says of Cairns, "It was under his direction that the training of preachers for the North American ministry of the FPC commenced in 1982. Geneva Reformed Seminary exists because of his vision and tireless labors." With recent history, we're often limited in what we can reasonably expect to be available.--John Foxe (talk) 14:07, 11 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Delete Agree with Eustress - an independent third party RS is needed. Found some references to him newspaper article were he is hosting a controversial pastor from the uk, accusations that senators pressured state department to revoke visa for that same controversial pastor, Mention of service as a pastor for 30 years in a local UK newspaper. Unfortunately, I don't think any provide information to meet the notability threshold per WP:BIO. I recommend delete to the closer unless these concerns are sufficiently addressed. Symes (talk) 15:33, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Keep " principal instructor at Geneva Reformed Seminary," and author of the numerous books, is sufficient for notability  DGG ( talk ) 05:50, 17 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Comment I suppose being a full professor at the Geneva Reformed Seminary doesn't pass WP:SCHOLAR? --Colapeninsula (talk) 15:51, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * His notability is based on his role as founder of the seminary and (by extension) the North American denomination.--John Foxe (talk) 15:56, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * The history page for Geneva Reformed Seminary (see here) does not say Cairns was the founder, but that he was the professor who assumed "the lion’s share of the instruction" after its inception. —Eustress talk 16:42, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Christianity-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 23:50, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 23:50, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 23:51, 11 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Keep -- The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster is a highly conservative evangelical denomination, which was founded and until recently led by Ian Paisley. The subject's notability seems to be that he founded a sister denomination in US and became ist main lecturer.  This seems to me to make him notable.  ONe difficulty is that this is all concerned with a splinter from a small denomination.  "Theological Hall" may be the Reformed Theological College of Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland, about which WP has no article, but see .  Peterkingiron (talk) 20:52, 13 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Delete No reliable evidence of notability from reputable sources presented139.149.1.230 (talk) 14:20, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, ‑Scottywong | yak _ 17:58, 18 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Delete I am certainly open to changing my vote, but I can't find anything in reliable sources which indicate his notability. Peter, you're probably correct that the difficulty in finding reliable sources is that this is a splinter from a small denomination. However, this is also precisely why it does not appear to be notable (presumably, if the group became sufficiently large and notable, it would begin to generate coverage from mainstream sources.)JoelWhy (talk) 18:06, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Delete He cannot inherit notability by being associated with a famous politician/minister. His role in a small bible college, lacking accreditation as a degree granting college, the role of which is to train ministers for  a splinter of a small denomination, certainly does not provide any inherent notability. No evidence has been provided as references to the article, or here in the deletion discussion, to demonstrate that multiple reliable and independent sources have significant coverage of him or his work. Edison (talk) 19:47, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Delete If everyone who did the same things that this guy has was to become "Notable", then "Notable" would have no meaning. Everyone would have a page.--ARTEST4ECHO (talk/contribs) 14:59, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.