Alexander Campbell Pleads for a
Restoration
“On various occasions he said of
this problem:
The spirit of God has been moving
the minds of such men as Glos, Sandeman, and others to plead for a restoration
of the ancient Gospel” (W. T. Moore, A Comprehensive History of the
Disciples of Christ, p. 432)
Hence we cherish the hope and
breathe the prayer that the spirit of missionary zeal and of primitive
simplicity may shed its effulgence on our American Zion . . . (The Christian Baptist. [Preface])
It is obvious to the most
superficial observer who is at all acquainted with the state of Christianity
and of the church of the New Testament, that much, very much, is wanting, to
bring the Christianity and the church of the present day up to that standard .
. . (Ibid., p. 127)
All wise and good men expect a
millennium, or a period of great happiness upon earth. They all argue that
greater light than that hitherto possessed will be universally enjoyed. They do
not merely expect a universal subjugation of all nations, kindreds, and
tongues, to the Lord Jesus; they do not merely expect a state of harmony,
perfect peace and union among all the citizens of heaven; but they look for a
vast accumulation of light and knowledge, religious, moral, and political. They
do not, however, expect a new Bible or any new revelation of the Spirit, but
only a more clear and comprehensive knowledge of the sacred writings which we
now enjoy. This belief and expectation of all wise and good men, is unequivocally
declarative of the conviction that the scriptures are not now generally
understood, and that there are new discoveries of the true and genuine meaning
of these sacred records yet to be made.
I am fully aware of the
difficulties under which these Christians withdrew from the popular
establishments. They were sick of frivolous formalities, tired with the poor
entertainment of insipid speculation, and traditional prescriptions, and
desirous of understanding and living upon the Book of God. But they have lost
the key of interpretation, or rather they withdrew from the popular
establishments with much esteem for the Bible, but with the textuary notions
expounding it. They did not know or feel that when they commenced interpreting
for themselves, they were only using the tools which they carried from the
pulpits which they had forsaken. A restoration of the ancient order of things
is all that is necessary to the happiness and usefulness of Christians. (Ibid.,
p. 128)
But a restoration of the ancient
order of things, it appears, is all that is contemplated by the wise disciples
of the Lord. . . . Many there were who, wearied with the denominational strife,
and restive under ecclesiastical domination, awaited a prophet whose aim was
spiritual emancipation, and whose strong and fearless leadership they would
trust. (T. W. Grafton, Life of Alexander Campell, p. 116)
An era is just as the door, which
will be known as the Regeneration for a thousand years to come. . . .
The Lord Jesus will soon rebuild Jerusalem, and rise up the Tabernacle of David
which has so long been in ruins. Let the church prepare herself for the return
of her Lord, and see that she make herself ready for his appearance. But the
preparation of a people for the coming of the Lord must be the result of the
restoration of the ancient gospel and order of things. . . . (Alexander
Campbell, The Christian System, p. 310)
Besides, do not the experience of
all the religious—the observations of the intelligent—the practical result of
all creeds, reformations, and
improvements—and the expectations and longings of society—warrant the
conclusion that either some new revelation, or some new development of the
revelation of God must be made, before the hopes and expectations of all true
Christians can be realized, or Christianity save and reform the nations of the
world? We want the old gospel back, and sustained by the ancient order of
things: and this alone, by the blessing of the Divine Spirit, is all that we do
want, or can expect, to reform and save the world.
For a divine warrant has always
been essential to any acceptable worship. The question, ‘Who has required this
at your hands’ must always be answered by a ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ before an
offering of a mortal man can be acknowledged by the Lawgiver of the universe.
‘In vain,’ said the Great Teacher, ‘Do you worship God, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.’
Still a regular and constant
ministry was needed among the Jews, and is yet needed among the Christians; and
both of these by divine authority. (Ibid., p. 250)
The ‘signs of the times’ indicate
some wonderful revolution in the state of the world. This every candid and
careful observer must see. To close our eyes, therefore, against is, is to act
as the Ephesians did when the uproar was raised by the teachings of Paul. (The
Christian Baptist, VI:517)
We have to pattern after the first
(church) as well as we can, but we can never equal it. With all our efforts the
great disparity will ever remain, and could the apostles and primitive
Christians be here, they would doubtless weep at beholding it. (Millennial
Harbinger, V:40)
We are convinced, fully convinced,
that the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint of modern fashionable
Christianity. . . . It is not the prescription of zealously engaging in all the
projects of converting the world, recommended by the popular clergy, that will
heal the diseases of the people; but it is an abandonment of every human
scheme, and a submission to learn and study Christianity as developed in the
Bible. This is the course, and the only course, that will effect a cure and
renovate the constitution. (The Christian Baptist, I:33)
And while I write and labor as I
do, he that knows the hearts of all flesh knows that I do it from the fullest
conviction from his oracles that the Christianity of our day is a corrupt
Christianity, and that the ancient order of things is lost sight of in almost
all denominations of professing Christians. (Ibid., IV:285)
It is a thing equally deplorable
and dangerous, that there are many creeds as there are opinions among men; as
many doctrines as inclinations; and as many sources of blasphemy as there are
faults among us; because we make creeds arbitrarily, and explain them as
arbitrarily. And as there is but one faith, so there is but one God, one Lord,
and one baptism. We renounce this one faith when we make so many different
creeds; and that diversity is the reason why we have no true faith among us. We
can not be ignorant that since the Council of Nice, we have done nothing but
make creeds. (Ibid., IV:296) (E. Cecil McGavin, Cumorah’s “Gold
Bible” [Salt Lake City: The Deseret News Press, 1940], 9-12)