The Story Continues The Future of Restorationism

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The Story ContinuesThe Future of Restorationism
Where Do We Go From Here?

• May 7, 2014

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The Continuing Story

• By 1830s, American Restoration Movement was
  launched
• Continued to grow through the 19th century
• 1837, belief that schools would help the ARM grow
• Other religious groups had schools, few public
  schools
• Schools had an evangelistic purposeBa
• Bacon College, Georgetown, KY, Thornton Johnson
• Franklin College, Nashville, TN, Tolbert Fanning
• Bethany College, Bethany, WV, Alexander Campbell

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Problems with Organization

• Georgetown (KY), desire of churches to pool
  resources for evangelism, 1843
• Question of fellowship, how hold together?
• Area meetings
• Eventually to state level, 1839 meeting in
  Indianapolis
• 1849, cooperation, Christian school, ? Butler
  Univ.
• Without oversight or compulsion
• Early 1840s, much exuberance, optimism, growth
• Pre-Civil War era ambition, cooperation,
  evangelism

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Problems with Organization

• 1845, idea of national meeting
• 1843-1844, Alexander Campbell had paved the way
  with series of articles in Millennial Harbinger
• Justified by beginning with universal church
• Local churches are below the universal church
• Must keep organization separate
• Local limitations balance universal need
• Recognized local autonomy, but who will do the
  work that belongs to all of us?

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Problems with Organization

• Campbell wanted national convention to vote and
  support projects
• D.S. Burnet wanted American Christian Missionary
  Society
• By 1847, push to start missionary society
• First call convention to vote convention met in
  Cincinnati in 1849 along with society.

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Close of an Era

• Deaths of leaders
• Barton W. Stone, Nov. 9, 1844.
• Thomas Campbell, January 4, 1854.
• Walter Scott, April 23, 1861.
• Alexander Campbell, March 4, 1866.

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What does the future hold?

• Where do we go from here?
• We must learn to think theologically
• God
• Bible
• Human creation
• Sin, Salvation, Christ
• Holy Spirit
• Last Things
• Church

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Summary of Troublesome Questions

• The possibility of an absolute, objective value
  system not based on the ability to think,
  observe, or experience
• The relationship between church and state
• The separation or integration of the spiritual
  (including the Bible) and the secular (including
  humanistic elements)
• The nature of the authority of the Bible (must it
  be mediated? through the church, or through human
  thought and analysis?)
• The alliance or conflict between philosophy and
  theology
• The church was slow to study itself and develop
  an ecclesiology
• The capacity or incapacity of humankind, and the
  related question of whether or to what extent
  human being participate or cooperate in
  salvation.

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Where do we go from here?

• Understanding God (nature, purpose)
• What is the nature of truth?
• Head vs. heart, understanding vs. experience,
  cognitive vs. mystical
• Authority of Scripture, what the Bible says
  matters
• What is the nature of the church?
• What is the nature of fellowship
• Church and state
• What is the nature of humanity?
• Salvation, divine/human relationship, human/human
  relationships

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Where do we go from here?

• What are our commitments?
• Unity of believers
• Bible as our guide
• Individual faith, each can read/understand Bible
  for self
• What doctrines are core? Which are opinion?
• Essential vs. non-essential
• What is the practical nature of Christian
  fellowship?
• Who must be excluded?