3. DISCIPLES OF CHRIST, as they call themselves, or CAMPBELLITES, or REFORMERS, as they are most commonly called by others. It is with much hesitation that, by placing these in this book, I rank them among evangelical Christians. I do so because their creed, taken as it stands in written terms, is not heterodox. Not only do they not deny, but in words their creed affirms the doctrine of the Trinity, of salvation by the merits of Christ, and the necessity of the regenerating and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. Yet I understand that there is much about their preaching that seems to indicate that all that they consider necessary to salvation is a cold, speculative, philosophical faith, together with immersion as the only proper mode of baptism; so that there is little, after all, of that "repentance towards God," and "faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ," which are the indispensable terms of the gospel.

      The founder of this sect is a Mr. Alexander Campbell, a Scotchman who, together with his father, left the Presbyterian Church in 1812, and became Baptists. Soon after this change he began to broach doctrines that can hardly be called new, for the Christ-ians, now though not always a heretical sect, had advanced them before his time. His views seem to be substantially as follows: "All sects and parties of the Christian world have departed, in greater or less degrees, from the [573] simplicity of faith and manners of the first Christians." "This defection," Mr. Campbell and his followers "attribute to the great varieties of speculation, and metaphysical dogmatism of countless creeds, formularies, liturgies, and books of discipline--adopted and inculcated as bonds of union and platforms of communion in all the parties which have sprung from the Lutheran Reformation." All this has led, as they suppose, to the displacing of the style of the living oracles, and the affixing to the sacred diction ideas wholly unknown to the apostles of Christ.

      And what does Mr. Campbell propose to do? Simply "to ascertain from the holy scriptures, according to commonly-received and well-established rules of interpretation, the ideas attached to the leading terms and sentences found in the holy scriptures, and then use the words of the Holy Spirit in the apostolic acceptation of them!" But let us hear him further: "By thus expressing the ideas communicated by the Holy Spirit, in the terms and phrases learned from the apostles, and by avoiding the artificial and technical language of scholastic theology, they propose to restore a pure speech to the household of faith." And in this way they expect to put an end to all divisions and disputes, and promote the sanctification of the faithful. And all this is proposed by those who reject all creeds for churches; excepting, indeed, that which consists in making the Bible speak theirs! However plausible it may be to talk in this way, all church history has shown that there is no more certain way of introducing all manner of heresy than by dispensing with all written creeds and formularies of doctrine, and allowing all who profess to believe in the Bible, though attaching any meaning to it they please, to become members of the church. For a while, possibly, this scheme may seem to work well. But, ere half a century, all manner of error will be found to have entered and nestled in the house of God.

      "Every one who believes what the evangelists and apostles have testified concerning Jesus of Nazareth, and who is willing to obey him, is a proper subject for immersion." And this is the sum and substance of what Mr. Campbell says respecting the way in which a sinner is to attain salvation. This is all well enough if faith be truly explained, and the sinner really [574] does come to Christ with that godly sorrow for sin, from which saving faith is never dissevered. But if a mere general belief in what the evangelists and apostles have said, together with immersion, be all that is required, it is not difficult to see that churches may soon be gathered in which there will be but little true religion.

      It is on this account that evangelical Christians in America, Baptists as well as Pædobaptists, have many fears about Mr. Campbell and his followers. It is believed, however, that, as yet, there are not a few sincerely pious people among his congregations, who have been led away by his plausible representations respecting the evils of creeds. Time can only show the issue. Two or three religious papers are published by ministers of this denomination, and are almost entirely devoted to the propagation of the peculiar tenets of the sect. The churches in its connection are constituted purely on Independent principles. Its statistics are not well ascertained. Mr. Campbell says that it now embraces from 150,000 to 200,000 persons. As for the churches and ministers, I have never seen their numbers stated.

      Robert Baird's "Disciples of Christ" appears in Religion in the United States of America (Glasgow and Edinburgh: Blackie and Son, 1844), pp. 573-575. The electronic version of the article has been produced from a copy of the book held by St. Vincent College Library.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
373 Wilson Street
Derry, PA 15627-9770
724.694.8602
stefanik@westol.com

Created 6 December 1998.