HE command to preach the gospel to every creature implied that it was adapted to the comprehension of every creature. As the great mass of mankind are incapable of comprehending abstruse and mysterious subjects, the primitive gospel must have been, therefore, something extremely simple in its statement and evident in its nature. Moreover, as this gospel was designed and fitted to save mankind and restore them to the favor and fellowship of God, it must have been equally designed and fitted to bring them into union and fellowship with each other. When men substituted the incomprehensible dogmas of theology for the simple word of God, and when these, elaborated and systematized in the form of authoritative creeds, became the means of perpetuating division and alienation, it is not strange that some, mistaking these systems for Christianity, should denounce it as false and injurious to society, or that those who loved the truth should regard with aversion those false divisive standards and those sectarian titles and designations by which religious partyism and strife were constantly maintained. While sectarianism had thus, on the one hand, been the fruitful parent of infidelity, it had, on the other, provoked those who perceived its baleful influence to seek its overthrow, [184] and to endeavor to restore to the world the simple gospel as it was preached in the beginning, and presented upon the faithful page of inspiration.

      The close of the eighteenth and the early part of the present century were remarkably characterized by efforts of this kind, originating almost simultaneously in widely-separated regions and amidst different and antagonistic sects. The one with which the Reformers were now brought into communication on the Western Reserve was itself a combination of several distinct and independent attempts at the much-desired reformation of religious society. One of these originated among the Methodists when the establishment of American independence had released them from all foreign control and the subject of church government became necessarily a matter of discussion among them. Thomas Coke, Francis Asbury and others labored to establish prelacy, being themselves regarded as "superintendents" or bishops. On the other hand, James O'Kelly, of North Carolina, and some other preachers of that State and of Virginia, with a number of members, pleaded for a congregational system, and that the New Testament should be the only creed and discipline. As the episcopal party, however, were largely in the ascendant, these Reformers were unable to accomplish their wishes, and finally seceded at Manakin Town, North Carolina, December 25, 1793. At first they took the name of "Republican Methodists," but, at a conference subsequently held, resolved to be known as CHRISTIANS only, to acknowledge no head over the Church but Christ, and to have no creed or discipline but the Bible. The success of this movement in the South, as it respects increase of numbers, was not great, and it was after a time weakened by changes and removals, but its principles were still maintained [185] by certain churches and a good many individuals throughout this region.

      Not long afterward, a physician of Hartland, Vermont--Abner Jones, then a member of a Baptist church--becoming greatly dissatisfied with sectarian names and creeds, began to urge that all these should be abolished, and that true piety alone should be made the ground of Christian fellowship. In September, 1800, he succeeded, by persevering zeal, in establishing a church of twenty-five members at Lyndon, Vermont, and subsequently one in Bradford and one in Pierpont, New Hampshire, in March, 1803. A Baptist preacher, named Elias Smith, who was about this time laboring with great success in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, now adopted Dr. Jones' views and carried his church along with him. Several other ministers, both from the Regular and the Freewill Baptists, soon after followed, and with other zealous preachers, who were raised up in the newly-organized churches, traveled extensively and made many converts in the New England States, as well as in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the British Provinces. Those concerned in this movement also assumed the title of "Christians," and adopted the Bible as the only standard of faith and practice.

      About the same period, a third movement of a similar character originated in Kentucky, under the influence of a Presbyterian preacher, Barton Warren Stone, who, on his own account no less than from his subsequent connection with the subject of these memoirs, deserves a more extended notice. He was a native of Maryland, born December 24, 1772. His father dying not long after, the family removed in 1779 to Pittsylvania county, Virginia, where he remained until about sixteen years of age. Being fond of learning, he made [186] great proficiency in the school to which he had access, and speedily mastered the ordinary branches of an English education. After the Revolutionary war, the Baptists, and then the Methodists, created great religious excitement in the neighborhood, and he became greatly impressed and agitated in relation to religion. Vacillating between the two parties, and not knowing what course to pursue, his religious impressions soon wore off, and having determined to obtain a liberal education with a view of engaging in the legal profession, he entered, in 1790, a noted academy in Guilford, North Carolina, under the care of Dr. D. Caldwell. Here he found great religious excitement existing under the ministrations of James McGready, an earnest and popular Presbyterian preacher. Although the subject of religion had now become distasteful to him, he, after some time, consented to accompany his room-mate to hear Mr. McGready, upon which all his religious feelings revived with tenfold force, and for a whole year he was, as he states, "tossed on the waves of uncertainty, laboring, praying and striving to obtain saving faith--sometimes desponding and almost despairing of ever getting it." After a long struggle, he at length obtained peace of mind in a retired wood, to which he had resorted with his Bible, after hearing a touching discourse from William Hodge on the text, "God is love."

      After completing his course of studies amidst pecuniary difficulties, he experienced a great desire to preach the gospel, but was again involved in disquietude and doubt in relation to his being divinely called and sent. Assured by his friend, Dr. Caldwell, that a hearty desire to glorify God and save sinners was a sufficient encouragement to make the trial, he became a candidate for the ministry in the Orange Presbytery, and [187] placed himself under the direction of William Hodge, of Orange county, North Carolina. Here "Witsius on the Trinity"--a doctrine to which he had as yet paid little attention--was placed in his hands, and threw his mind into a state of great perplexity, so that he began to think of relinquishing entirely the study of theology. Finding some relief, however, after reading Dr. Watts' views on this subject, he appeared before the Presbytery and was examined by the Rev. Henry Patillo, a learned and estimable Scotchman, now advanced in years. Before the next session of the Presbytery, however, when he was to receive license, he fell again into a depressed state, partly owing to pecuniary embarrassments, but more to the conflicting and abstruse doctrines of the theology with which he had been occupied. Concluding finally to give up the idea of preaching, he set out for Georgia to engage in some other pursuit. Here, through the influence of his brothers, who lived in Oglethorpe county, he was appointed professor of languages in an academy near Washington, where he taught with great acceptance until the spring of 1796. Being now provided with means to pay his debts and his desire to preach having revived, he resigned his position and attended the meeting of the Orange Presbytery, where he received license, the venerable old father who addressed the candidates presenting to each, not the Confession of Faith, but the Bible, with the solemn charge, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

      Such, however, was his sense of the responsibility of the ministerial office and of his own insufficiency, that during his early efforts at preaching he became again so much discouraged as to think of abandoning the field; but being advised to go to the West, he at [188] length made his way, through many dangers and trials, to the then small village of Nashville, being much encouraged by the result of his efforts in preaching at various points along the route. Afterward he visited Kentucky on a preaching tour, and remaining some time at Caneridge and Concord, in Bourbon county, his labors were so acceptable to the churches there that he was invited to become a regular pastor. Before doing this, having to visit Georgia to settle some business, he was appointed by the Transylvania Presbytery to visit Charleston, in South Carolina, in order to solicit funds to establish a college in Kentucky. It was during this trip that he became wholly adverse to the institution of slavery, from witnessing its results as he had never seen them before. From this time, he constantly used his influence in favor of every plan likely to ameliorate or change the condition of the African race, and inheriting subsequently some slaves belonging to his mother's estate, in place of which he could have received money, he brought them out to Kentucky and set them free.

      Previous to his ordination, as he knew he would be required to adopt the Westminster Confession as the system of doctrine taught in the Bible, he determined to give it once more a thorough examination. This revived all his old perplexities in reference to the Trinity, election, reprobation, etc., as taught in the standard. These difficulties he had for a considerable time managed to evade by considering the above subjects as unfathomable mysteries, and by dwelling almost wholly upon the practical duties of religion. But now, upon re-examination, he found them to be essential parts of the system he would be required to teach. He, therefore, with that candor which was a marked feature of his character, determined to tell the Presbytery the [189] state of his mind and request a delay until he could be better satisfied. Before the Presbytery was constituted, he took Dr. James Blythe and Robert Marshall, two of the chief ministers, aside and made known to them his difficulties. These they endeavored in vain to remove, and finally inquired how far he was willing to receive the Confession. He replied, "As far as it is consistent with the word of God." They concluded this was sufficient, and this therefore was the answer distinctly given by Mr. Stone to the question, "Do you receive and adopt the Confession of Faith as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Bible?" No objection being offered by any one, he was then ordained.

      The account of his subsequent mental trials which he gives in his autobiography, from which the above facts are taken, is strikingly graphic and exhibits the natural results of theological speculations upon a heart yearning for truth.

      "About this time," says he, "my mind was continually tossed on the waves of speculative divinity, the all-engrossing theme of the religious community at that period. Clashing, controversial theories were urged by the different sects with much zeal and bad feeling. No surer sign of the low state of true religion. I at that time believed find taught that mankind were so totally depraved that they could do nothing acceptable to God till his Spirit, by some physical, almighty and mysterious power, had quickened, enlightened and regenerated the heart, and thus prepared the sinner to believe in Jesus for salvation. I began plainly to see that if God did not perform this regenerating work in all, it must be because he chose to do it for some and not for others, and that this depended upon his own sovereign will and pleasure. It then required no depth of intellect to see that this doctrine is inseparably linked with unconditional election and reprobation, as taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith. They [190] are virtually one, and this was the reason why I admitted the decrees of election and reprobation, having admitted the doctrine of total depravity. They are inseparable. Scores of objections would continually roll across my mind against this system. These I imputed to the blasphemous suggestions of Satan, and labored to repel them as satanic temptations and not honestly to meet them with Scripture arguments. Often when I was addressing the listening multitudes on the doctrine of total depravity, on their inability to believe and on the physical power of God to produce faith, and then persuading the helpless to repent and believe the gospel, my zeal in a moment would be chilled by the contradiction, How can they believe? How can they repent? How can they do impossibilities? How can they be guilty in not doing them? Such thoughts would almost stifle utterance, and were as mountains pressing me down to the shades of death. I tried to rest in the common salvo of that day--i. e., the distinction between natural and moral ability and inability. The pulpits were continually ringing with this doctrine; but to my mind it ceased to be a relief; for by whatever name it be called, the inability was in the sinner, and therefore he could not believe nor repent, but most be damned. Wearied with the works and doctrines of men and distrustful of their influence, I made the Bible my constant companion. I honestly, earnestly and prayerfully sought for the truth, determined to buy it at the sacrifice of everything else.  . .

      "From this state of perplexity I was relieved by the precious word of God. From reading and meditating upon it, I became convinced that God did love the whole world, and that the reason why he did not save all was because of their unbelief, and that the reason why they believed not was not because God did not exert his physical almighty power in them to make them believe, but because they neglected and received not his testimony given in the Word concerning his Son: 'These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name.' I saw that the requirement to [191] believe in the Son of God was reasonable, because the testimony given was sufficient to produce faith in the sinner, and the invitations and encouragement of the gospel were sufficient, if believed, to lead him to the Saviour for the promised Spirit, salvation and eternal life.

      "This glimpse of faith, of truth, was the first divine ray of light that ever led my distressed, perplexed mind from the labyrinth of Calvinism and error in which I had so long been bewildered.  . .

      "Let me here speak when I shall be lying under the clods of the grave. Calvinism is among the heaviest clogs on Christianity in the world. It is a dark mountain between heaven and earth, and is amongst the most discouraging hindrances to sinners from seeking the kingdom of God, and engenders bondage and gloominess in the saints. Its influence is felt throughout the Christian world, even where it is least suspected. Its first link is total depravity. Yet are there thousands of precious saints in this system."

      About this period, the churches had fallen into a state of religious apathy, and the power of religion over the community seemed to be but feebly exerted. A reaction, however, soon began, and a great excitement occurred in the south of Kentucky and in Tennessee under the labors of certain Presbyterian ministers, among whom was the same James McGready whose preaching had so strongly affected B. W. Stone, while a youth, in North Carolina. Hearing of this revival, Mr. Stone, in the spring of 1801, went down to attend one of the camp-meetings held in Logan county. Here he, for the first time, witnessed those strange agitations and cataleptic attacks which had formerly occurred under the preaching of White field and others. Many of the people were struck down as in battle, remaining for hours motionless, and then reviving in the agonies of remorse or in the ecstasies of spiritual joy. [192] Young and old, saints and sinners, seemed equally subject to these strange affections, which Mr. Stone, after full consideration: believed to be the work of God, designed to arouse men to attend to their spiritual interests. Upon his return to Caneridge, similar effects occurred under his own labors, and a protracted meeting being appointed in August, the interest felt throughout the community brought together a multitude estimated at more than twenty thousand. Methodist and Baptist preachers aided, several preaching in different parts of the encampment at the same time, and it was believed that not less than one thousand persons, among whom were many infidels, were struck down or otherwise affected with these singular agitations.

      It cannot be denied that great good resulted from the intense religious excitement which thus prevailed in various portions of Kentucky and Tennessee. Nor were its effects by any means transient, but were felt for some years in the rapid growth of the churches in general and in a greater degree of religious fervor. There were at this time several other preachers in the Presbyterian connection who coincided in religious views with Mr. Stone. These were McNamar, Thompson, Dunlavy, Marshall and David Purviance, the latter being then a candidate for the ministry. As they boldly preached the sufficiency of the gospel to save men, and that the testimony of God was designed and able to produce faith, "the people appeared," says Mr. Stone, "as just awakened from the sleep of ages; they seemed to see for the first time that they were responsible beings, and that the refusal to use the means appointed was a damning sin."

      This departure from the doctrines of the Confession of Faith soon occasioned a virulent opposition on the [193] part of those who adhered to it. The Presbytery of Springfield, in Ohio, arraigned McNamar, and the case came before the Synod at Lexington. Perceiving that the decision would be adverse, the five preachers above named drew up a protest against the proceedings and withdrew from the jurisdiction of the Synod. The Synod then suspended them and declared their congregations vacant. This act produced great commotion and division among the churches, and confirmed the seceding ministers in their opposition to creeds and authoritative ecclesiastical systems. They at first formed themselves into a Presbytery, called the Springfield Presbytery, and published an "Apology," in which they stated their objections to the Confession of Faith, and their abandonment of everything but the Bible as the rule of faith and practice. This called out pamphlets and sermons from the opposite side, and the views thus canvassed became widely disseminated.

      Soon after his separation, Mr. Stone called his congregation together and informed them that he could no longer preach to support Presbyterianism, but that his labors should henceforth be directed to advance Christ's kingdom irrespective of party, absolving them from all pecuniary obligations to him. He continued preaching, however, almost daily to the people around, and endeavored to gain a support by cultivating with his own hands his little farm, toiling often at night to accomplish his task. Co-operating with his associates in the "Springfield Presbytery" in preaching and planting churches, a year had scarcely elapsed until such an organization was perceived to be unscriptural, and was by common consent renounced, all agreeing to take the name of Christian, which they thought the only proper title for Christ's followers, and believed to have been [194] given by Divine appointment to the disciples at Antioch. This step occasioned fresh attacks from the sects, but in spite of all opposition the cause advanced and churches and preachers were multiplied, the independency of each congregation being recognized and all legislative and delegated authority abolished.

      Shortly after this (in 1807), Mr. Stone became much engaged in considering the difficult questions connected with the atonement, and published some pamphlets on this subject, objecting to both the Calvinian and Arminian views of it. The commercial idea of the atonement, satisfaction for debt, and that Christ died a temporal, spiritual and eternal death for sinners, involved, he thought, insuperable difficulties. Nor did the view that Christ died to reconcile the Father to men seem to him consistent with the fact that while men were yet sinners Christ was sent to save them, or with the Scripture entreaty addressed to them, "Be ye reconciled to God." Admitting that men are "reconciled to God by the death of his Son," he regarded this restoration of union and fellowship with God as constituting the "atonement," taking this word in its ordinary etymology as compounded of at and one, and as signifying that God and man were thus once more at-one--that man, having received pardon through faith in Christ, and being made holy, was thus admitted to fellowship with God.¹ [195]

      Mr. Stone possessed a mind disposed to inquiry, but one which could not long endure a state of indecision or perplexity, and must therefore soon settle down upon whatever view seemed to him the simplest and the most satisfactory. But the wonderful problem, How an infinitely just and holy God could forgive sin in harmony with his character, was not one to be resolved into a form so simple as to be fully comprehended by man's finite understanding; neither was it to be disposed of by omitting to consider it at all. Hence the above inadequate conception of this most vital subject, which left out of view the relations of the death of Christ to the Divine character and government, and confounded the cause with one of its effects, at once exposed Mr. Stone to the charge of Arianism, Socinianism, etc., and led to a protracted controversy, in which he manifested much ingenuity and ability, but was led into trains of reasoning more speculative than practical, and which were calculated to lead the mind away from the simple teachings of the Bible.

      About this period, the subject of baptism began to claim particular attention. Previous, indeed, to the great excitement in 1801, Robert Marshall had become satisfied that the Baptists were right in regard to this question; upon which Mr. Stone tried to convince him of error, but in the course of the discussion was made so to doubt Pædobaptism that he discontinued the practice entirely. The religious awakening, however, soon engrossed the minds of all, and for some considerable time baptism was left out of view. At length, many [196] becoming dissatisfied with their infant baptism, a meeting was convened to consider the subject, and it was concluded that each one should act freely in regard to it according to his convictions of right, and that it should be a matter of forbearance. As the Baptists would not baptize except on condition of union with them, and none of the reformers had been immersed, a difficulty presented itself which was overcome, as a similar one had been in the case of Roger Williams and his coadjutors, the preachers baptizing one another, on the ground that if authorized to preach they were equally authorized to baptize. The practice of immersion soon prevailed very generally among the churches, and even its design appears to have been at one time dimly recognized by Mr. Stone. At a great meeting at Concord soon after, when mourners were daily invited to collect before the stand, and many of the same persons were often prayed for without receiving the expected comfort, "the words of Peter at Pentecost," says he, "rolled through my mind: 'Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' I thought were Peter here he would thus address these mourners. I quickly arose and addressed them in the same language, and urged them to comply." The effect of this novel invitation, however, was the reverse of what was intended. Instead of affording any comfort, it only perplexed and confused the "mourners" by directing their attention to an untried course of proceeding utterly unknown at "revivals," and for which they were wholly unprepared. While their hearts were filled with ardent desires for special operations of the Holy Spirit and of fire, this unexpected presentation of water very naturally produced a "chilling effect," as Mr. Stone afterward remarked, and tended only to cool the ardor of [197] their excited imaginations. Mr. Stone himself, indeed, quoted Peter's language on this occasion evidently more from his anxiety to suggest some means of relief, and from his unbounded confidence in the word of God, than from any proper understanding of the relation of baptism to remission of sins. Hence, disappointed in the result, he declined to repeat the experiment, and when, subsequently, the doctrine of baptism for remission of sins was publicly taught by Mr. Campbell, manifested at first some repugnance to it.

      This religious movement under Mr. Stone, rapidly extending itself through the Western States, had, some time previously, been combined with those two similar ones which, without concert or communication, had originated in the East and in the South. These three branches thus proceeding from the three principal parties--the Methodists, the Baptists and the Presbyterians--had then formed what was called the "Christian Connection," agreeing in general in their views and having associations called conferences in each State, consisting of ministers and delegates from the churches, but exercising no control over them. The leading purposes of the entire movement were not to establish any peculiar or distinctive doctrines, but to assert for individuals and churches Christian liberty; to escape the thraldom of human creeds; to make the Bible the only guide; to secure the right of private judgment; and to follow the simplicity of the primitive Christians.

      While the features of this organization were thus, in a good measure, similar to those of the Reformation in which Mr. Campbell was engaged, there were some characteristic differences. With the former, the idea of uniting all men under Christ was predominant; with [198] the latter, the desire of an exact conformity to the primitive faith and practice. The one occupied itself chiefly in casting abroad the sweep-net of the gospel, which gathers fishes of every kind; the other was more intent upon collecting "the good into vessels" and Casting "the bad away." Hence the former engaged mainly in --the latter in teaching. The revivalist machinery of protracted meetings, warm exhortation, personal entreaty, earnest prayers for conversion and union, accompanied by a belief in special spiritual operations and the use of the mourner's seat, existed with the one, while, with the other, the matters of chief interest were the disentanglement of the Christian faith from modern corruptions of it and the recovery of the gospel ordinances and ancient order of things. There had indeed been an almost entire neglect of evangelization on the part of the few churches which were originally connected with Mr. Campbell in his reformatory efforts. They had not a single itinerant preacher, and, although they made great progress in biblical knowledge, they gained comparatively few converts. The churches of the Christian Connection, on the other hand, less inimical to speculative theories, granting membership to the unimmersed and free communion to all, and imperfectly acquainted with the order, discipline and institutions of the churches, made, through an efficient itineracy, large accessions everywhere, and increased with surprising rapidity. They were characterized by a simplicity of belief and manners and a liberality of spirit highly captivating, and possessed, in general, a striking and praiseworthy readiness to receive additional light from the Bible. They gained over, consequently, from the religious community many of the pious and peace-loving who groaned under the evils [199] of sectarianism, which the earnest exhortations of zealous preachers and their direct personal appeals to sinners obtained large accessions from the world.

      Mr. Campbell had for some years been aware of the existence of this body of reformers, and in 1824 had, at Georgetown, Kentucky, as formerly related, formed an agreeable personal acquaintance with B. W. Stone, which became still more intimate during subsequent visits. In the year 1826, Mr. Stone commenced publishing a monthly periodical called the "Christian Messenger," which was well sustained. In this paper he had addressed, in the earlier part of this year (1827), a communication to the editor of the "Christian Baptist" in reference to an exposition which Mr. Campbell had given of John i. 1, objecting to some expressions as tantamount to those of the Calvinists, and descanting upon some of the difficulties involved in their views of the Trinity. In the commencement of this article, Mr. Stone speaks thus of Mr. Campbell's labors and of the good effect they had already produced in correcting a tendency to theological speculation:

      "Your talents and learning we have highly respected; your course we have generally approved; your religious views in many points accord with our own; and to one point we have hoped we both were directing our efforts, which point is, to unite the flock of Christ scattered in the dark and cloudy day. We have seen you, with the arm of a Sampson and the courage of a David, tearing away the long-established foundation of partyism, human authoritative creeds and confessions; we have seen you successfully attacking many false notions and speculations in religion, and against every substitute for the Bible and its simplicity we have seen you exerting all your mighty powers. Human edifices begin to totter and their builders to tremble.  . . Not as unconcerned spectators have we looked on the mighty war between you and your [200] opposers--a war in which many of us had been engaged for many years before you entered the field. You have made a diversion in our favor, and to you is turned the attention of creed-makers and party-spirits, and on you is hurled their ghostly thunder. We enjoy a temporary peace and respite from war where you are known. From you we have learned more fully the evil of speculating on religion, and have made considerable proficiency in correcting ourselves."

      He then intimated that Mr. Campbell had departed from his own principles in his commentary on John i. 1, by indulging in speculative views concerning the pre-existent state of Christ, and goes on at considerable length to dwell upon the difficulties arising, on principles of reason, from the hypothesis that the "Son of God," either under this title or as "the Word," had an independent existence in eternity. In the conclusion, however, he says: "We believe the intelligent person, the Word or the Son of God, existed long before he was called Jesus, Christ or Messiah."² [201]

      Mr. Campbell commences his reply thus:

      "BROTHER STONE: I will call you brother because you once told me that you could conscientiously and devoutly pray to the Lord Jesus Christ as though there was no other God in the universe than he. I then asked you of what consequence was all the long controversy you had waged with the Calvinists on the Trinitarian questions. They did practically no more than pray to Jesus, and you could consistently and conscientiously do no less. Theoretically you differed, but practically you agreed. I think you told me you were forced into this controversy and that you regretted it."

      He then takes advantage of the occasion to lay down certain principles designed to correct the tendency he had noticed to speculation and theory in regard to matters utterly beyond the powers of human reason. He shows that when evidence addressed to reason has convinced any one that the Bible is from God, he is then to receive its statements as first principles without further question, and that while the terms used are to be understood in their usual acceptation, the things revealed are to be accepted, not because proved by reason, but simply because God has revealed them. He then takes the ground that as the subject of the Divine nature is one confessedly beyond the grasp of human reason, there is nothing contrary to reason in the Trinitarian hypothesis, any more than in the belief of its opponents in an Eternal First Cause. Thus he remarks, [202]

      "It is contrary to all the facts before us in the whole world that any cause can be the cause of itself, or not the effect of some other cause. No man from analogy can reason farther than that every cause is the effect of another, ad infinitum. Here reason shuts the door; here analogy puts up her rule and shuts her case of instruments. Now in this case the Unitarian and the Trinitarian are alike unphilosophic--alike unreasonable.³ . . . Your error is this; you know nothing of the existence of spirits at all. All bodies you know anything of, occupy both time an(i space; consequently it would be absurd to suppose that three beings whose modes of existence are such as to be governed by time and space could be one being. But inasmuch as we do know nothing of the mode of existence of spirits, we cannot say that it would be incompatible with their nature or modes of existence that three might be one, and that one might exist in three beings. Now, as no man can rationally oppose the Calvinistic hypothesis on principles of reason, so neither can he prove it to be correct by any analogy or principle of reason whatsoever. Why then wage this warfare? We may disprove a theory by what the Bible declares, but not by our reasoning on such topics, Why not, then, abide in the use of the Bible terms alone?  . . But I adopt neither system, and will fight for none. I believe that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son; that Jesus was the Son of God, in the true, full and proper import of these words; that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit [203] of Christ, which was sent by the concurrence of the Father and the Son to attest and establish the truth, and remain a comforter, an advocate on earth when Jesus entered the heavens. If any man's faith in this matter is stronger or greater than mine, I have no objection. I only request him not to despise my weakness, and I will not condemn his strength.

      "I am truly sorry to find that certain opinions called Arian or Unitarian, or something else, are about becoming the badge of a people assuming the sacred name of Christian, and that some peculiar views of atonement or reconciliation are likely to become characteristic of a people who have claimed the high character and dignified relation of the Church of Christ. I do not say that such is yet the fact; but things are, in my opinion, looking that way; and if not suppressed in the bud, the name Christian will be as much a sectarian name as Lutheran, Methodist or Presbyterian."

      Upon these simple principles, Mr. Campbell thus, in a few words, reduced to naught the religious controversies of centuries, and pointed out at once the folly of attempting to be "wise above what is written," and the wisdom of knowing what is actually revealed. Mr. Stone had endeavored to establish his views of the Deity against those of the Trinitarians; the true principle presented by Mr. Campbell showed that both were equally unreasonable and unprofitable. The course of the former tended to justify discussions which had for ages broken religious society into fragments; that of the latter indicated the only basis on which a true Christian union could ever be re-established.

      Such being the friendly relations existing between these two bodies of Reformers, it was natural that the preachers of the Christian Connection on the Western Reserve should have taken an active interest in the proceedings of the Mahoning Association and in the appointment of Walter Scott as an itinerant. It was [204] indeed the great success of the Christian preachers in gaining converts that had awakened the churches of the Association to the importance of making an effort in that direction; for, having largely imbibed the spirit of the movement directed by Mr. Campbell, and being much occupied with their own improvement in Scripture knowledge and with questions of church order, they had neglected for some time to make proper evangelizing efforts, and were receiving, consequently, very few additions. One of the two Christian preachers present at the Association, John Secrest, was particularly noted for the large number of converts he was in the habit of reporting. The other, Joseph Gaston, was distinguished for his piety and his mild and unassuming disposition. He was a young man, tall in stature, with dark hair, a large head, broad shoulders and agreeable features, and possessed a deep, sonorous voice and great powers of exhortation. He was full of affection for men and zeal for the cause of Christ, and devoted himself with great energy to the promotion of Christian union upon the Bible. As soon as he and Walter Scott became acquainted, they formed a warm attachment for each other, and their intercourse tended to modify each other's views and modes of proceeding. Mr. Scott admired Mr. Gaston's powerful appeals to sinners. The latter, on the other hand, was attracted by Mr. Scott's warm feelings and amiable qualities, as well as profoundly impressed by his thorough knowledge of the Scriptures; and being a sincere lover of truth, he listened with interest to the clearer views of the gospel and its institutions which were presented to him.

      The providence which had led to the appointment of Walter Scott as an itinerant was not long in developing its meaning. Brought into immediate communication [205] with the Christian preachers, who, as remarked, were laboring with much success, he imbibed somewhat of their spirit, but he was still far from approving all their views or modes of procedure. At the same time he perceived the ineffectiveness of the course heretofore pursued by the Haldanean and other churches in the Reformation in presenting the gospel theoretically, so to speak, without making a direct and practical application of its requirements to the unconverted. There seemed to be a link wanting to connect an avowed faith in Christ with an immediate realization of the promises of the gospel. These seemed placed at an almost infinite distance from the penitent, bowed down under a sense of guilt, and longing for some certain evidence of acceptance, which he often vainly sought in the special spiritual illuminations upon which men were taught to rely. The Mahoning Association, being itself in a transition state, had prescribed to Mr. Scott no particular course whatever, simply appointing him as an evangelist "to travel and teach among the churches," partly with a view of bringing them more fully upon Reformation ground, but chiefly in order that, by means of itinerant labor and the quarterly meetings designated, their numbers might be augmented. It was his duty, therefore, to consider how the proclamation of the gospel could be rendered most effective for the conversion of sinners.

      This was, in view of all the circumstances, a very difficult and perplexing question. Calvinistic views still lingered to a large extent among the Mahoning churches. Election, effectual calling, theories of regeneration, still occupied the minds of many. Various satisfactory evidences of a true faith were still required before admission to baptism, which was looked upon as a means of admission into the Church--a command to be [206] obeyed by those who were already converted. No special promises were recognized as connected with it, and it was very unusual to hear this subject presented at all, except when some one was about to be baptized. Mr. Scott, Elder Bentley and some others of the prominent preachers, were indeed aware that Mr. Campbell had spoken of it at the McCalla debate as a pledge of pardon, but in this point of view it was, as yet, contemplated only theoretically, none of them having so understood it when they were themselves baptized, and being yet unable properly and practically to realize or appreciate its importance in this respect. Hence, almost from the first moment of his appointment, Mr. Scott's mind was thrown into a state of great perplexity amidst the discordant and confused views relating to conversion. Baptism still seemed to present itself as in some way intimately connected with the personal enjoyment of the blessings of the gospel, but he was unable as yet to perceive the exact position which it occupied in relation to other requirements.

      About this time, Adamson Bentley went down to Braceville, with Jacob Osborne, to hold a meeting. In a discourse which he delivered on the occasion he was led to speak of baptism, and gave the views which Mr. Campbell had presented in the McCalla debate, affirming that it was designed to be a pledge of remission of sins. While they were on their way back to Warren, after meeting, Jacob Osborne said, "Well, Brother Bentley, you have christened baptism to-day." "How so?" said Mr. Bentley. "You termed it a remitting institution." "Well," rejoined Mr. Bentley, "I do not see how this conclusion is to be avoided with the Scriptures before us." "It is the truth," said Mr. Osborne, who was a great student of the Bible; "and I have for [207] some time thought that the waters of baptism must stand in the same position to us that the blood of sacrifices did to the Jews. 'The blood of bulls and of goats could never take away sins,' as Paul declares, yet when offered at the altar by the sinner he had the divine assurance that his sin was forgiven him. This blood was merely typical of the blood of Christ, the true sin-offering to which it pointed prospectively, and it seems to me that the water in baptism, which has no power in itself to wash away sins, now refers retrospectively to the purifying power of the blood of the Lamb of God."

      Soon afterward, meeting with Mr. Scott, they all three went down to Howland, and the discourse at Braceville and subsequent conversation being brought up, Mr. Scott fully coincided in the views expressed. In one of his discourses at Howland, Mr. Osborne again introduced the subject, and proceeded to say further that no one had the promise of the Holy Spirit until after baptism. This remark seemed to strike Mr. Scott with surprise, and after meeting he said to Mr. Osborne, "You are a man of great courage;" and turning to Mr. Bentley, he added: "Do you not think so, Brother Bentley." "Why?" said Mr. Bentley. "Because," said he, "he ventured to assert to-day that no one had a right to expect the Holy Spirit until after baptism." From this moment, Mr. Scott's mind seemed to be engrossed with the consideration of the consecutive order appropriate to the various items in the gospel, and being greatly given to analysis and arrangement, he proceeded to place them thus: 1, faith; 2, repentance; 3, baptism; 4, remission of sins; 5, Holy Spirit. This view relieved at once his previous perplexities, and the gospel, with its items thus regularly disposed, seemed to him almost like a new revelation. He felt [208] that he had now obtained a clue which would extricate men's minds from the labyrinth in which they were involved in relation to conversion, and enable him to present the gospel in all its original simplicity.

      While meditating on these things, and debating with his own irresolution in regard to their presentation to the public, he met with Joseph Gaston, to whom he freely communicated his thoughts, and who, delighted with the new view of the gospel thus given, at once declared it to be the truth, and that it ought to be preached to the world. Thus encouraged, Mr. Scott determined to make the experiment; but fearing to give cause of offence to the churches who had employed him, he sent an appointment outside of the Association ground, and with considerable trepidation, but in an earnest and interesting manner, laid before the audience his analysis of the gospel, and at the close gave a formal invitation to any so disposed to come forward and be baptized for the remission of sins. No one, however, came. The effort was a failure.

      This, indeed, might have been anticipated. The whole community were filled with the notion that some special spiritual influence was to be exerted upon men's hearts--that some supernatural visitation must occur before any one could be a fit subject for baptism. This spiritual operation, too, all had been taught to regard as the evidence of acceptance and pardon, and hence when they were simply invited to come directly forward and be baptized for the remission of sins, they were filled with amazement that any one should thus propose to dispense with all the usual processes to which "mourners" and penitents were subjected. Like the Syrian noble, they were offended because the usual ceremonies were not observed, and because they were [209] merely directed to "wash and be clean." None of them had ever witnessed or heard of such a proceeding. They could find no precedent for it among all the rites and ceremonies of the religious parties, and hence, being without the authority conferred by usage, they could regard it only as an innovation. It was not therefore strange that no one ventured to comply with the invitation, and that the discourse seemed to have been preached in vain. With regard to Mr. Scott himself, however, it was by no means fruitless. He had now broken through the restraints imposed by a general but false religious sentiment. He had assumed a position which required to be maintained, and as he had now overcome the difficulties connected with the first step, he felt encouraged to proceed. More especially had his effort awakened in his own mind new trains of thought and given him wider and better views of the whole subject, so that he felt himself prepared to present it in a much more full and forcible manner. He determined, therefore, to assume the whole responsibility, and to preach boldly in the very place where he had received his appointment the sacred truths which burned within his own heart. He accordingly gave notice that he would deliver in New Lisbon a series of discourses upon the Ancient Gospel.

      At the time appointed there was a considerable audience, and the novel manner in which the speaker introduced his theme, along with his own obvious, intense engagedness and excitement, created no little interest and expectation. His discourse was based upon Peter's confession, Matt. xvi. 16, in connection with the same apostle's answer to the inquiry, "What shall we do?" given to the penitents on the day of Pentecost. Acts ii. 38. As the lordship and glory of Christ, the Son of [210] God, was his favorite theme, and he was, on this occasion, animated with more than usual fervor, he became most eloquent, and held the audience in a state of rapt attention as he gradually developed the power of the simple but comprehensive Christian creed--the rock which Christ announced as the foundation on which he would build his Church; the grand proposition proved by the miracles of fulfilled prophecy, supernatural wisdom, divine love, healing power and victory over the grave, detailed by the evangelists, that men might believe, and, "believing, have life through his name." And when he went on to show how this gospel was administered in the beginning, and that believers were baptized into the name and into the death of Christ, and being thus buried with him and raised again to a new life, received in this symbolic act the remission of sins and the promised Holy Spirit, which was the seal of the Christian covenant and the earnest of an eternal inheritance, his hearers, while charmed with such a novel view of the simplicity and completeness of the gospel, were, as on the former occasion, filled with doubt and wonder and were ready to ask each other, "How can these things be?"

      Just as he was about closing his long discourse, and while he was exhorting the people to trust in the word of God in preference to all human systems of religion, a stranger entered the assembly, and when, a few moments afterward, the speaker closed by again quoting Peter's words and inviting any present to come forward and be baptized for the remission of sins, this stranger, to the surprise of all, at once stepped forward and presented himself. Here was a singular circumstance. This person had not been enlightened and convinced by the preacher, for he had heard only his few closing [211] remarks. Yet he came forward with all the firmness of an assured purpose, and all the tokens of intelligent apprehension, to request baptism for the remission of sins! Mr. Scott knew not what to think of it. The individual, when carefully questioned, seemed perfectly to understand the matter, just as did the preacher himself. There being, therefore, no ground for objection and no reason for delay, Mr. Scott, taking the confession of the candidate, baptized him in presence of a large concourse "for the remission of sins," thus annexing to the usual formula the words of Peter, Acts ii. 38, explanatory of the purpose of the institution. The people were filled with bewilderment at the strange truths brought to their ears, and now exemplified before their eyes in the baptism of a penitent for a purpose which now, on the 18th of November, 1827, for the first time since the primitive ages was fully and practically realized. A great excitement at once ensued; the subject was discussed everywhere through the town, and Mr. Scott, continuing daily to address increasing audiences and developing his views of the gospel in all its parts, succeeded, before the close of the meeting, in inducing in all seventeen persons to accept the primitive faith and baptism. Thus the charm was broken; the word of God had triumphed, and the veil which theology had cast over men's hearts was removed. Henceforth the Reformation, which had already restored to the Church the ancient order of things and the simplicity of the primitive faith, was enabled to make a practical application of the gospel to the conversion of the world. In reflecting upon the circumstances connected with his appointment, and the suggestions and encouragements he had providentially received, Mr. Scott could easily perceive how he had himself been led to decisions [212] so important. It remained, however, still a mystery that his first two discourses should have failed to convince any one, and that at the close of the second an individual who had heard neither of them should have come forward intelligently with little more than a simple invitation. In order to clear up the matter, he thought best after some time to address a letter to the individual in question, requesting him to explain the reasons which had induced him to present himself. To this he replied as follows:

      "In order to show these things aright, I must go back a piece. I was at that time a member of that strait sect called Presbyterians, taught many curious things, as election, foreordination, etc.; that belief in these things was necessary; that this faith resulted from some secret impulse; and worse, that I could not believe; and finally, that I must hope and pray that God would have mercy upon me. In this wilderness I became wearied, turned about and came home to the book of God, took it up as if it had dropped from heaven, and read it for myself just one year.

      "This inquiry led me to see that God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed on him might not perish, but have eternal life. I then inquired how I must believe. Paul said, 'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' Also, that faith was 'the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Peter spoke of election, saying, 'Save yourselves.' Paul said, 'I must be dead to sin and buried, and raised with Christ Jesus to newness of life.' The Saviour said, 'I must be born again if I would enter the kingdom of God.'

      "Now, here it was I discovered myself to stand in the garden of nature and not in the kingdom of heaven, but I learnt that of this kingdom Peter received the keys, and I was anxious to see what he would do with them. Jesus said, 'Proclaim the gospel to all nations; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,' etc. I then moved a little forward [213] till I found these words, 'And they were all pricked to the heart, and said to Peter and to the other apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter said, Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins,' etc. To this Scripture I often resorted; I saw how Peter had opened the kingdom and the door into it, but to my great disappointment I saw no man to introduce me, though I prayed much and often for it.

      "Now, my brother, I will answer your questions. I was baptized on the 18th of November, 1827, and will relate to you a circumstance which occurred a few days before that date. I had read the second chapter of Acts, when I expressed myself to my wife as follows: Oh this is the gospel; this is the thing we wish--the remission of our sins! Oh that I could hear the gospel in these same words as Peter preached it! I hope I shall some day hear it, and the first man I meet who will preach the gospel thus, with him will I go.' So, my brother, on the day you saw me come into the meeting-house my heart was open to receive the word of God, and when you cried, 'The Scripture shall no longer be a sealed book. God means what he says. Is there any man present who will take God at his word and be baptized for the remission of sins?'--at that moment my feelings were such that I could have cried out, 'Glory to God! I have found the man whom I have long sought for.' So I entered the kingdom when I readily laid hold of the hope set before me.

      "Let us, then, dear brother, strive so to live as to obtain an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming, there to join with the heavenly throng in a song of praise to God and to the Lamb for ever and ever.

WM. AMEND."

      The enigma was thus satisfactorily solved. So great a matter as the practical restoration of the design of baptism was not to be the result of the private studies or public efforts merely of the preacher. Had persons been convinced and induced to present themselves for [214] baptism at his first or second discourse, he might)t have supposed that by his own power or superior intelligence in the Scripture he had caused them to obey. But it was ordered otherwise, that "the excellency of the power" might be seen to be of God and not of man. Mr. Scott's heart and mind had indeed been providentially prepared and strengthened to deliver faithfully the divine message, but it was equally necessary that the hearts of the hearers should be prepared to receive it. Unfitted by false theories of conversion to accept the simple truth, and without one modern precedent to encourage obedience to it, a special adaptation was required on their part, which, under the circumstances, the preacher was unable to supply, and he therefore cast the good seed of the kingdom in vain until it happened to fall upon the good soil which had been prepared by God alone.

      The onerous nature of the task assigned to Mr. Scott on this occasion should, however, by no means be underrated. It is impossible for those who have now become familiarized with the primitive method, to conceive adequately of the anxieties and fears and responsibilities which attended its restoration. The sanctions of custom and the complete establishment of the truth before the bar of public sentiment have now taken away the reproach and discredit which attached to the first administration of baptism for the remission of sins. Then, the introduction of such a practice demanded that all the cherished interests which belong to position, character and life should be imperiled, and that all the odium and hostility which exasperated sectarian feeling could excite should be directly and personally encountered. To have been willing to brave such consequences for the love he bore to truth, and from his deep sense of [215] religious obligation, must for ever redound to the honor of Walter Scott, and the more when the obstacles arising from his own somewhat vacillating and timid nature are considered. It is truth that, as to the import of the ordinance, he had before him the public declarations of Thomas and Alexander Campbell. which had become a part of the teachings of the reformatory movement. But it is equally true that as yet no direct and practical application had been made of these teachings, and that even those who had delivered them were far from having a just sense of their importance. The strange power which the human mind possesses of contemplating things abstractly, and of separating matters which in reality are or should be indissolubly united, had here interposed and had arrested progress at the brink of the chasm which it had itself created between theory and practice. The same illicit severance, indeed, and in reference to the very same question, existed already in the case of the popular religious parties, whose creeds, almost without exception, assigned to baptism the same position and declared it to be for the remission of sins, and who, nevertheless, in point of fact, utterly neglected and denied the legitimate application of their own doctrine. Thus the Presbyterian Confession declared, chap. xxviii., sec. 1:

      "Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church, but also to be to him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his engrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life."

      Calvin himself had made remission the principal thing in baptism. [216]

      "Baptism," said he (Inst., c. xvi., p. 327), "resembles a legal instrument properly attested, by which he assures us that all our sins are canceled, effaced and obliterated so that they will never appear in his sight, or come into his remembrance, or be imputed to us. For he commands all who believe to be baptized for the remission of their sins."

      John Wesley too had declared, in his "Commentary on the New Testament" (p. 350), that "Baptism administered to penitents is both a means and a seal of pardon. Nor did God ordinarily," he adds, "in the primitive Church, bestow this upon any unless through this means."

      The same truth was equally attested by Baptist and Episcopal creeds; but all these theoretic concessions to Scripture teaching remained alike perfectly meaningless and inoperative in a practical point of view; and even the more emphatic averments of the Campbells as to the purport of baptism would probably, like the recorded declaration of Peter himself on Pentecost, have remained fruitless, had not a guiding Providence unexpectedly verified the correctness of the doctrine by a direct and practical application. "We can sympathize," said Mr. Campbell afterward, in reference to this matter, "with those who have this doctrine in their own creeds unregarded and unheeded in its import and utility; for we exhibited it fully in our debate with Mr. McCalla in 1823, without feeling its great importance and without beginning to practice upon its tendencies for some time afterward." It is, hence, proper to estimate aright the agency through which a blessing of such inestimable value as the personal assurance of pardon was placed once more within the reach of believing penitents.

      The occurrences at New Lisbon were soon noised abroad, and occasioned a great commotion. From the meeting there, Mr. Scott went at once to Warren and [217] held a successful one there with Elder Bentley. Joseph Gaston, entering at once into the spirit of the movement, co-operated earnestly with Mr. Scott at subsequent meetings. All the leading preachers of the Association, as well as others of the Christian Connection, hastened to adopt that primitive order of the different parts of the gospel which was then no less a novelty, and no less important in certain points of view, than the discovery of the practical relations of baptism, to which it had indeed directly contributed. Everywhere the confusion which had involved the subject of conversion was removed; the mourning bench was abandoned; an intelligent obedience was substituted for visionary theories, and a divine assurance replaced delusive frames and feelings. As a great many converts were now made to the primitive faith and received into the churches, those members who were still wedded to Regular Baptist usages, displeased at seeing these wholly disregarded, began to manifest an active opposition, which subsequently, in the case of two or three churches, resulted in division. Mr. Scott, meanwhile, fully conscious of the momentous nature of the issues he had evoked, but confident in the power of the gospel and all aflame with zeal, passed rapidly, like a meteor, throughout the Western Reserve, startling the people by the abruptness and directness of his appeals, but exciting many to inquiry and obedience. As usual under such circumstances, the country was filled with exaggerated rumors and with the grossest misrepresentations of both his doings and his doctrines.

      Some of these reports coming to the ears of Mr. Campbell, he began to fear that Mr. Scott's precipitancy had betrayed him into indiscretions which might be prejudicial to the cause; and upon counseling with his father, it was concluded that the latter should visit the [218] Western Reserve and examine for himself the progress of affairs. Upon arriving early in the spring, he heard Mr. Scott's presentations of the gospel and witnessed his direct method of procedure in the reception of converts with surprise and pleasure. He saw at once that what he and his son Alexander had plainly taught was now reduced to practice; that the simple primitive method of administering the gospel was really restored, and that the rumors which had reached Bethany were untrue. He therefore concluded to remain for some time in this inviting field, and by his earnest and efficient labors gave additional impetus to the work. From New Lisbon he wrote to his son Alexander on April 9th, giving his impressions as follows:

      "I perceive that theory and practice in religion, as well as in other things, are matters of distinct consideration.  . . We have spoken and published many things correctly concerning the ancient gospel, its simplicity and perfect adaptation to the present state of mankind, for the benign and gracious purposes of its immediate relief and complete salvation; but I must confess that, in respect of the direct exhibition and application of it for that blessed purpose, I am at present, for the first time, upon the ground where the thing has appeared to be practically exhibited to the proper purpose. 'Compel them to come in,' saith the Lord, 'that my house may he filled.'

      "Mr. Scott has made a bold push to accomplish this object, by simply and boldly stating the ancient gospel and insisting upon it; and then by putting the question generally and particularly to males and females, old and young--Will you come to Christ and be baptized for the remission of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit? Don't you believe this blessed gospel? Then come away, etc., etc. This elicits a personal conversation; some confess faith in the testimony--beg time to think; others consent--give their hands to be [219] baptized as soon as convenient; others debate the matter friendly; some go straight to the water, be it day or night; and, upon the whole, none appear offended."

      About this time, the Restorationists were making great efforts on the Western Reserve. One of their itinerants was Aylett Raines, a young preacher of much more than ordinary abilities; in stature, five feet seven inches, with light hair, penetrating eyes and features expressive of intelligence. Having heard many strange reports about Mr. Scott's doctrines and occasional eccentricities, he became filled with an irrepressible desire to hear him; and learning that he was to preach on a certain night at Samuel Robbins', in Windham, he resolved to attend, Mr. Raines was somewhat fond of controversy, and as he did not believe in water baptism, but in the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, and had been informed that Mr. Scott was in the habit of calling upon the audience for any objections to his doctrine, he expected to have a discussion with him, as he stated at the time to some of his brethren who accompanied him. Mr. Scott spoke from the first chapter of First Corinthians, and presented the points of the gospel in the order in which he had arranged them. Mr. Raines was so impressed with the correctness of what he heard, and so unable to find any fault with it, that he felt quite confounded, knowing that his friends expected him to reply when Mr. Scott paused for objections. Being unwilling to oppose what seemed to be the truth, he kept his seat, and when called upon to close the meeting, made an excellent prayer, desiring that all might have a spirit of obedience, etc., but taking care to introduce his favorite petition that they might have a Pentecostean season and be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Next day Mr. Raines went to hear hear Mr. Scott again, hoping that he would now be [220] more successful in detecting errors. The subject of the discourse was the resurrection, and Mr. Scott read the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians. For this chapter Restorationist preachers had but little use, with the exception of a single sentence in it--"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive"--and were generally ignorant of its general scope and purport. In the hands, however, of Walter Scott, who was accustomed to take the Scriptures connectedly, this chapter soon presented itself to Mr. Raines as a thing of life, and made to him a revelation of such lofty trains of thought and unspeakable glories that his heart was touched, and he found his prejudices and his opposition fast melting away. Two days afterward he heard Mr. Scott deliver a discourse upon the two covenants, when he discovered, for the first time, that he had heretofore been unacquainted with the differences between them, and in making "a chaos of them," as he afterward stated, "had been preaching the darkness that was upon the face of the deep." Soon after this he heard Mr. Scott preach on the subject of faith, and the brilliant and happy manner in which he handled the eleventh chapter of Hebrews and expounded the nature and the power of faith, completely swept away from the mind of Mr. Raines every thought of opposition, and fully convinced him of the truth. He concluded, however, not to be precipitate in making a public profession. Having a preaching tour of several weeks before him, he resolved that he would fill his appointments and preach the truth as he now understood it, openly and candidly, giving to his brethren the opportunity of convincing him of any error. Their arguments, however, were so feeble that he became only the more convinced that what he had heard, and now read with [221] enlarged vision in the New Testament, was indeed the gospel of Christ and worthy of all acceptation. At the end of his tour, he called upon another Restorationist preacher of high standing, E. Williams, and after a friendly discussion of four days' duration, convinced him also of the truth, and both of them going down to a beautiful little lake in Portage county, and officiating in turn, immediately submitted to immersion for the remission of sins. In the course of five weeks from this time, Mr. Raines baptized fifty persons, and among the number there were, including Mr. Williams, no less than three Restorationist preachers. Soon afterward he met with Thomas Campbell, whose intelligence and Christian graces he greatly admired, and as neither of them had any special engagements, they agreed to travel in company. Thomas Campbell took the deepest interest in his young friend, who gave the highest proofs of sincerity and ability, while the latter was happy to avail himself of the profound scriptural knowledge and enlarged experience of his venerated companion.

      While these things were taking place upon the Western Reserve. Mr. Campbell was pursuing his editorial and other labors with his accustomed activity. He had in hand a new edition of the Testament, with sundry improvements suggested by scholars from among even the Pædobaptists, some of whom were much pleased with the work. New editions also of the earlier volumes of the "Christian Baptist" were called for and put to press. Meanwhile, his ministerial duties were regularly fulfilled at Bethany and Wellsburg, with occasional visits to other points, and he continued to direct and superintend the management of his farm, in which he constantly took a lively interest. Ardently devoted to every species of improvement, he had already brought [222] from a distance the fine-wooled Merino and Saxony sheep, to which he thought the grasses and climate of West Virginia well adapted. The experiment proving decidedly successful, he soon had a large flock, and by his representations and example greatly contributed to the introduction of that sheep-husbandry which in a few years replaced, to a large extent, wasteful methods of agriculture and promoted in an eminent degree the prosperity of the entire region. These attentions to material interests, however, though sufficiently extended to have occupied almost the entire time and thoughts of many a one, were with Mr. Campbell mere relaxations from those earnest religious and reformatory labors to which his life was devoted.

      During the past year, as a sort of sequel to his essays on the "Ancient Order of Things," he had published some church letters, which, at the time, created much interest. These were occasioned by a circular from the church at New York, transmitted in 1818, to various independent churches in Great Britain and Ireland, giving a sketch of its own order of public worship, along with its views in brief of Christian duty, and requesting in return a similar statement from each of the churches addressed. This circular, with the letters it elicited from the churches at Glasgow and Edinburgh, in Scotland; Tubermore and Dublin, in Ireland, and Manchester, in England, presented a very clear and interesting view of the relative progress of these different churches. The general agreement and the Christian spirit which the letters exhibited served to confirm in a very high degree the advantages of the apostolic order, and tended greatly to promote its adoption among the reforming churches in America. They revealed, however, some differences, which were [223] candidly and kindly presented for consideration, each church professing its desire, as well as its entire liberty, to conform still more closely to the apostolic pattern.

      In speaking of the views presented in these letters, Mr. Campbell highly commended the manifest agreement in all the essential matters of the primitive faith and practice. As the New York letter, however, revealed a disposition to adhere to a fixed routine in the order of worship, based upon a narrow and textuary method of construing the Scriptures, and to insist upon a unity of opinion, he took occasion to express his dissent from such rules as being relics of popery. "When men," said he, "make communion in religious worship dependent on uniformity of opinion, they make self-love, instead of the love of God, the bond of union, and elevate matters of mere speculation above the one faith, the one Lord and the one immersion." As to a rigid observance of a particular order of worship, after remarking that "the patriarchal age was the infancy, the Jewish age the minority and the Christian age the manhood of the religious world, and that in the latter condition persons are allowed to have a judgment of their own and to exercise it," he deprecates any attempt to prescribe positive rules in matters of mere expediency.

      During this year he published a series of essays upon the "Ancient Gospel," which, as he said, consisted in the simple facts connected with the work of Christ in the redemption of man. These facts, as he endeavored to show, again appeared in the symbolic ordinances of the gospel. In the Lord's supper, the Lord's day, and especially in the immersion of a believer, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ were pointed out as the grounds of justification and of hope. Baptized [224] into the death of Christ, buried with him in baptism, and therein raised again to walk in a new life, the penitent believer thus "put on Christ," and of necessity entered into the enjoyment of his salvation. Having thus "put on Christ," it now became his duty and his happiness to "walk in him," and to bring forth in life and conduct the fruits of that Holy Spirit of promise which he received upon the obedience of faith. Thus the gospel was discovered to be of so simple a nature as to be perfectly adapted to the understanding of every creature, and yet so effective in its direct and practical application, through its expressive ordinances, as to secure to the penitent the divine assurance of pardon, the renewing power of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling earnest of an eternal inheritance.

      The wonderful success which everywhere attended the primitive gospel thus presented by its advocates filled them with the most ardent hopes that the perplexed and erroneous religious systems of the day would be speedily overthrown, and that happy millennial period be ushered in when the gospel would triumph and Christ's people be united. These fond expectations were especially cherished by Walter Scott and some others of a like excitable and ardent temperament. Mr. Campbell, however, while he shared in them to some extent, was too well aware of the nature of the obstacles in the way to anticipate an easy victory. The restoration of the simple gospel and its institutions to the world was by no means all that was to be accomplished. As for himself, there was yet another part of the work for which Providence had destined and peculiarly fitted him, to which he was now about to be called, and which will he considered in the following chapter. [225]

[MAC2 184-225]