FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

THIRD SERIES.

VOL. II.	BETHANY, VA. DECEMBER, 1845.	NO. XII.

WILLIAM ISRAIL'S, near Senecaville, June 26,1841.      

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL:

      My dear Son-I HAVE spent the last three weeks in teaching and visiting in the bounds of the churches of Stillwater, Barnesville, and Galway's Mills, and to-day arrived here. Next week I go on to Middletown, where I expect to spend the first week of July. I am sorry to say, I find the churches in this tract of country in a very poor unfruitful condition; poor scholars, poor practitioners in any thing like family training; and, of course, but poorly provided for church edification, and public reformation. Nor does there appear any possible way of obviating these killing evils, but by making the prescribed use of the holy scriptures, both in the closet, in the family and in the church. To this fundamental, this radical means of all Christian fruitfulness and perfection, my whole didactic labors are constantly directed. I am earnestly endeavoring to persuade the churches to assume the manifest descriptive form of Christian schools, and thus to resume their proper, original, descriptive character of disciples--disciples of Christ; which, technically resolved according to the philosophic and scholastic phraseology of the terms, was translated Christians. This version of the term, we are divinely informed, first took place in Antioch in Syria. Nor, indeed, could any version of the phrase "disciples of Christ," be more appropriate than that of Christians; for let the immediate teacher be whoever the Lord might please to employ, still he was to teach nothing of his own invention--nothing but what the Lord had commanded to be taught--but what the Holy Spirit dictated. Now this teaching was at the first and for a long time oral; and therefore could only be learned by hearing: but as soon as the whole was recorded and compacted by the proper authorities, then reading became the proper and established mode of Christian teaching, of religious instruction. There neither was nor could be thenceforth any farther, authoritative oral dictation. Church edification, thenceforth, must, as far as verbal teaching was concerned, have [561] been effected by reading the sacred record, with appropriate observations and exhortations. For this alone, containing all that the disciples were to believe and do in order to secure the continued enjoyment of the divine approbation, nothing farther could be necessary, but only to read it intelligibly and enforce it with the proper arguments, divinely furnished for that purpose. Now in order to accomplish this in the most efficient manner, the true literal and constructive meaning of words and phrases, and also the grammatical and logical connexion of sentences and sentiments, should be made so evident that their reading may be so clearly understood, that its meaning may be fully and forcibly felt. And this would evidently require such profound attention, both on the part of the teacher and the taught, that on neither part it could be done by rote; but that, on the contrary, it would require on both sides, a previous and preparatory attention, in order to the aforesaid strict and intelligent perusal, that it might be duly understood and retained; without which all reading is but mere formal trifling. Now let the church take up its book, and read and study it thus, that so it may duly understand and retain it; and, in so doing, it will act in character--it will honor the Book of God, and will edify itself, and honor its Author; and thus enjoy the inestimable benefit, which it was divinely intended to convey, to the intelligent and attentive practical student. Thus will the church resume its proper character--that is, Christians. The school of Christ--scholars of Christ, would not henceforth shame its Master, through its stupid, wilful, shameful ignorance of his only Book. No, for instead of its present shameful sinful neglect of this its primary and all-important duty, every member would be every day studiously memorizing a competent portion of it for his daily edification and comfort--his meditation and conversation--the subject matter of his praise and prayer. These portions would in the family circle be rehearsed every evening for social edification, with appropriate remarks, prayers and praises; and certain other portions read with pertinent questions and observations; and also as preparative for church edification on the Lord's day having been, previously appointed for that purpose.

      On Lord's day morning, say at to o'clock, the church meets to spend three hours together, with a short interval, say half an hour. The worship commences with the celebration of the resurrection, by appropriate singing, prayer, reading, and singing. Here remark that in the four Evangelists we have five chapters upon the subject of the resurrection; so that if we choose to be directed by time, the great index to human affairs, we have a chapter for every first day in each month, even when there happens to be five.

      After an hour spent in this most blissful exercise, in which we celebrate the happy event of our own justification in our Surety's resurrection, "who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification;" we may next proceed in the office of teaching, by reading correctly with proper explanatory remarks, practical observations, and suitable exhortations, the portions of holy scripture previously appointed. The disciples, in the mean time, all strictly attending with open books; that so they may not only be edified by the observations and exhortations, but also be duly instructed to read the scriptures correctly and intelligently; and thus, in due time, become [562] duly acquainted with the Divine Book, which never can be the case in the present mode of proceeding. The exercise being over, let the disciples next proceed to commemorate the Lord's death. This all-important subject being introduced by singing, then, after reading, with pertinent remarks, some portion of the sacred word, relative to this most solemn and interesting event, and commemorating it as divinely prescribed; and having concluded this part of the worship with singing, then, after appointing, with suitable remarks and exhortations, the lessons for the week, to be duly prepared for the next meeting, dismiss with singing and prayer--each at parting contributing something to the common stock for religious purposes, as God has prospered him. Thus would church edification cease to be done by proxy, and so become the common business of all concerned; every one, according to his ability and opportunity, thus laboring to promote his own edification, and also to contribute to that of others. And thus church edification becoming necessarily a church business, the overseers and rulers would be justly exempt from the herculean task of studying for the whole congregation; having henceforth only to attend to their appropriate official duties, of teaching and ruling, by directing the studies, correcting the mistakes, enforcing the duties, and so securing the proficiency of all concerned; rejecting the disobedient and unruly; thus preserving good order and decorum in the house of God. Thus would Christian edification become truly general and progressive, each doing and enjoying his part. And seeing that all enjoyment lies in employment, and that whatever a man sows that also shall he reap, both in quantity and quality, it would therefore appear impossible to imagine how Christian edification can otherwise be duly promoted and secured, than by thus availing ourselves of the due use of the holy scriptures, both publicly and privately. It would also appear that there is no other scriptural way of getting rid of what we generally call text-preaching; that is to attempt to edify the church by saying what we please, and so placing it all to the account of a detached sentence or two.

      There appears, indeed, but two just and consistent ways of using the holy scriptures to edification. The one is the reading of them with respect to their due connexion; the other is, the taking of the amount of the divine testimony upon a particular topic, by collecting together into one view, the various passages that mention said topic, that by so doing we may duly ascertain the import of the divine testimony upon it, having the sum of the evidence fully before us. And this may be done to great advantage upon all subjects of special difficulty and importance: indeed, it is desirable thus to know the amount of the divine testimony upon every subject of supernatural revelation, as it is by this alone that we can know any thing certainly about them. Now in either of these ways of using the holy scriptures for public edification, we have done with the aforesaid text-preaching; for, in either, we come directly and immediately to the text itself to receive our instructions directly from it, contextually and grammatically understood. Nor does there appear any just and rational way of using the holy scriptures but one of these; for if we neither want to know the contents of a particular passage, nor yet of the whole book upon a particular subject, we have no particular use for the Bible at all; and [563] if we should even use it without any particular object, as a book we had never seen, merely to know what it contains, our labors would produce nothing more than the combined result of the aforesaid discoveries; so that as far as the Bible is used at all, as a book of divine authority for any assignable or given purpose, it must necessarily be for one or other of the aforesaid. What remains, then, but that we use it in the best manner for promoting and securing these all-important purposes, and this we think we have clearly and definitely proposed in the premises. But would not the adoption of this or any other plan of procedure, look too much like a human form or liturgy? We answer in the negative. For there is nothing here proposed but what must be done by human agreement, if we act at all--viz. The time of the day to meet and spend together, and how we shall proceed in the use of the divinely appointed means for our edification, so that all things, that we ought to do, be done decently and in order--all things for the use of edifying according to the divine canon, 1 Cor. xiv. 26. As to the subject matter of our religious exercises, we propose nothing but what is divinely appointed. There is, we are sorry to see and hear it, a superstitious scrupulosity to which men are liable on both hands--pernicious extremes, against which we should be continually on our guard: wherefore, because much evil has been done by church articles, creeds, and formulas, therefore we will have no church records of any sort. We might just as well say, Because there have been so many private and public frauds committed by printing and writing, therefore we will abolish them--we will have nothing more to do with them--we will do all hereafter by memory and word of mouth. What a preposterous conclusion would this be? The very reverse should be adopted: viz.--That whereas we have heretofore committed ourselves, and been imposed upon by printing and writing, we will henceforth be very cautious what use we make of either. No voluntary society can be united, but by sentiment; nor co-operate for the purpose of its union, but in consequence of a certain agreement to act by certain rules: these, therefore, ought to be well and certainly known to all concerned. This being as plain as demonstration itself, every church should, of course, have a fair exhibit and an explicit record of its sentimental agreement, and rules of procedure for accomplishing the ends of its association; and this both for its own sake and that of the public: that by this means the members might fairly understand each other, and so be duly prepared to act in concert; also, that as a society they might defend themselves against misrepresentation: and lastly, for the complete satisfaction of all concerned, that such as were desirous to become members, might clearly understand the rules and sentiments which characterize the society, in and with which they were to be united. And who is there that sees not the justice and necessity of such a course, not only for these essential purposes just mentioned, but also for the special purpose of self-preservation, that said society be not a mere ephemeral production--the offspring and tenant of a day, liable to some destructive change every hour.

      To prevent this fatal catastrophe, let its formative essential principles be well and truly defined, that they may be duly understood and defended; also, its rules of self-government and co-operation so clearly and definitely stated, that none can innocently mistake his duty.-- [564] Thus will the society be rendered interesting and intelligent--permanent and prosperous. Farewell. May the Lord bless our humble labors for these all-important purposes! I remain, my dear son, your affectionate father and fellow-servant in the good cause.

THOMAS CAMPBELL.      

[The Millennial Harbinger (December 1845): 561-565.]

      Thomas Campbell's "Letter from Elder Thomas Campbell" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 2, No. 12, December 1845. The electronic version of the letter has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1845), pp. 561-565.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. I have let stand variations and inconsistencies in the author's (or editor's) use of italics, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the letter. Emendations are as follows:

            Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 563:    death This [ death. This
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 25 March 1998.
Updated 9 July 2003.