Background of Restoration

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     The day after Easter Sunday in1951dawned cold and gray in North Ireland. A gusty wind sweeping in across Belfast Loch drove rain squalls before it and the city appeared drab through the mist. But there was sunshine in the souls of the sixty-five saints young and old, who gathered at the little meetinghouse on Berlin Street, off Shankill Road. A fervent prayer was voiced for the blessing and protection of heaven and the group filed out to board the chartered buses. It would be after dusk when they again arrived in the city after a day which would linger in their memory.

     The immediate objective was the little village of Ahorey, some thirty-five miles away. This was the site of the Presbyterian Church to which Thomas Campbell had ministered until he sailed for America in 1807. Through the previous efforts of William Hendren and Joseph Hamilton of the Belfast congregation permission bad been secured for me to speak in the Presbyterian meetinghouse. When we arrived at our destination the buses stopped just outside the stone fence enclosing the churchyard which had been the community burying ground for several centuries. From the gate there were but three houses visible in the community, low cottages, whitewashed and with thatched roofs. The blue smoke of peat fires burning on the grates threaded upward from soot-blackened chimneys.

     We were welcomed at the door of the meetinghouse by Mr. T. S. Hoey, stated clerk of the Presbytery. Inside the door there is a bronze plaque sacred to the memory of Mr. Campbell who was the second minister to serve the congregation. The engraved plate designates him as "a prophet of union." The members unlocked the gates leading to the pews and filed in quietly. I opened the little gate leading to the speaker's platform and sat facing the audience. From this same platform Thomas Campbell had often surveyed the auditorium with its quaint balcony and paraffin lamps. In the second row of pews the youthful Alexander Campbell had often sat to listen to his father expound the tenets of Calvinism which he never fully renounced during his lifetime.

     On this occasion the congregation stood to sing "The Lord's My Shepherd" and William Hendren voiced a prayer for the unity of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world. I opened the large old pulpit Bible to the second chapter of Ephesians and read the impressive language of Paul. I spoke to those assembled about the sin of sectarianism and the need of restoring unity to the divided and strife-torn believers. It was pointed out that the restoration movement had not been completed and it remained for our generation to resume that task which others had so nobly begun. I concluded with the words from "In Flanders Fields" by Col. John McCrae:

     The audience filed silently from the meetinghouse. Officers of the congregation made us welcome. I was taken to see the manse which was newly remodeled and decorated for the arrival of the minister who would assume his role in a fortnight. It was an interesting house which this rural congregation provided for its pastor. There was a little fireplace in each room where peat dug from nearby bogs would supply the fuel. A quaint yard in the rear of the building would provide room for the meditative minister to stroll among the flowers. As for myself, I could have spent several days walking among the graves in the churchyard and reading the inscriptions on the ancient stones.

     I did stop for some little time before the grave of the man who succeeded Thomas Campbell when the latter sailed for America in 1807. The lengthy tribute read as follows:

     "Sacred to the memory of the Revd. Samuel Beatty who departed this life March the 9th, 1834, aged 50 years. He performed the duties of the ministerial office in the congregation of Ahorey for 21 years with fidelity and zeal. Simple and unaffected in his manners and of a most obliging disposition, he lived in the hearts of his people, and being possessed of much medical skill, his sphere of usefulness was greatly enlarged. It would appear that he had a consciousness of the near approach of his dissolution from the subjects which he chose latterly for illustration. His last text was Philippians 1:23, 'For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is for me far better.' In grateful memory the congregation has placed this stone over his mortal remains. Readers, be ye also ready!"

     I wondered as I gazed down at the little mound how the reverend Mr. Beatty regarded the news about his predecessor which filtered back to North Ireland. How did the members of the congregation feel about the debates between Alexander Campbell and Presbyterians--John Walker, of Mount Pleasant, Ohio, in June, 1820; and W. L. Maccalla, at Washington, Kentucky, in October, 1823? Were the Campbells regarded as heretics and traitors by those among whom they had formerly lived? Did Mr. Beatty read "The Christian Baptist" which was first published on August 3,1823? If so, did he use it as a text and warn the members against the teaching of their former pastor and his son? In any event no apparent change had been wrought in the Presbyterian Church at Ahorey.

     My musings were interrupted by a message from a very gentle lady who lived in a typical Irish cottage close at hand and who extended an invitation to the "American visitor" to have tea with her. That invitation was enlarged to include several other brethren and their wives. The kettle was bubbling over the peat fire on the grate when we entered the small rural home. It is possible that Mr. Campbell had often visited those who dwelt in the little whitewashed house in his day. I am sure that the hewn beams supporting the thatch never looked down upon a more appreciative visitor.

     Mr. Hoey graciously invited me to his home for the purpose of making a tape recording to be presented to the next session of the Presbytery. I spoke of our gratitude for the kindness shown in allowing us to address those who assembled in the meetinghouse. I explained why the work of Thomas and Alexander Campbell had made an impact upon our thinking in America and expressed the hope that others might arise among them who would plead for the union of Christians in all sects upon the basis of a "thus saith the Lord."

     I was anxious to see the city of Armagh, realizing that it must have played a part in the life of the Campbell family. This ancient place dates its existence as a city from at least 300 B. C., and it was here that St. Patrick built his first cathedral in 445 A . D. Although the original structure is no longer in existence

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its site is occupied by another cathedral. Part of it was begun in the 8th century but the main part was erected in the 13th century. It is not difficult to imagine that the youthful Alexander Campbell would frequently visit this historic spot near which lie the bones of the first king of Ireland, Brian Boru, and his son Morrough, who were killed at Clontarf after defeating the Danes and Norsemen who invaded Ireland.

     No doubt great interest was also shown by the young man in the astronomical observatory founded on "the Hill of Honey" in 1790. This renowned center for the study of the celestial bodies may have helped to kindle a reverence for the planetary system in the mind of the youthful Campbell. However, we suspect that it was the great library constructed in Armagh in 1771 by Primate Robinson which was the center of his attention. Over the doorway of the stately old stone building is the sign "Pseuches Iatreion"--Medicine Shop of the Soul. Within it are all the volumes of history and religion about which the true student dreams but is hardly ever able to look upon. It was with greatest reluctance I tore myself away from the storehouse of lore and wisdom. Even yet my heart turns longingly back in memory to this treasure trove of knowledge.

     The gray clouds were darker as we boarded the buses for our return to Belfast. Soon we were engulfed in a swirling blizzard. The equinoctial storm pelted us in all of its fury. I stopped in at the home of one of the brethren for tea and sat a long time visiting with the family before the cheery fire on the grate. When I stepped into the snowy night for the two mile walk to my place I felt alone "a stranger in a strange land." But it was a glorious occasion for meditation after a day filled with experiences of singular richness.

     As I walked through the narrow streets my mind was reeling with questions. What forces operated in the life and thought of a humble Presbyterian preacher in a remote rural area to fill him with an inner compulsion to act as a champion of unity? What was there in the background, training and early life of such a man which impelled him toward the role for which destiny selected him? Was it the providence of God that ill health drove him to leave Ireland where his reasoning would have been smothered out by a well-entrenched clergy? What power directed his steps toward that area in Pennsylvania where the scattered forces of a divided Calvinism would arouse his compassion and kindle a desire for communion with all of the needy and spiritually hungry believers? What inner sense of kinship with all of the sinful suffering millions eventually makes itself felt in spite of the hardened layer of partisan indoctrination and transforms one from a narrow factionalist into a loving advocate of divine grace and peace?

     By this time the thoughts were tripping through my heart like the snowflakes danced through the night air as they appeared out of the darkened upper void into the soft glow of the Belfast street lamps. Invigorated by the walk through the stormy night, it seemed as if the dusty cobwebs were swept away from the inner chambers of my mind. Thousands of miles away from the factional atmosphere in which I was reared, surrounded upon all sides by sleeping thousands in a great city, I realized how trivial and inconsequential were the things which had been allowed to rend and divide us. How local and parochial some of those things appear when projected against the universal need of suffering humanity. Suddenly there surged into my very soul the real meaning of that sentence incorporated in the "Declaration and Address" written by Thomas Campbell two years after his arrival in America.

     "The Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one; consisting of all those in every place that profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him in all things according to the Scriptures, and that manifest the same by their tempers and conduct; and of none else, as none else can be truly and properly called Christians."

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     When Mr. Campbell penned those words he was still a Presbyterian. Little did this gentle shepherd know where such an ideal as he expressed would lead him. Now in the same city which he had frequently visited as a young man I came to realize quite suddenly how we had forsaken that ideal. To those with whom I was associated the church of Christ on earth was not essentially one. It was not intentionally one. It was not constitutionally one. The church of Christ on earth was a party. It was the party to which each belonged, myself included. And there were as many "churches of Christ" in America as there were factions. Each party was its own "brotherhood." Each had on its exclusive party banner--"Immanuel"--God with us! I recalled that this was also the motto adopted by Kaiser Wilhelm during the first world war.

     What right had I to express the hope to a little Irish Presbyterian church that they would send us other men imbued with the spirit of unity and restoration? Had we not already smashed into hostile fragments a noble movement inaugurated to unite the Christians in all the sects? Were we not even now more narrow and intolerant than those about us whom we regarded as schismatics? I knew that at last my own life must be directed into additional fields of research. I wanted to know the history of this movement of which I was an heir and I also wanted to contribute my own feeble powers to restoring the spirit of restoration. I turned my face heavenward with the large flakes stinging my cheeks and earnestly prayed for the wisdom and courage to proclaim "peace on earth to men of good will."

     I am fully aware of the criticism of some who will look upon this issue of the paper as a total loss. Upon what grounds can we justify the expenditure of time and effort required in studying the restoration movement? I hold that there is much more to be gained than the mere gratification of personal curiosity. All of us are products of the various factors which have blended together to make us what we are. No one of us is an island. The labors of those whom we have not seen affect our lives in many ways. Jesus said, "Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." If we know why and how the others labored we can know better how to enter into their labor. J. W. McGarvey wrote:

     "The natural and benevolent wish that posterity may profit by the experiences of the past, furnishes another, and perhaps a nobler motive, for making a permanent record of passing events. If history, as the sages have told us, teaches by example, the most effective of all kinds of teaching, the lover of his race and of the God who employs human instrumentalities to guide and govern the race must wish that all the good deeds of men shall be transmitted from age to age as helps to every rising generation."

     It has long been to me an interesting field of thought that the religious life of a people is affected and moulded to an extent by the whole of their experiences in every domain of life. Thus certain cultures, times and areas are more conducive to the revival of the Christian way than are others. It appears that nature, political fortunes, scientific developments and many other social features work toward the day when men will rise up as reformers. Our spiritual life is colored by all of the diverse facets of our existence. That Alexander Campbell concurred in this view it is evident from a letter which he addressed to James Wallis of Nottingham, England on August 15, 1837.

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     "There is no doubt, sir, by the association of ideas, or by some mysterious affinity, a peculiar sympathy exists between all the pursuits of men; and when changes, sometimes miscalled improvements, in society, become the order of the day, they ramify and extend through all the operations of the mind; and hence improvements in agriculture, in manufactures, in commerce; new discoveries in science or in the arts of life, mingle with our religious theories and conceptions."

     The lives of men are formed and shaped by conditions existing about them. In turn, they condition and reform the culture of which they are a part. Thus we are heirs of all the great concepts of the generations past. We are both created and creative. The "Declaration and Address" which spurred the restoration movement was both fruit and seed. It was not written upon impulse. It was the crystallization of the ideas which had been clamoring for expression in a heart burning with eager desire to see those barriers removed which had long held God's people aloof from each other. It is much easier to pluck the fruit than to grub in the soil and uncover the roots which made that fruit possible. But a true horticulturist will not be satisfied to merely eat fruit in utter ignorance of how it was produced, nor can the eager disciple content himself with "entering into the labor" of other men without learning as much as he can about their labors which made his own possible.

     Northern Ireland undoubtedly formed the best background extant for encouragement of that individuality in thought which characterized the mind of Thomas Campbell. It was then, as it is now, one of the most rugged strongholds of aggressive Protestantism on earth. Not only are the people cheerful and industrious but they possess a mental ability which enables them to see the humorous side of life and to describe it in a fluent fashion and with telling phraseology. While the mass of the Irish people descended from the Celts they absorbed the early invaders of different races, but the English and Scots who settled in the northern part of the island were never assimilated. The sturdy independence and persistence of these inhabitants has produced some eminent students and researchists in every avenue of human endeavor.

     Thomas Campbell was also fortunate in his selection of a companion. Jane Corneigle was of French Huguenot stock. As a result of the frightful murder of thirty thousand Protestants in Paris and its environs on St. Bartholomew's Day, A. D. 1572, her ancestors fled to the mountainous regions of France. Life here proved so precarious that these Calvinists were eventually forced to make an exodus and find asylum in other countries. The Corneigles and Bonners settled in County Antrim, near Lough Neagh, a region where the Protestant faith was as strongly implanted as was Catholicism in their native country. Here Jane Corneigle met Thomas Campbell who had been born in County Down, in 1763, and when they were married they lived at first on the family estate about three miles from Ballymena. Here Alexander Campbell was born on September 12, 1788 when his father was twenty-five years of age. Years later this son wrote thus of his mother:

     "As a helpmeet of my father in the work of the Christian ministry, I think I never saw her superior, if I ever did her equal. He was frequently called from home on protracted tours in his public ministry of the Gospel; but though her cares and solicitudes were always on such occasions more or less augmented, I never heard her complain; but rather to sympathize with him in his works of faith and in his labors of love. She, indeed, cheerfully endured the privations of his company, in the full assurance that his absence from home and labors in the gospel would ultimately redound more to the glory of God and to the happiness of man, than his confinement to any particular locality."

     The lot of any reformer is always difficult Man is resistant to change, preferring often to continue in familiar error than to embrace forgotten truth. He who attempts to awaken a sleeping world that does not wish to be aroused finds himself unpopular indeed. Frequently the stigma and reproach heaped upon such a man falls heaviest upon the hearts of his

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family. Forced to see the one whom they love suffering from the antagonism and misrepresentation of those who once were closest friends, there is ever the temptation to feel that it is not worth the struggle to attempt a rescue of those who do not sense their own plight. In this respect, Jane Campbell did not falter for her son wrote:

     "In all the trials and vicissitudes of her protracted life, and especially during the conflicts of her husband with the opposition, the enmity and the envy he had to encounter for duty and conscience sake, while endeavoring to effect a reformation in his own Synod and Presbyteries, both in the Old World and the New, she stood by him in faith, hope, and love, and most cheerfully became a partaker with him in all the trials and consequences incident to, and resulting from, his advocacy of primitive and apostolic Christianity, and its restoration to its beau ideal, as pictured and developed in the inspired writings of the apostles and evangelists of Jesus the Christ."

     The youthful years of Thomas Campbell were marked by deep religious conviction and concern for salvation. Out of this feeling grew a sense of social consciousness, a fervent desire to serve God by serving humanity. Realizing that some of the area south of Lough Neagh did not have access to instruction he moved to one of the more unenlightened sections and opened an English Academy. A large number of pupils came under his influence and he devoted his energies to their intellectual, moral and religious development. After awhile he was called to preach under supervision of the Synod of Belfast and sometime during 1798 he was invited to become the minister at Ahorey which was under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Markethill. It is the personal opinion of the writer that divine providence which operates in the lives of devout men directed the steps of Mr. Campbell to this spot on the earth's surface to prepare him, or enable him to prepare himself, for the great task which he would prosecute in the New World thousands of miles from his then humble abode.

     It would be impossible for me to detail all of the reasons entering into my conclusion and I can mention but a few. After years of research I am convinced that, so far as my knowledge extends, the first group of disciples of Jesus, after the Dark Ages, to sever all sectarian ties and resolve to be simply Christians with a view to restoring the primitive order, met at Dungannon, in County Tyrone. They had been meeting in a congregational capacity for a number of years when Thomas Campbell moved to a farm some eighteen miles away to continue his school instruction and fill the pastorate at Ahorey. It would hardly be possible for one of such wide knowledge and interest as Mr. Campbell to be wholly unaware of a group whose action had long been a subject of more than local controversy.

     Of even greater significance as a current contributing to his stream of thought was an Independent church which met at Richhill, close to Ahorey. When his schedule of duties allowed him to do so, Mr. Campbell visited the services of this congregation. There he met men like Rowland Hill who was born in Hawkestone in 1744 and was educated at Eton and Cambridge. Possessed of evangelistic fervor and of a desire to share the good news of Christ with the masses, he preached in barns, streets, fields, and by highways and hedges, wherever men would pause to listen. The clergy of the day deprecated his methods because he did not hesitate to tell a joke or make a witty remark to gain attention. One can only wonder what impression was made on the mind of Mr. Campbell as he listened to this man who spoke so freely and informally, but of whom it was written, "truths were always balanced in his mind; and his heart was established with grace. He always blended together doctrine, experience and grace. He fell into no errors. He embraced no whims."

     Then there was James Alexander Haldane who with his brother Robert had seceded from the Church of Scotland. Being men of financial importance they had planned to go to India and propagate

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the gospel, but when the East India company thwarted their hopes they devoted their lives to promoting religious truth in the British Isles. They organized a society for the purpose and began publication of the Missionary Magazine. Of this journal, Greville Ewing, a dissatisfied minister of the Church of Scotland, became the editor. James Alexander Haldane was at the height of his power when Mr. Campbell met him. In 1805 he published his revolutionary work, "A View of the Social Worship and Ordinances Observed by the First Christians." It is difficult to read this volume without forming a conclusion that it planted the seed for much of what was later written by the Campbells. Our concepts always derive their strength and substance from many sources.

     The divided state of the religious world at the time must have engendered a great deal of concern in the mind of the Presbyterian pastor at Ahorey as he neared his fortieth birthday anniversary. One describes the religious condition at that time in these words:

     "Sad as was the tyranny which caused the upheaval of the French Revolution, there was not less tyranny in the domain of religion. State establishments existed everywhere save in the Republic of the New World, and it had just reached the conception that governments had no right to fetter the consciences of men. There were in most countries protests against the State Church, but the Dissenters were deprived of equal rights, were often persecuted and had themselves imbibed the intolerant spirit from which they had suffered. Christendom was a medley of discordant and warring sects, without harmony, without friendship, at sword's points, each presenting to the other its shibboleth, and ready to cut off all who were unable or unwilling to pronounce it in the prescribed manner. The different sects were Ishmaelites, with hands against all beside. Everywhere the spirit of those apostles who forbade him who walked in Christ's name but walked not with them, prevailed."

     Although one of Mr. Campbell's disposition would he greatly disturbed by the appalling state of division in the whole Protestant realm, he was much more affected by the strife within his own immediate communion. In 1732 more than forty ministers of the Church of Scotland presented a petition to the general assembly asking for a redress of grievances and specifying a number of deviations from the constitution of the church. At the same time another plea signed by several hundred elders and unofficial members was offered. The latter dealt primarily with what was called "patronage," a practice which denied local congregations the right to select their own ministers. Because of the controversy which ensued division resulted and those who left the established church were known as Seceders. These secessionists became quite numerous and set up three Presbyteries under one Synod.

     The Seceders did not continue in undisturbed tranquillity. A dispute arose among them about the Burgess oath which was required of all who held local offices. It was required of such officials in a burgh, or borough (a corporate town) that they swear to protect and defend "the religion presently professed in this realm." Those who thought such an oath could be taken in all good conscience were designated Burghers, those who revolted against it were called Anti-Burghers. The conflict became so keen that an open cleavage occurred in 1739. Mr. Campbell was connected with the Anti-Burgher branch of the Seceder division of the Presbyterian Church. He was fully aware of the strife and contention which had been carried on with intensity of feeling.

     With a heart filled with concern Mr. Campbell appeared before the Synod of Ireland, convened in Belfast in 1804, to plead for the unity of the Burghers and Anti-Burghers in Ulster. Having read his speech made on that occasion I am convinced that he was formulating those concepts which would later lead to the inception of the restoration movement. He gave a scathing indictment of the evils resulting from religious schism. While we recognize that some of our readers might find a long quotation boring we cannot resist the impulse to have you read a part of his speech.

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     "This, our unhappy division, appeared to us an evil of no small magnitude, whether abstractly considered as inconsistent with the genius and spirit of the Christian religion, which has union, unity, and communion in faith, hope, and love, for its grand object upon earth, or whether considered in its hurtful tendencies, as marring and embarrassing the cause which it was the grand object of the secession to promote. For has it not exposed the zealous contenders for a reformation, on both sides, to the contempt and jeers of the scorners, and filled the mouths of scoffers with reproach and obloquy? Has it not been fraught with the awful consequence of distracting, disturbing, and dividing the flock of the Lord's heritage, and of sowing discord among brethren? Has it not been productive of a party spirit, both among ministers and people, stirring up and promoting an unhappy disposition of evasion and reprisals upon the boundaries of their respective communities? Has it not had an awful tendency to relax discipline, or render it abortive. by opening a door of escape to the delinquent, or by its dissuasive influence upon ministers and sessions, for fear of losing the subject, in case he should take offence? Has it not had a very embarrassing tendency with respect to many of the serious and well-meaning, when they, seeing our division, upon enquiry find that the subject-matter of our difference is not to be found either in the Old or New Testament?"

     This plea was unavailing at the time, but in 1820, sixteen years later, and after Mr. Campbell had been in the United States for thirteen years, the unhappy situation was resolved and the two factions of Presbyterians in North Ireland again merged their efforts. In the interim the plea for unity had been carried to the new world on a wider scale.

     Thomas Campbell had not been long in America until he saw even more clearly "the awful consequence of distracting, disturbing, and dividing the flock of the Lord's heritage." When he wrote the memorable "Declaration and Address" which he first read to the Washington Association in September, 1809, he hammered out that document on the forge of a heart that burned with zeal to rectify a condition which was intolerable to one who revered the name of Jesus. It was this pronouncement which struck a death blow at the sectarian spirit. Although in its inception it was "a cloud like a man's hand" it soon filled the land with "the sound of abundance of rain" and the parched hearts of men blighted by spiritual drouth again revived in hope.

     It is time to restore the spirit of the restoration whose heirs now constitute one of the most divided religious movements in the world. What qualities are needed to pursue this objective? What forces in the lives of men can operate to pry the vehicle of reform out of "the slough of despond" and start it on its way again? To whom can we look for leadership amidst our tragic state? Let us examine the factors which contributed to the inception of the restoration movement and determine if it may be possible to recapture them for this generation.

1. The restoration movement was launched by men who were dissatisfied with the status quo. They were not "at ease in Zion" nor were they "settled on their lees." Thomas Campbell wrote in the Declaration and Address that they were "tired and sick of the bitter warrings and janglings of a party spirit." He declared that they despaired of finding rest "by continuing amid the diversity and rancor of party contentions, the veering uncertainty and clashings of human opinions." Alexander Campbell wrote of an abiding impression relative to "the forms and ceremonies, the speculations and conjectures, the feuds and bickerings of sects and schisms." No restoration worthy of the name will be undertaken by those who feel that they have attained perfection or who deceive themselves into thinking that what they have is the ideal state. Those who ask what there is to restore will never restore anything! Restoration results from the restless conscience!
2. Restoration must always be preceded by reformation. In its infancy restoration is not a movement of the masses but a dream in the heart of an individual or, at the most, a few individuals. Any individual who seeks to further this ideal must have his own Damascus Road ex-

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   perience. He must be stricken to the dust. He must be made to see the futility of his past life and his present actions. He must be stripped of pride and arrogance. He must be deprived of his trust in all the world counts of value. He must say of his life as did Paul, I count it so much garbage, for the sake of gaining Christ and finding myself incorporate in him, with no righteousness of my own, no legal rectitude, but the righteousness which comes from faith in Christ, given by God in response to faith" (New English Bible Translation).
        Like Daniel he must set his "face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes." And like Daniel he must begin by admitting, "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments."
        He who would help to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem must say like Nehemiah, "I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven." And like Nehemiah he must speak thus to the Lord: "Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee now, day and night...and confess the sins...which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned." It is useless for one to attempt to promote the unity of all believers while defending the sectarian divisions created by his fathers, or while apologizing for his own partisan attachment.
        Men who change things and rescue God's children from exile in Babylon must conduct themselves like Ezra. "I arose up from my heaviness, and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God, and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up into the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day." One does not deserve to walk with Jesus who is not willing to accompany him to Gethsemane. We dare not ask to share the blessing of his presence if we desert him amidst the olive trees of the garden of weeping!
3. The spirit of restoration must be kindled by wholehearted commitment to a search for truth and an unreserved dedication to follow where it leads. This requires a willingness to alter one's thinking and to amend one's practice to "keep abreast of truth." When the Campbells cut loose from their moorings and resolved to be guided by the pole star of restoration they little knew where it would lead them. "They went out, not knowing whither they went." Thirty years later Alexander Campbell wrote:
   

   "None of us who either got up or sustained that project, was then aware of what havoc that said principle, if faithfully applied, would have made of our views and practices on various favorite points. The application of the principle already stated trimmed us so naked, that we strongly inclined to suspect its fallacy, and had well nigh abandoned it as a deceitful speculation. Time, however, that great teacher, and Experience, that great critic, have fully assured us that the principle is a salutary one; and that although we seemingly lose much by its application, our loss consists only of barren opinions, fruitless speculations, and useless traditions, that only cumber the ground and choke the word, so that it is in a good measure unfruitful."

   
        No man can further the cause of reformation while striving to be consistent with his past. He must walk in light of increasing knowledge. He dare not stumble at the noonday as he did in the mists and shadows of the dawn. It is a frequent resort of narrow partisans to publish the earlier writings of a reformer to contrast them with his current productions. No greater honor can be bestowed upon a man than to demonstrate that he had the courage to alter his thinking as he grew in knowledge of the truth. Only the densely ignorant or grossly prejudiced boast they have made no changes with the passing decades. Those who say such

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   should hide their heads in shame for their wasted years. All of the gains that have been made in any field of human experience and endeavor have been made by men who dared to rise above the blind conformity of the age in which they lived. The heretics of yesterday are always the heroes of today!
        One who stops to ask what will be the consequences if he accepts truth is unworthy of truth. To such a person truth becomes merely a policy-making instrument to be accepted or rejected upon the basis of what it will do for him or to him. He is not a free man. His life is conditioned and ruled by other men. His course is determined before he discovers truth- -the path of least resistance!
4. The reformer must labor for the approval of God and steel himself against the reproaches of men. No one will be hated more intensely by bitter partisans than the man who refuses to be one. It is an indication of the party spirit that it seeks always to capture the free spirit and to clip its wings so that it cannot fly over the restrictive barriers. It is a difficult thing to be just a Christian and not to allow oneself to be allied with or used by some faction or group to further its own selfish interests. The sectarian attitude is rife in our land. It works in subtle and devious ways. None of us is ever wholly free from its blighting influence. We encounter it at every step. It manifests itself in the policies and programs of those with whom we are closely associated. Often it is the price we must pay for continuing friendship but it is too great a price.
        One who strives to rise above the sordid spectacle of sectarianism should read often and meditate much upon those passages which encourage to faithfulness regardless of external pressures. "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you." "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too." "For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth."
5. The heart of him who pleads for restoration must be filled with love for mankind. This is not the same as love for a particular kind of man. It is universal and all-embracing. It is the love that God had for the world when He sent Jesus to die for all. It is the love that was commended unto us while we were yet sinners. It is not a love for those who are worthy, but for those who are unworthy; not for the lovable but for the unlovable, not for the hopeful but for the hopeless. Much of what passes for love in these days is very selfish. It is a narrow patriotism or partisan feeling, a regard based upon race, face or place. Such an attitude will contribute nothing worthwhile to the welfare of mankind.

     It is time that the scattered fragments of the Restoration movement be gathered together. We have been shattered, splintered and severed too long. Hearts have been saddened, family ties broken, communities rent asunder, and congregations torn to bits by explosive passions. The glorious concept of brotherhood must once again be recaptured, the ideal must be re-affirmed and the hearts of all stirred into action leading toward peace. The bugle call of destiny sounds again and those who have been sleeping in their party bivouacs must arouse themselves and form an unbroken army to march against the common foe. We shall gain nothing for our age by perpetuating the feuds of our fathers. If in their search for truth they were split and riven, in our continued search for truth let us find the nobler path of unity.