OME great men of biblical lore gained for themselves a new or additional name. Abram became Abraham; Jacob was turned into Israel; Simon, son of Jonas, was surnamed Peter by his Lord. It seems just as fitting to bestow a new name or title upon Thomas Campbell at this juncture. For about thirty years he had been under the name "Seceder." Together with that we would include that he was a Christian. He has divested himself of that sectarian distinguishing title. He remains a Christian, but because of his particular belief and activity, we could well bestow upon him the title, "advocate of Christian union." He had since the beginning of his Christian life joined with the Thomas of the apostolic circle in saying of Jesus of Nazareth, "My Lord and my God." This new title is not suggested because it is felt that Thomas Campbell was adding something to universal Christian belief and activity. This new emphasis was made necessary because it was an integral part of the Christian faith that had been neglected, obscured, forgotten or even by some unknown.

      Mr. Campbell's effort that had been made in Ireland to unite Burgher and anti-Burgher has already been noticed. The Synod in Glasgow had [112] overridden the desire of the presbyteries and the subsidiary Synod in Erin's isle. In that we discover Thomas Campbell as an advocate of Church union or reunion. The charges upon which the heresy trial were based and Mr. Campbell's attitude indicated his interest in a closer fellowship with other sorts of Presbyterians, for he did not "fence the table" in the usual manner. By way of parenthesis--it is never brought out in the testimony of any of the witnesses what or how many aliens from the commonwealth of the anti-Burghers availed themselves of the unfenced table there in Conemaugh. Through his practice and encouragement of "occasional hearing, "Mr. Campbell was paving the way for a friendly fellowship if not an ecclesiastical relationship, with almost any worthy Christian teacher. But he was too far in advance of the standards of his church and of the ministry that ousted him. He was led of the Word of God to go beyond church union, sectarian toleration and occasional Christian fellowship. The passing of the era of denominationalism and sectarianism, of the rule and domination of creeds, of intolerance of opinions on things not clearly revealed, and the ushering in of the one church of Christ and its corresponding names, of the Bible only and of Christian love and toleration were in the future to engage the thought and labors of Thomas Campbell. The two experiences with Synods and the one with a presbytery were sufficient to give Mr. Campbell a bias against ecclesiastical organizations. But his study of the Bible [113] was also inclining him toward independency and congregationalism.

      A smaller man might have yielded to an impulse to divide the churches where he had been ministering and had established contacts. A spur to such action might have been the continued effort of Chartiers Presbytery to have Mr. Campbell appear before it, acknowledge its authority and his heresy. Spies were sent to the meetings that he began to hold and a check was kept upon his movements. The action of Presbytery on Apr. 18, 1810, in deposing the minister who had already renounced their authority, was of a piece with the digging up of the remains of the great Wycliffe that they might be burned. The victim of Secederism was dead to it, and had been for almost a year to its authority and fellowship. However, the church authorities saw some virtue, aside from fulfilling ecclesiastical law, in formally defrocking their former fellow minister and leaving him naked of clerical rights. The "Minutes of the Associate Synod" for 1808 noted that in addition to Mr. Campbell's appeal and protest there had been received "Petitions from Buffaloe, Chartiers, Mt. Pleasant and Burgettstown in favor of Mr. Campbell." Neither Alexander Campbell nor Robert Richardson makes mention of those petitions, if they knew of their existence; nor is there record that the same were acted upon in any way by the Synod. The total number of the petitioners, as well as the number from each place is a profound secret. But the sympathizers with Mr. Campbell [114] seemed to remain constant, for when their friend renounced all claims of the Presbytery upon him, he did so "in the name of all who adhered to him." It is here suggested that the reverend members of Chartiers Presbytery, in following Mr. Campbell to the extreme of their ability to hinder him from functioning as a minister and "sealing ordinances" might have had a hope that his friends would be alienated from him, stripped as he was from all ministerial honor and power. If so, they mistook their people. Never for an instant did it seem to cross the deposed minister's mind that he should cease from teaching and preaching. His call had been from on high, and as long as his conscience was clear before the Head of the church, associations of men could not cancel that call.

      There is no indication that Mr. Campbell, deprived of the right to be called "Reverend," was acceptable to the many who had come to look upon him as aggrieved, persecuted and unjustly condemned. They saw in him the same spiritual, talented, biblical, trustworthy and zealous Christian and preacher as before. They opened their houses, barns, yards and groves for his services. The last paid service of Mr. Campbell as a Seceder must have, been for those two months in which he labored in the Philadelphia Presbytery. From that time we are able to discover but little about his financial condition. His hearers must have counted him as a laborer worthy of his hire. Out of the considerable number of those who attended his services, there began to emerge a more [115] regular and constant group. Although not many took any formal step of separation from their church, they saw in Mr. Campbell a preacher who fed their souls and a free man who owed no allegiance to any earthly group. The sacred Scriptures were the touchstone of his loyalty. His heart began to be filled with a yearning that Christians everywhere might be one.

      The piety and intelligence of Mr. Campbell's hearers naturally led them into the same dissatisfaction with existing religious parties, their intolerant and sectarian spirit which Mr. Campbell felt. They began to give more heed to the Bible as a rule of faith and life. We are not sure as to the party relationship of all those first adherents of the Christian Association. But at the first informal meetings the hearings were large. After several weeks (or months) of meetings, Mr. Campbell "proposed a special meeting, in order to elicit a clear and distinct statement of the principles they advocated" (Richardson's Memoirs, Vol. 1, p. 235). This was agreed to and a very large concourse of people heard Thomas Campbell at that meeting talk of the evils of division, the sufficiency of the Scriptures, the folly of extraneous theories and opinions, and urge upon all a return to the Scriptures. As a final word he announced a rule by which they had been acting, and he trusted they would act to the end. That rule was "Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; and where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent." Richardson, who knew both the Campbells, states that

"from the moment these [116] significant words were uttered and accepted, the more intelligent ever afterward dated the formal and actual commencement of the Reformation which was subsequently carried on with so much success, and which has already produced such important changes in religious society over a large portion of the world" (Richardson's Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 237).

After some moments of profound thought upon the "Rule," people began to express themselves. The rule was at first like a bombshell to explode and scatter. Infant baptism was seen by some as an institution that would have to be surrendered. After that meeting many ceased to meet with the group, counting some things that they had been holding in their religious lives as too dear to be sacrificed to the rule that Mr. Campbell had announced. Some of the adherents, and even outsiders, began to confront him with his rule and endeavor to show how he was inconsistent. But a considerable number were left, not united in everything, but interested in trying to bring union and peace in the ranks of Christians. [117]

[TCSCUA 112-117]