HE religious movement known as the "Current Reformation," marks an important era in the history of the Church. Previous to its inauguration, the condition of religion in this country was truly deplorable. Numerous religious parties, whose very existence depended on the propagation of the selfishness which brought them into being, usurped the place of the "One Body," and became the exponents of the Christian civilization. Ignorance and superstition were more to these parties than an intelligent understanding of the Word of God. Human creeds became the standards of faith and practice, while the Divine Creed was held by many to be little more than a "dead letter." Consequently, for a time, the very life of religion became subject to a selfish and unrelenting despotism. Whoever impartially examines this period of ecclesiastical history, can not fail to admit that a reformation was greatly needed. In fact, the success of the Christian religion in the world depended on a movement that would break down the ecclesiasticisms of the age, and bring the [11] people back again to the true knowledge of Christ. Early in the present century an attempt at this was made. But before entering upon a notice of this movement, it is proper to call attention to what previous reformations had accomplished.

      LUTHER'S was a noble work, but it was principally confined to one thing, viz.: the restoration of freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and the right of individual interpretation. This was his great distinctive work, and, so far as it went, it was in exactly the right direction. It broke the fetters with which the Pope had bound the human soul, and gave liberty once more to the individual conscience. Further than this it did not go.

      CALVIN restored to the Church the idea of God's sovereignty. This had been partially obscured by the works of supererogation which Catholicism enjoined upon its subjects; and it was necessary, to any satisfactory progress in the restoration of Primitive Christianity, that the great Father should be properly recognized as the author of "every good and perfect gift." Extremes beget extremes is the universal testimony of history. Hence, under the influence of Calvin's teachings, it was not long before the religious consciousness swung round to the extreme of a cold, lifeless formalism, which entirely ignored the human side in the plan of salvation, and left every thing to the unalterable fate of what were called the Divine decrees.

      WESLEY restored to the Church the idea of human [12] responsibility. He taught that there was something for man himself to do in order to his salvation. Hence his teaching infused new life into the religious convictions of the people, and gave a new energy to the work of converting the world.

      To sum up the work of these Reformations, it is sufficient to say that LUTHER restored Conscience to its proper position, CALVIN restored the Divine Sovereignty, and WESLEY, Human Responsibility, as parts of the remedial system. Two things yet remained to be done. THE WORD OF GOD MUST BE RESTORED TO ITS PROPER AUTHORITY, AND SUCH AN ADJUSTMENT MADE OF THE ELEMENTS ELIMINATED BY THE REFORMATIONS JUST REFERRED TO AS WOULD SECURE A RAPID AND HARMONIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELIGION OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD. This, of course, would involve a complete restoration of the primitive order of things; and this was the work proposed by the Reformation of the Nineteenth Century. A few words concerning the origin and character of this movement are necessary at this point.

      In the year 1807, THOMAS CAMPBELL, a Presbyterian minister from the north of Ireland, arrived in the United States. He had not been in this country long when he conceived a plan of Christian Union upon the basis of the Bible, and the Bible alone. In the advocacy of this plan, he published the celebrated " DECLARATION AND ADDRESS," and a "PROSPECTUS OF A RELIGIOUS REFORMATION." The burden of these papers was the [13] inefficiency of denominational organizations, and the necessity for a return to apostolic teaching and practice, before the world could ever be converted to Christ. Discarding all human creeds and confessions of faith, a society was formed in Washington, Pa., for the purpose of propagating these sentiments. Soon after, two churches were organized, and these agreed in the purpose of "absolute and entire rejection of human authority in matters of religion," and the determination to stand by each other upon the proposition that the "Holy Scriptures are all-sufficient, and alone sufficient, as the subject matter of faith and rule of conduct, and that, therefore, they would require nothing, as a matter of faith or rule of conduct, for which they could not give a Thus saith the Lord, either in express terms or by approved precedent." This was the beginning of the great reformatory movement known as the Reformation of the Nineteenth Century. But THOMAS CAMPBELL and those who operated with him in Western Pennsylvania and Western Virginia were not alone in these efforts at a restoration of Primitive Christianity. In Kentucky and Tennessee, STONE, MARSHALL, THOMSON, DUNLEVY, and others, were zealously advocating the same principles. Under the influence of these movements, which had no well-defined organization, a latent force was excited, which has taken the body and form of what is now known as the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, or DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. [14]

      During these initial movements to which we have [14] referred, many important matters, upon which the Protestant parties held erroneous views, seemed to assume only vague and indefinite forms. "The Organization of the Church," "The Call to the Ministry," "The Influence of the Holy Spirit," "The Ordinance of Baptism, its action, subject, and design," "The Lord's Supper," etc., etc., were yet to be purified from the dross of humanisms and restored to their original places in the Divine Government. In order to the more speedy accomplishment of this great work, in the year 1823, ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, who fully sympathized with the views of his father, THOMAS CAMPBELL, began the publication of the Christian Baptist, a monthly periodical, devoted to the defense of Primitive, Apostolic Christianity. In 1830 this appeared in enlarged form, under the title of the Millennial Harbinger, a work which has been as extensively read, and had as large an influence, as any periodical published within the present century. These papers, in connection with several others published in different parts of the country, were specially devoted to the discussion of the following propositions:

      I. The all-sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures as a rule of faith and practice. In the discussion of this proposition, it was affirmed that human creeds are necessarily schismatical in their tendency, and destructive of the best interests of the cause of Christ. It was shown that "Christian unity can result from nothing short of the destruction of creeds and confessions of faith, inasmuch as human [15] creeds and confessions have destroyed Christian unity." And that "whenever the setting aside of creeds and confessions shall be attempted, Christians will give to the world, and to angels, and to themselves, proof that they do believe the Word of God." It was further shown that human creeds are incapable of presenting any thing more than partial views of truth. They are the products of human minds, and must necessarily be as short-sighted and imperfect as the finite minds that produce them. Nothing but the Infinite Mind is capable of making a standard of faith suitable to every creature. The Bible is the only book that can claim a divine origin, consequently it is the only standard of faith to which all can subscribe, and Christian union is not possible unless all are willing to take it as a sufficient rule of faith and practice.

      II. Faith in Christ, as the promised Messiah, and obedience to His commandments, constitute the only conditions of salvation. No people have ever exalted the character and mission of Christ in a greater degree than the Disciples. In His divine personality all perfections meet. He is the Alpha and the Omega of the remedial system. Hence, faith in Him, and obedience to Him, are the only tests of fellowship in the Christian Church. This exaltation of Christ above all creeds and opinions has been, from the beginning, one of the most distinctive features of the movement we are considering.

      III. Christian Baptism is an immersion in water into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In support of [16] this proposition it was argued, 1st. That the original word means to immerse or its equivalent, and never means to sprinkle or pour. 2d. That the primitive Church unquestionably practiced immersion. 3d. Many passages of Scripture are wholly meaningless unless immersion was the Apostolic practice. Other arguments were presented, but these three were chiefly relied on as settling the controversy.

      IV. None but penitent believers are subjects of Baptism. Infant baptism was held to be unauthorized by the Scriptures, and should not, therefore, be practiced. One of the cardinal rules by which the Disciples were guided was to do nothing in religion for which they could not give a "Thus saith the Lord, either in express terms or by approved precedent." This rule cut off infant baptism; for there was not a word said about it in all the Word of God. Besides this want of authority, the practice itself was considered very injurious to the spirituality of the Church. It destroyed individual conscience, and brought into the fellowship of Christians a great many unconverted people.

      V. Baptism, when administered to a believing penitent, is for the remission of past sins. This proposition was ably supported, but the arguments are too numerous and too lengthy to be given here. A full and satisfactory discussion of the design of baptism will be found in several of the discourses which are to follow.

      VI. In conversion the Holy Spirit operates through the [17] Truth, and never without the Truth, so far as we can determine. This was simply a question of fact and not of power. It was not considered what the spirit could do, but what it actually does do. There was not a particle of satisfactory evidence that any one was ever converted without the instrumentality of the Truth. It was deemed important to inculcate Scriptural views on this subject, as a misconception of it had led many into wild and visionary notions concerning converting power. Hence, the whole subject of spiritual influence received considerable attention, especially during the earlier days of the Reformation.

      VII. The organization of the Church in accordance with the Divine models. It was urged that both the Prelatical and Presbyterian views were contrary to the apostolic teaching; that there was a plurality of elders or bishops in every church, of equal authority, whose duty it was to take the oversight, feed, teach, rule, watch for the souls, etc., of the members, and whose official authority extended no further than the churches in which they were ordained. The duties of the deacons, in general terms, were to provide for the necessities of the poor and look after the temporal interests of the churches. It was claimed that this was the apostolic organization, and that a return to this was positively essential in order to a complete restoration of Primitive Christianity.

      VIII. A proper observance of the Lord's Supper. The Supper was considered an important part of every Lord's [18] Day service, and could not be dispensed with without detriment to the spiritual growth of the disciples. Besides, there could be no reasonable doubt that weekly communion was the practice of the primitive churches.

      Such is a brief outline of the most important points contended for by the advocates of the current reformation. Several other interesting questions were ably discussed, but those named set forth that which was most distinctive in the movement.

      As might have been expected, the advocacy of these principles and practices, so much at variance with the religious opinions of the age, met with a very determined opposition from the numerous parties into which Protestantism was divided. The whole phalanx of sectarianism was hurled against this reformatory movement with an energy and persistence unequaled in all the history of ecclesiastical polemics. All the Pilates and Herods made friends, and united their forces against the common enemy. This immense opposition had to be met by only a few brave hearts. But these, strengthened by the consciousness that they were in the right, and guided by the unerring principles of Truth, carried forward the reformation with rapid and triumphant success. In fact, no religious movement since the days of the Apostles has met with such popular favor. Fifty years have not yet elapsed, and the little band of Disciples who inaugurated the initial movement, and who were despised for their very insignificance, have grown to be [19] one of the most powerful and influential religious people of modern times--numbering in the United States alone not less than five hundred thousand communicants. Such astonishing success--a success unparalleled in religious movements--calls for a brief notice of the causes which led to it. These may be stated as follows:

      I. THE INHERENT STRENGTH OF THE PLEA ITSELF WHICH THE DISCIPLES MADE.

      II. THEIR METHOD OF PRESENTING IT TO THE WORLD.

      We have already considered the religious condition of the world when this plea for reformation was first made. By a reference to that period, it will be seen that a reformatory movement was absolutely necessary to save the cause of Christ from utter disgrace and ruin. It is said that "coming events cast their shadows before them," and this was fully exemplified in the general confusion which preceded the Reformation. The shadow was long and dark, but the light was all the brighter when it came. The world was ready for a change, and this fact alone made it easier to make the plea for reformation more successful than it would otherwise have been. Nevertheless, we think there was very great strength in the plea itself which the Disciples made. Let us see how this is:

      1. The simplicity of the plea was a source of great strength.

      One thing was kept constantly before the people as the grand distinctive characteristic of the movement, viz.: the Word of God alone, as a rule of faith and practice. It is evident the more simple the machinery, all other things [20] being equal, the more effective it will be for work. This rule is just as true in morals as in physics. Consequently, as a mere element of success, if for no other reason, the "Bible alone" doctrine commends itself to every thinking and candid mind. One of the chief difficulties with which Protestants have had to contend, in their conflicts with the Catholic Church, has been the complexity of the machinery of Protestantism. While the Catholic Church has moved steadily on under the influence of a single inspiration, maintaining her unity in all countries, and under all circumstances, the Protestant churches have divided their influence in a warfare among themselves, as well as greatly weakened each individual effort, by the complex conditions of Protestantism itself. The Protestant theory is to oppose an infallible Church with an infallible Bible; but the Protestant practice has been to weaken this plea, by claiming the necessity of human creeds; and, consequently, the Protestant movement, as a whole, has been greatly retarded in its progress by adding to the pure, simple Word of God the decrees of Augsburg, Westminster, and such like ecclesiastical utterances. The plea which the Disciples made was, from the first, distinct and emphatic for the Bible alone. And wherever it has been presented by honest and earnest hearts, the trophies of victory fully attest its power and efficiency.

      2. The consistency of the plea was another source of strength.

      We do not mean, by the word consistency, simply the [21] harmony of all the parts of the plea among themselves. We mean this, and more than this. We mean that the position of those who advocated the present Reformation was in harmony with truth, and that it was practically what it professed to be. The Disciples have urged, as no other people have done, the right of each individual member of the Church, as well as each individual member of society, to examine the Word of God for himself. This they have believed to be not only right, but positively essential, in order to a successful establishment of the Christian religion in the hearts of men. Besides, they are thoroughly convinced that every condition of our being and society requires this, and that the Bible, in all its teachings, is in perfect harmony with this position. In nothing, perhaps, have the Protestant clergy shown themselves to be more inconsistent than in their attempts to lord it over the consciences of men, while they pretend to find fault with the Papal Hierarchy for the very same thing. For, while the Protestant clergy have theoretically denied the Papal assumption of right to interpret the Word of God for the masses, they have too frequently stultified their own theory by practically sitting in judgment upon the faith of others. Just here has been a vital point of controversy between Protestantism and Catholicism. In fact, it is the beginning and end of the whole difficulty, the sum and substance of all that long and bitter warfare which has been waged by theological pugilists for the last three or four [22] centuries. Had Protestantism been consistent with itself, and practically exemplified what it professed, much, very much, might have been done, even in the sixteenth century, toward staying the tide of religious despotism which was then sweeping all Europe. Much, indeed, was done; but nothing in comparison with what should have been accomplished. Truth is always consistent with itself, and it was natural enough, therefore, for men to suspect the purposes and doubt the correctness of the position of their new masters when these were found to be little less exacting upon the conscience than their Papal predecessors. This palpable inconsistency--this determined opposition to Rome on account of her assumptions of right to interpret the Bible for the Church, and at the same time claiming the right for Protestants to do the same thing by forcing upon the people an almost indefinite number of theological dogmas is, beyond question, the weak point of Protestantism. Try to avoid it as much as we will, the conclusion forces itself upon us, that here is a plain and monstrous inconsistency. To remedy this evil, and enable us thereby to meet successfully the encroachments of Rome upon civil and religious liberty, the plea of the present reformation has been, and is now, not only to theoretically allow, but earnestly and practically to enforce upon society the right of individual conscience in all matters pertaining to religion. There is no middle ground between Papacy and this position. The people must be left free to interpret the Word of [23] God for themselves, or else the clergy must do it for them. A domineering priesthood, or a free people, are the logical and necessary consequences growing out of these conditions. The people have not been slow to see the justness of the position of the Disciples upon this subject; and, consequently, their cause has gained great strength from this source, wherever it has been faithfully presented. Here is the secret of their popularity among the masses; and it is not to be wondered at, when we take into consideration the fact that they are the only people among Protestants who practically strike for the freedom of conscience and the right of individual interpretation.

      3. The unity of the plea was another source of strength.

      Protestantism has always given evidence of certain decided elements of power within it. But these have been manifested only in particular directions. There has been no regular, harmonious development, and, consequently, the strength of Protestantism has been unequal to the task of successfully meeting the influence of Rome. The work of LUTHER, ZWINGLE, CALVIN, and WESLEY did much toward breaking the shackles of religious despotism, and restoring the ancient order of things to the Church. No intelligent, consistent historian can fail to note this fact. But it is likewise true, that no candid historian can fail to see a great want of unity in the plea which they made. Some of the elements of truth, which they eliminated from the mass of error which had overwhelmed the religious consciousness of their age, came [24] out clearly, distinctly, and unmistakably on the side of primitive Christianity. But there were so many evidences of mixture with the corruptions of Rome, in other things for which they contended, that the unity of their cause was greatly disfigured by these uneven developments of truth. The strength and efficiency of their plea were also impaired in the exact ratio that this want of unity was manifested. A chain may be very strong in certain parts, but, on account of some weak links, the efficiency of the whole may be greatly impaired, and even rendered useless. Precisely so is it with Protestantism. In some of its parts it has always been strong, beyond even the power of the Pope of Rome to destroy; but, taken as a whole, it is unfortunately weak, because of a lack of unity and consistency in all its parts.

      The position of the religious people whose history we are considering is, to accept all the strong points of Protestantism, as it has gradually developed since the days of WICKLIFFE, and to reject, or else fully restore to the chain of truth, all the links, unimpaired, which Protestantism has made weak by admixtures with error.^* And, if it be asked how far this has been accomplished, let the present condition of Protestantism be compared with what it was fifty years ago. We think that no intelligent student of passing events can fall to see that the reformatory movement conducted by ALEXANDER CAMPBELL and his [25] associates has exerted an immense amount of influence upon the religious condition of the present age. Every-where we see evidences of a departure from the old stereotyped formularies of faith, while a more earnest inquiry after the principles advocated by the Disciples is unmistakably manifest. The tendencies of the religious movements of the present day are all in the direction of the position the Disciples occupy, and we verily believe that the day is not far distant when this position will be accepted as the only ground upon which all the people of God can be united.

      We come now to consider the method employed in presenting this plea to the world as another reason of its success. Method is always secondary only to matter, and it is difficult to overestimate its value in any great work. Success often depends on the method employed. There is strategy in work as well as in war, and he who ignores this fact, in the management of any great enterprise, will soon find that he has made a sad mistake. Logic is unyielding in its demands for legitimate consequences, hence a proper method ought to enter into all our plans of life.

      The method employed by the Disciples in advocating their plea for reformation was in perfect harmony with the plea itself. As truth was the only object desired, that method which would best eliminate truth was employed. Hence the popular methods of investigation, which went to the Bible only for proofs to establish some favorite theory or preconceived opinion, were discarded as altogether unworthy honest inquiry, while the Bible was [26] studied with the view only to understand the Divine will. Every example and precept, relating to any subject requiring investigation, was carefully and prayerfully examined, and when a satisfactory induction was made, the result was reverently accepted as the truth in the matter.

      They did not go to the Bible to find out if the Bible said what they said, but they went to the Bible to ascertain if they said what the Bible said. And this was not determined by a few isolated passages, torn away from their proper context and forced into an unwilling service, but by a careful induction of all the passages, in their true contextual meaning, on the subject to be decided. Such was the method employed in writing and preaching, and it never failed to command the public attention. There was something so simple, honest, and reasonable about it, that the "wayfaring man, though a simpleton, need not err therein." For many years the preachers were, for the most part, plain, uneducated men; but they understood the Word of God, and knew how to make others understand it. This constituted them a tower of strength, and, wherever they went, under the influence of their preaching, hundreds and thousands became obedient to the Gospel. And thus the work went gloriously on, until it has reached its present magnificent proportions. The movement has now passed its formative state, and is rapidly developing the conditions of permanent success. Under the fostering care of the Disciples, schools and colleges are going up all over the land, while the churches are [27] supplying themselves with educated pastors to break to the people the bread of life. Every thing indicates an advance toward a thorough and complete organization. When this point is once fully reached, we trust that the days of sectarianism will be numbered.

      We have now noticed two periods in the history of the Disciples, viz.: the Period of Formation and the Period of Organization and Development. One of these is past; they are at present in the midst of the other, having already taken some very decided progressive steps. Hence any selection of men designed to represent the preaching characteristics of this people should be made from both of these periods. That is precisely what is aimed at in this book. It will be seen that there are several names that represent the first period--the cause when it was in its formative state--while several young men represent it as it now is--in its state of organization and development. In judging of the discourses which are to follow, this distinction between the two classes of writers must be constantly kept in view. Several of the men who have written discourses for this volume never wrote a discourse before in their lives. They belong to that period of the Reformation that did not allow the preparation necessary to the production of written discourses. They had no time to devote to the study of rhetoric or elocution. They had work to do--work which required all their time and energies. Hence they stood not on the order of speaking, but spoke. Wherever they had opportunity, [28] they sounded out the Gospel to a lost and ruined world. In fact, these were just the men that were needed then. Polished rhetoricians would have failed. The age and work demanded angular men--men of strong, vigorous intellects, indomitable wills, and brave, earnest hearts. From such men we do not expect the graces of composition, but, what is better, the grace of honest truth and good sense. We do not make these remarks for the purpose of apologizing for any of the discourses that appear in this volume--for we do not think any of them needs an apology--but simply in justice to the men themselves, because many of them have not been accustomed to write any thing, and much less discourses for the pulpit. In fact, writing discourses for the pulpit is not the habit of the preachers of the Christian Church, and hence it may be said of all the men who appear in the book, that they have gone somewhat outside of their regular work. They are all extemporaneous speakers, and rely almost exclusively on this method in their pulpit ministrations. Consequently their discourses will be found to differ, in both matter and manner, from the standard authors of sermons. But we do not think they suffer any on this account. One of the reasons why the Protestant churches are to-day so far away from the primitive models is, that their ministers persist in a style of preaching which must, in the very nature of things, lead to erroneous views in reference to the teaching of the Scriptures. They are too much in the habit of following the [29] little by-paths in the domain of Truth, rather than the great thoroughfares that lead on to the Beautiful City. If they should find themselves lost sometimes, while wandering in these obscure windings, it need not be a matter of surprise to any one. Forbidden ground is just as dangerous as forbidden fruit.

      The discourses which appear in this volume, will commend themselves in the following particulars:

      I. They are pregnant with evangelical truth. There is no mistaking the source whence the material is drawn. Every sentence is luminous with light from the Word of God.

      II. They are remarkable for simplicity of style. There is no effort at fine writing--no overstrained metaphors. Many of the discourses are exceedingly fine specimens of pure Anglo-Saxon, containing comparatively very few derived words.

      III. They are equally remarkable for perspicuity. The meaning is never in doubt. You may not agree with the writers, but you can not fall to understand them.

      IV. The ability displayed in these discourses is certainly very considerable. While they are not to be compared in may respects with the standard sermons in the various languages--for, as already remarked, they are not written after the same models--still we think that in point of intellectual force, many of them will compare favorably with the best discourses in any language. [30] V. They bear unmistakable evidence that their authors are conscientious, earnest men. Whatever difference of opinion there may be concerning the doctrine promulged in these discourses, there can be no doubt about the sincerity of the men who wrote them. Every conclusion is clearly the result of honest convictions.

      But, after all, the historical value of these discourses is as great as any other. The Disciples are just now passing through a transition state, and it will be interesting, in after years, to look over the great speeches of some of the representative men of this period. This volume will afford such an opportunity, and should, therefore, be highly prized, not only because of its present value, but because it will be a rich legacy for all time.

W. T. M.      

    CINCINNATI, October, 1867. [31]

      ^* Vide Address before the A. C. Missionary Society by W. T. Moore.

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