Immutable Kingdom – Part 51

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 51

By Scott A. Klaft

A Publication & Walter Scott

Recognizing the power of the press by seeing the spread of the published debate with Walker, Campbell began thinking about printing a paper of his own. He planed to call the paper The Christian. It was about this time he made the acquaintance of a young preacher from Pittsburgh named Walter Scott. In discussing this idea with him, Scott suggested he disarm any prejudice against the paper by calling it The Christian Baptist. In the spring of 1823, Campbell published his “Prospectus” (the proposed intent) for the paper, in which he stated:

“‘The Christian Baptist’ shall espouse the cause of no religious sect, ‘called Christians first at Antioch.’ Its sole object shall be the eviction of truth and the exposing of error in doctrine or practice. The editor, acknowledging no standard of faith or works other than the Old and New Testament, and the latter as the only standard of the religion of Jesus Christ, will, intentionally at least, oppose nothing which it contains and recommend nothing which it does not enjoin. Having no worldly interest at stake from the adoption or reprobation of any article or religious practice, having no gift nor religious emolument to blind his eyes or to pervert his judgment, he hopes to manifest that he is an impartial advocate of truth.”[1]

The predominant purpose of the paper was to attack every religious idea that Campbell perceived to be a hindrance to “the restoration of the ancient order of things.”[2] He began by exposing the abuses and self-interest of the clergy/ laity system, both in the Catholic hierarchy, and also in protestant groups. He often proffered the view that before any successful efforts could be made to return to the New Testament way of things, there had to be a tearing down of the innovations of men. Particularly within his focus were the synods, organizations, associations, and theological institutions. The Christian Baptist was the mighty hammer he effectively used to begin breaking down these man-made walls.

He was very often harsh in his denunciations, and he boldly exposed the worldliness and paganism found within the religious realm. He called for the return to biblical authority with the complete rejection of all other creeds or confessions. For seven years, he produced this highly influential paper, and Campbell concluded it had ultimately served its purpose, deciding to replace it with a new periodical, which he called The Millennial Harbinger. One reason for the change was that many who believed as Campbell did were beginning to be called “Christian Baptists.” He found this objectionable. In his concluding remarks of the final issue, he wrote, “I am resolved to give them no just occasion for nicknaming advocates of the ancient order of things.”[3]

The name of the second paper is significant. He erroneously believed “the millennium” was a particular segment of time when “the nations of this world are all to become kingdoms of our King“[4] – thinking the only way to bring about the millennium of Christ’s reign was to restore the ancient order and eliminate all sectarianism so that Christianity would be predominant in the world. We should not think too harshly about him in these views as he was struggling with all of his might to come out of the dominant denominational thought of his day. The tremendous inroads he made toward the true restoration of Christianity far over shadow whatever else may be said of Alexander Campbell. Much more could be said about the influence he wielded in the religious world throughout his life.

Walter Scott – 1796-1861

Born and educated in Scotland, a twenty two year old man named Walter Scott moved to Long Island, New York, to teach in an academy. Desiring to go further west, he walked the one hundred mile trek from New York to Pittsburgh. There he obtained another teaching position in an academy run by George Forrester who insisted on the Bible only as his rule of faith and practice. Scott, a Presbyterian, was intrigued and began worshiping with the small group Forrester had assembled. A few weeks later, Scott gave up Presbyterianism, he renounced infant baptism, and he was immersed in the name of Jesus Christ in 1819.

(To Be Continued Next Week)

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[1] Richardson, Robert, Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, Vol. II  (Standard Publishing Co., Cincinnati, OH) , p. 50

[2] Campbell, Alexander, “A Restoration of the Ancient Order of Things – No. II” Christian Baptist, Vol. II, No. 8 (March 7, 1825) p. 133

[3] Campbell, Alexander, “Concluding Remarks” Christian Baptist, Vol. VII, No. 12 (July 5, 1830) p. 665

[4] Campbell, Alexander, “Millennium – No. I” Millennial Harbinger, Vol. I, No. 2 (February 1, 1830), pp. 53-58

Immutable Kingdom – Part 50

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 50

By Scott A. Klaft

The Campbell – Walker Debate (continued)

The discussion began on June 19, 1820, and it lasted for two days with large crowds and tremendous interest. They contended over the subject matter and mode of baptism, but Walker was not able to rise to the use of logic or the Greek New Testament, to which Campbell easily referred. By the time they came to the second proposition on the second day, Walker wanted to close the debate after one speech on either side. Campbell, surprised at this sudden change, agreed to close after two speeches each.

Campbell now reconsidered the value of debating as a mode of teaching as he realized the strength of his own positions and the ease with which he refuted the errors. At the close of his last speech, he issued a challenge to “any Pedobaptist minister of any denomination” to debate on the subject of infant baptism. The Campbell – Walker debate was then published in book form and read by thousands. The Presbyterians, unsatisfied with Walker’s defense, set out to find someone stronger to voice their position. Although Walker was no longer as highly revered as before, it was not his intellectual ability that was lacking, but the strength of his position.

The Baptists knew Campbell had soundly defeated the Presbyterian opponent, but others doubted whether his beliefs coincided with the Baptist doctrines. They wondered what would come of his popularity. Their fears would soon be realized.

The Campbell – McCalla Debate

In October of 1823, W. L. McCalla, a Presbyterian preacher out of Kentucky, accepted Campbell’s challenge. McCalla had been a lawyer, and he was considered among the greatest of Presbyterian preachers. Campbell had continued to study the subject during the three years between the debates, and he came to a conclusion concerning the design of baptism, which he smartly injected into this seven-day event.

The topics were the same, and the men covered the same grounds concerning the covenants and the mode of baptism; but, when the subject of infant baptism arose, Campbell firmly asserted that baptism was for the purpose of “the remission of sins,” and since infants committed no sins, they were not subject to baptism. This concept was revolutionary at this time. He knew the Baptists were against it, but he came to see that baptism is the means of entrance into the church, that it “was never designed for, nor commanded to be administered to, a member of the church.”[1]

On the evening of the fifth night of the debate, he called the most prominent Baptist preachers aside, telling them that he disagreed with them in an equal amount as he did with the Presbyterians, and that they erred from the truth of Apostolic Christianity. Shockingly, they were not offended by this criticism, but rather were drawn closer to him. They invited him to tour their churches, and to preach for them.

When the debate finally closed, many were convinced that infant baptism was based on human authority and not God’s authority. The Presbyterian cause never recovered from the defeat. Campbell was now so thoroughly convinced of the value of public discussion, and the good it could accomplish, he wrote:

Public discussion is, we are convinced, one of the best means of propagating the truth and exposing error in doctrine or practice.

We now reap the benefits of public debates of former times, and we have witnessed the beneficial results in our own time. And we are fully persuaded that a week’s debating is worth a year’s preaching, such as we generally have, for the purpose of disseminating the truth and putting error out of countenance. There is nothing like meeting face to face in the presence of many witnesses and “talking over the matter”; and the man that cannot govern his own spirit in the midst of opposition and contradiction, is a poor Christian indeed.[2]

(Next Week: A Publication & Walter Scott)

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[1] Alexander Campbell, Debate on Christian Baptism (Buffalo: Published by Campbell & Sala, 1824), p.195

[2] Richardson, Robert, Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, Vol. II (Standard Publishing Co., Cincinnati, OH) , p. 90

Immutable Kingdom – Part 49

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 49

By Scott A. Klaft

Campbell’s Association with Baptists – continued

In the fall of 1812, Alexander Campbell learned of a meeting being held by the Redstone Baptist Association; and, notwithstanding their pleadings to preach, instead he attended as an observer. Coming home thoroughly disgusted, he intended never to visit another. On his way, to his surprise, he learned that the Baptist members themselves were also fed up with their preachers, seeing them as defenders of partyism rather than proclaimers of the gospel. Campbell decided to bring the matter to the Brush Run Church. It was decided that, in response to the Baptist Association’s insistence that they join, they would draw up a statement, protesting all human creeds, and expressing a willingness to cooperate only under the condition that the Brush Run Church would continue to teach what it believed the Bible taught. They were admitted over a small minority of objections. The Redstone Association held to the “Philadelphia Confession,” and some held it fast.

At this time, the Baptist preachers were poorly educated, and they paled in the shadow of Alexander’s scholarship or popularity as a preacher. Naturally, this caused a good deal of friction from the minority who opposed him. In the long run, the link between the Baptists with Campbell was in name only. Contention and jealousies created mounting tensions between the two groups.

Campbell had been thinking about the relationship and difference between the Old and New Testaments for a considerable time; and, in 1860, when the Association met, he delivered his famous Sermon on Law. Up to this point, the Baptists made no such distinction between the covenants and freely quoted from either to convert sinners. Campbell had come to the conclusion that much of the religious errors of their time was due to a lack in understanding the difference between the two Covenants. The sermon clearly showed that the Law of Moses was taken away; and, therefore, it is not binding on Christians. It was like a bombshell going off in the Baptist ranks. Today, the Baptists may accept some distinction, but then, this teaching was considered radically “antinomian” (meaning, “Without law”). Alexander became the object of much rebuke and ridicule.

He was brought to trial before the Association within the following year, but he was acquitted of such charges. Nevertheless, his opposers were outraged, and they worked tirelessly to gain the conviction later given in 1823. Having anticipated the outcome, however, the Brush Run church had withdrawn already, and they started a new congregation, becoming a part of the Mahoning Baptist Association, which allowed greater freedom. In time, this association too, dissolved itself in order to become, simply, New Testament congregations.

Meanwhile, Campbell continued to study and develop, using his considerable skills to advance the Restoration. Eventually, he determined to open a school out of his home to train young men in religion. His disappointment was that most students came from their rural homes to study English for professional employment, rather than to learn to preach more effectively; they were not interested in religion in general. The school was sadly short lived.

The Campbell – Walker Debate

Alexander never seriously considered entering a debate, thinking them to be more damaging to the cause of unity than helpful because the participants so often seemed to be arguing for personal victory rather than to advocate the truth. In Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, a Baptist was having great success, resulting in the indignation of a local Presbyterian preacher named John Walker. He challenged any capable preacher to debate the issue of baptism. Alexander was called upon three times before he finally accepted.

(Next Week: The Campbell-Walker Debate continued)

Immutable kingdom – Part 48

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 48

By Scott A. Klaft

(The Campbell Contribution to Restoration – continued)

As a preacher, Alexander developed great power, delivering his sermons in his unmistakable Scotch brogue; yet, he was not what people might consider “dynamic” in his presentations. He never moved about the pulpit, and he made few gestures with his hands. His voice rarely descended below an elevated conversational tone, and it never rose above what was needed. Nevertheless, he came to be widely influential and known for the impact of his sermons so filled with thoughtful analysis and irrefutable logic.

On March 12, 1811, Alexander married Margaret Brown from West Virginia. When their first daughter, Jane, was born a year later, the nagging subject of infant baptism came starkly to the forefront of his thinking. He read all he could find on the subject, and he was astonished at the weakness of the arguments in the affirmative. He consulted the original Greek language of the New Testament, quickly becoming confident that immersion is the only correct mode of baptism, and that it was only legitimate for one already believing in Christ. He discussed his conclusions with his wife, and they decided that Jane would not be sprinkled, poured upon, or immersed for any religious reason until she grew, believed the truth, and then she could be properly baptized.

Alexander was a logical man and very concerned about consistency. Rejecting infant baptism could only lead him to the conclusion that they who had received it had only experienced a ceremony created by men, and they remained unbaptized. For that matter, he could not continue his ministerial work without being baptized himself.

Along the way of his thirty-mile trek to see a Baptist preacher, Alexander stopped by his father’s house to tell of his convictions, only to find out that his sister, Dorthea had come to the same convictions, and his father offered no objections. While in conference with the Baptist preacher, Alexander made it clear that it was to be done strictly according to the New Testament pattern. Contrary to the Baptist’s tradition at the time, there would be no recitation of some religious experience, but only the confession of belief that “Jesus is the Son of God”. The Baptist preacher hazarded the chance at reprimand from his fellows, and on June 12, 1812, Alexander Campbell was scripturally immersed into Christ in Buffalo Creek.

As they began to leave the creek, Thomas Campbell mentioned that his wife had brought a change of clothes for them both, and that they also intended to be baptized. Nearly the whole Brush Run Church had gathered as witnesses, and Thomas thought it prudent to give an explanation. After which, Alexander explained how he came to his conclusions. As a result, in a period of seven hours, seven people were baptized. Within the following week, thirteen more of the Brush Run group were immersed. Several others followed. A few rejected the teaching of the necessity of immersion and went back into denominational churches. It was not long before those baptized would recognize that immersion into Christ would naturally be the basis of religious fellowship with all of the Brush Run Church members.

Also naturally, a rejection of infant baptism brought a harsh reaction from those who held to the practice. While traveling home from an appointment, Alexander found himself in the middle of a violent storm. He stopped at the home of a member of the Seceder Church, seeking shelter, and he was refused. The severity of the denominations aside, the little group were convinced of the rightness of their cause, and they rejoiced at their freedom of conscience. They would often visit one another’s homes to pray, sing, and to search the scriptures together, wanting nothing more than to be in harmony with the lives of the first century Christians as it is recorded in the New Testament.

An Accord with the Baptists

This bold stand taken on immersion immediately lifted an eyebrow among the Baptists in the area. Campbell received numerous invitations to preach for them, but he was reluctant to accept. Alexander’s opinion of Baptist preachers at the time was less than complimentary. He thought them to be “little men in big offices”. An affiliation, however, with the Redstone Baptist Association was in their future.

(To be continued next week)