Leaven
Volume 2 Issue 3 The Restoration Ideal Article 16
1-1-1993
The Origins of the Restoration Movement: An Intellectual History, Richard Tristano
Jack R. Reese [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven
Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
Recommended Citation Reese, Jack R. (1992) "The Origins of the Restoration Movement: An Intellectual History, Richard Tristano," Leaven: Vol. 2 : Iss. 3 , Article 16. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol2/iss3/16
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Religion at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Leaven by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. 46 Leaven, Summer1993Reese: The Origins of the Restoration Movement: An Intellectual History,
Book ~ e= Reviews •.•.•0 ~Z > ~~. ~(1§3~ Z >'~ ~>C1~ () ~ Jack Reese, Editor ~ ~ ~~;;C= ~tz ~ ~=~~~r-.~ ~ ACHTEMEIER ~CRADDOCK ~ ~~~~=~~ Tr~~Z ~~ ..,-.; C1 LIPSCOMB BOOKSBOOKSBOOKSBOOKSBOOKSBOOKSBOOKSBOOKSBOOKSBOOKS
The Second Incarnation: A Theology for the Church," "The Worship ofthe Church," and so on. 21st Century Church What Shelly and Harris promise instead is an ar- Rubel Shelly, Randall J. Harris ticulation of the church as the continuation of the Howard Publishing Company, 1992 ministry ofJesus - a second incarnation. The book asks the question''What if Jesus were a church?" It Shelly and Harris have done their readers a is their hope that this question will provide the great service by articulating in a thoughtful and theological energy for our tradition to move pur- readable way their thinking on the nature of the .posefully into the next century. church. This book comes at a time when by all counts While tying ecclesiology to Christology is Churches of Christ are in the midst of an identity not an earth shattering breakthrough, it is regret- crisis, and quite possibly what some are calling a tably a concept that has gone largely unexplored in "paradigm shift." Given Shelly's prominence as our movement. Simply by focusing the questions of preacher, lecturer, and author, this book takes on ecclesiology in this way the authors have provided added significance. It will doubtless be widely read an invaluable service. The extent, however, to and much discussed and could prove to be a book of which they pursue this noble enterprise is a bit considerable historical significance. uneven. Sometimes the Christology that provides As a collaboration, the book is essentially the foundation for the ecclesiology is more implicit seamless. The authors write, for the most part, in than explicit. This is not to say that some sections one voice, though there are times when the preacher lack a Christological focus altogether, but rather (Shelly) can be distinguished from the professor that a more vigorous exploration of the relationship (Harris). The book is greatly enriched by the breadth between the person of Jesus and the church could and variety ofsecondary sources quoted throughout, have been achieved. and one senses that it is here that the reader owes a This lack ofChristo logical exploration could great deal to Harris' training and expertise. be due to the fact that this is a book of the times. In The book is an ecclesiology- a study ofthe addition to charting a positive course for the church church - offered in a different key from what has in relation to Jesus, the authors have the added previously passed under that heading in the history burden of dismantling to some extent the type of ofour movement. The primary categories ofthe past pattern thinking that has produced the traditional do not appear in prominence here. Gone are the questions concerning the church listed above. In familiar headings "The Name of the Church,""The fact, this aspect of Shelly and Harris' work may be Founding of the Church," "The Organization of the the far more significant contribution for many who
Published by Pepperdine Digital Commons, 1992 1 Leaven, Vol. 2 [1992], Iss. 3, Art. 16 The Restoration Ideal 47
read it. The final chapter asks the burning question of the The book is divided into four sections. The book. "Does the church discover its identity and find first (ANew Doctrine of the Church? Possibilities its mission via a backward-looking gaze? Or do we and Limitations) clears the underbrush by pre- live and function as aforward-Iooking people?" Their senting the church as a dynamic, forward-looking answer to both questions is a qualified "yes." Since entity that can and must change to meet the chal- the past contains the life of Jesus it has an au- lenges of being Christ's presence in a changing thoritative hold on the church. The author's also world. Using the language of Jesus, they suggest affirm the importance ofthe Acts and epistles for the that while the wine is unchanging, the wineskin ordering ofthe church's life. Yet, "while rooted in the must always be new to accommodate the ever bub- past, ... , the church's passion must always be bling nature of the gospel. The section ends by directed toward the future.Christianity which is exploring the role of scripture as an anchor for the true to its origins must always be eschatalogical." church. Here they provide what so many have The chapter preceding spells out the impor- waited to see - an articulation of a hermeneutic. tance of baptism and the Lord's Supper as future The second section (Fundamental Concep- oriented events. While both find their definition in tions) traces three images of the church that the relation to the past, both constantly urge us to look authors see to be central to the biblical witness: the forward when the work begun in our baptism is BodyofChrist; a Pilgrim Church; and the Fellowship complete. This chapter might hold fertile ground for of the Spirit. By emphasizing the body of Christ as us to consider the notion of restoration given the the fundamental image ofidentity for the church the fundamental notion of the church as a forward authors suggest a shift must occur in our thinking looking, pilgrim people. Rooted in the past, yet about the church from "institution to person, pattern longing for a future, the church lives out of a funda- to principle, deed to motivation." While all of the mental story ,which by its very nature allows the material in this section is thoughtful and provoking, church to be dynamic and responsive to future chal- new ground may be covered for many readers in the lenges and opportunities. This approach is sug- section on the pilgrim church. gested by the authors in the final chapter, but its As a pilgrim church, God's people never explicit exploration could shore up some of the am- delude themselves into thinking they have arrived. biguity in the hermeneutic suggested in chapter 2. They are always a people on the way. As such, the In the final analysis the authors give us church is not so much an entity with its eye fixed on much to think about. There are certainly places to the rear view mirror of church history. But it looks disagree. There are even more places to stop and forward, confessing its failings, trusting in the mercy think and wish for more instruction from these of God, and eagerly awaiting its consummation gifted thinkers. To conceive of the church in the when Jesus returns. This concept requires ways they suggest will introduce changes into our reorientation for a restoration people. At the very congregations. They successfully and gently point least it suggests that restoration is an ongoing pro- out some of the weaknesses of our early pattern cess. Yet, the implications appear to strike even thinking and lift our gaze to see a different pattern. deeper, to the very notion of restoration itself. In They compel us to see the true identity ofthe church, what sense is restoration a valid notion in light ofthe less in its institutional forms, and more in the church's identity as a pilgrim people? The reader character and person of her founder. The implica- awaits the authors' answers to this question until tions ofthis ecclesiology, if diligently pursued, could the last chapter. consume a church's agerida for years to come. Such The third section of The Second Incarna- a church would undoubtedly find God's renewing tion deals with what the authors term "Fundamen- presence. tal Relationships." The church relates to God in worship. The church's life is forged through its Mark Love internal discoveries as it practices compassion, en- Gresham, Oregon couragement, and confession. The church relates to the world through service, deliberate acts ofjustice and mercy, and through prophetic utterance. An entire chapter is related to evangelism. The last section of the book picks up again many of the concepts raised early and continued through the chapter on the pilgrim church. The section is entitled,"Ecclesiology and Eschatology."
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol2/iss3/16 2 Reese: The Origins of the Restoration Movement: An Intellectual History, 48 Leaven, Summer1993
Christ (instrumental). Though separated by other Baptism and the Remission of Sins: An His- hermeneutical matters, these bodies share the heri- torical Perspective tage of belief in immersion of believing adults for edited by David W. Fletcher remission of sins. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company, In ten thorough chapters the contributors 1990. 432 pp. cover everything from the early leaders' theological background in Reformed and Independent thought Early in both the Stone and Campbell (Jack Cottrell and Lynn Mclvhllan), the early views movements baptism forced its way to the center of of Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell (Michael concern. It has continued to do so throughout the Greene and John Mark Hicks), through the John Restoration Movement's history. The viewdeveloped Thomas controversy and the Lunenburg Letter by Alexander Campbell, characterized by Richard
Published by Pepperdine Digital Commons, 1992 3 Leaven, Vol. 2 [1992], Iss. 3, Art. 16 The Restoration Ideal 49
fourteen pages about Stone's work with hardly a The Origins of the Restoration Movement:An mention of men such as Rich Haggard and John Intellectual History, Mulkey.Webb gives five chapters to Campbell and by Richard Tristano. calls him "the unrivaled leader" of the movement. Atlanta: Glenmary Research Center, 1988. Perhaps the new video documentary, "Like Fire in Dry Stubble: The Life of Barton W. Stone" This recent work by Richard M. Tristano (which includes many comments from Dr. Webb), provides a helpful perspective in tracing the intel- will give some new insights into Stone's importance lectual sources of the Restoration Movement. It is in the movement. all the more interesting because it is written from The decades following the civil war were thepoint-of-view ofan "outsider." Tristano's research "the dark ages of controversy and stagnation," ac- was sponsored by the Glenmary Research Center, a cording to Webb. He identifies many causes for the Roman Catholic institution in Atlanta, and, perhaps Christian Church/Church of Christ division at the to the surprise ofmany, his discussion ofthathistory end ofthe century, including the music controversy, is largely sympathetic. the missionary society and its support of the North Tristano's most significant insights center during the Civil War, varying understandings of around the inherent intellectual and philosophical what it meant to restore the primitive church, tensions in the very fabric of the Restoration ideal. questions about the silence of scripture and socio- At the heart of the movement were impulses which logical differences between the victorious North and were basic to its existence but which were difficult to prostrate South. Webb's analysis, in my judgment, harmonize. is thorough and accurate. The central tension revolved around the Webb's treatment of the twentieth century strong desire both for unity and truth. From the very has five chapters (127 pages) about the controver- beginning, the American Restoration Movement was sies that led to the rupture between Disciples and a unity movement. In discussing the work of Tho- Independents. Those ofus in the non-instrumental mas Campbell, Tristano says, ''What distinguishes churches who are not aware of the impact of theo- Restorationism from Protestant ecumenism is that logical liberalism on many brethren in the North, the Restoration Movement soon became an effort to and who have not followed their controversies over eliminate denominations and to substitute an actual "open membership" and "restructure," will find this unification of the Church of Christ." section of Webb's book most helpful. While virtually all the early leaders came Like James DeForest Murch, Webb has from the Presbyterian Church, significant dialogue closed his history with a chapter about each of the was held with members from a wide diversity of three wings ofthe Restoration Movement today, and denominations. In fact, for seventeen years, the these chapters are well done. It does seem to me that churches associated with Alexander Campbell were Webb may have relied a little too heavily on left-of- officially members of the Redstone Baptist Associa- the-center sources, rather than the mainstream, for tion. The driving vision in the early years of the some of his appraisals of us. movement was the uniting (or ultimately the The first printing of the book has many elimination) of various denominations within one printing errors. One dropped out two or three lines church. oftype from a critical explanation ofthe designations But they must be united under the truth of he would use for the various wings ofthe movement the New Testament. The goal was not mere insti- (p. 12). The book has no index in the first printing, tutional unity but unity established onbiblical truth. but one is supposed to be added in later printings. This impulse drove Restoration leaders to make Overall, I think Webb has given us an out- several conclusions clearly at odds with contempo- standing new history. I am using it as a required rary American Protestantism, most notably the belief text in my course in restoration history at Abilene in the necessity ofbeliever's baptism by immersion Christian University-a recommendation that for the forgiveness of sins. This and other doctrinal speaks louder than words. conclusions led to the ostracization of the Restora- tion churches by other religious groups and caused a crisis of purpose. Can the drive for truth be Bill J. Humble compromised for the sake ofunity? Can the drive for Abilene Christian University unity be compromised by too narrow an under- standing of truth? Tristano handles this issue with great sympathy. Both impulses were legitimate and clearly
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol2/iss3/16 4 Reese: The Origins of the Restoration Movement: An Intellectual History,
50 Leaven, Summer1993
their eventual merger, and the seeds of disagree- biblical. But both had their down sides in. the ment that continued for the decades that followed. movement. The impulse to unity often led to easy Further, he indicates the power of Restoration pub- ecumenism and theological relativism (with few lications in advancing certain theological positions absolute truths). The impulse for truth often led to and forming patterns of Restoration orthodoxy. exclusivism and arrogance and an open rejection of Finally, Tristano demonstrates the anti- any religious tolerance. Some Restoration preach- emotionalism that permeated especially the ers became highly dogmatic and argumentative. As Campbell wing of the movement. He describes the a result, the two primary impulses became almost context of frontier revivalism against which many mutually exclusive. Ironically, the movement which Restoration leaders reacted. originated from a desire for unity quickly divided. Tristano's closing lines are worth quoting. And the consequences of those divisions remain He attempts to answer whether or not this unity among Restoration churches at the end of the 20th movement, with all its divisions, is a failure. He century. answers in the negative. "The need which the Other intellectual tensions lay at the heart Restoration Movement perceived was how to balance of the movement. Many argued, for example, that the human liberty which Americans cherish with everyone can see the Bible alike. On the other hand, the message of the Gospel, which after all is not they argued that all individuals can interpret the about the diversity but the unity ofhumanity. How Bible for themselves. But as individuals interpreted can we balance the human need for pluralism and for themselves, they found they often interpreted author~ty, individual conscience and community, differently. These and other philosophical tensions '. ~leratlOn and religious certitude? These are ques- made resolution difficult and often sowed the seeds tions for our own age. In these questions, in these of division. perceived needs, rests the genius of the Restoration Tristano does an excellent job in tracing the Movement." origins ofRestoration thought to the philosophies of Thomas Reid, John Locke, and other European Jack R. Reese scholars, and also to the Radical Reformation of Abilene Christian University centuries before. He also describes well the interre- lationship of the followers of Stone and Campbell,
Published by Pepperdine Digital Commons, 1992 5