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Reviving the Ancient Faith, 3rd ed.: The Story of Churches of Christ in America
A balanced, well-documented history of the Churches of Christ in America
The Churches of Christ is a denomination defined by not being a denomination. These communities intended to restore a primitive Christianity, undivided by historical quarrels.
Despite this ideal, the Churches of Christ in America have a surprisingly complex history dating back to the nineteenth century. James L. Gorman’s fresh edition of Richard T. Hughes’s classic work, Reviving the Ancient Faith, illuminates the movement started by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. The authors trace the movement’s sociological transformation into a denomination from the 1830s into the twentieth century. Four developments forged this new the premillennialist controversy, the divide over institutions, the racial segregation of congregations and schools, and the fight over liberalism in the 1960s. New to the third edition, the final chapters bring the history of Churches of Christ from the 1960s up to 2022, analyzing the growing diversity of the movement amid intradenominational “culture wars.”
Reviving the Ancient Faith, 3rd edition, challenges readers to learn the historical basis of Church of Christ identity and beliefs. Students of the history of the Church of Christ and American religion will derive from its pages a more holistic and informed understanding of the tradition.
The Churches of Christ is a denomination defined by not being a denomination. These communities intended to restore a primitive Christianity, undivided by historical quarrels.
Despite this ideal, the Churches of Christ in America have a surprisingly complex history dating back to the nineteenth century. James L. Gorman’s fresh edition of Richard T. Hughes’s classic work, Reviving the Ancient Faith, illuminates the movement started by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. The authors trace the movement’s sociological transformation into a denomination from the 1830s into the twentieth century. Four developments forged this new the premillennialist controversy, the divide over institutions, the racial segregation of congregations and schools, and the fight over liberalism in the 1960s. New to the third edition, the final chapters bring the history of Churches of Christ from the 1960s up to 2022, analyzing the growing diversity of the movement amid intradenominational “culture wars.”
Reviving the Ancient Faith, 3rd edition, challenges readers to learn the historical basis of Church of Christ identity and beliefs. Students of the history of the Church of Christ and American religion will derive from its pages a more holistic and informed understanding of the tradition.
685 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 11, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 27, 2024
Summary: A history of Churches of Christ in America, from sect, to denomination, to recent fragmentation and decline.
“If only we could be like the early church. If only we could get back to the Bible.” I’ve heard this refrain over many years from many Christians. Little do most know that the United States witnessed a significant, organized attempt to achieve just such a reality in the nineteenth century. In Reviving the Ancient Faith, Richard T. Hughes and James L. Gorman render a history of the Restoration Movement, begun by Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone. In this new edition, Gorman updates the scholarship of Hughes early work, trims the overall content, and adds chapters on recent developments in a new part three, “The Fragmentation of a Denomination.”
Specifically, the goal of the Campbells and Stone was to return to “primitive Christianity.” They sought a church without denominations, one that was based on the Bible and the Bible alone. They focused on baptism by immersion for repentance from sin, a way of salvation centered on human response to Christ, and a focus on Christ’s return and coming kingdom, or apocalypticism. The authors trace the respective movements begun by Campbell and Stone, their merger in 1832 and subsequent history. Particularly, they show a movement led by its publications as well as the Bible schools and colleges they founded, and the reaction of other leaders to them.
It is an account of growth and conflict, between sectarian ideas and emerging denominationalism, between church-centered efforts and mission societies, between law and grace. Perhaps of great significance was the sectional character, between North and South. Likewise, and as an adjunct, we see the growing tension between apocalypticism and a growing Christian nationalism. And they trace the tension between mission to all, including Blacks, and a largely segregated movement. Thus, they show how difficult it is to separate biblical and cultural Christianity.
The history traces the transition and development of the Churches of Christ as a denomination, beginning with the 1906 distinction between them and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I wish the authors would have given more space to this parting of the ways. Particularly, I would have valued a brief account of the subsequent history of the Disciples of Christ. Instead, they trace a denomination wrestling to maintain their distinctive emphases, often through the “fighting” style of a Foy Wallace while trying to modernize in their buildings, journals, and schools.
The newly added third part shows a church that has fragmented around these tensions, reflecting a broader fragmentation. On one hand, part of the church identified more with evangelicalism. This includes figures like Max Lucado, who identified so much with mainstream evangelicalism that his church ceased to be identifiably Church of Christ. Revivalist impulses manifest in the International Church of Christ movement led by Kip McKean. Meanwhile, a sizable number of churches embrace politically conservative forms of Christian nationalism.
On the other hand, the authors chronicle a progressive movement embracing racial reconciliation, the ministry of women and the acceptance of LGBTQ persons. Both conservative and progressive trends reflect efforts to reform a denomination in decline, again reflecting the larger landscape of the American church, The work concludes by recognizing an uncertain future.
This is an important and well-researched account of a major religious movement in American church history. It is a case study of both the aspirations and hubris in a “back-to-the-Bible” movement. And it is a reflection of the broader American landscape that has had such a powerful shaping effect on churches. In particular, it is an account of a church centered in the American South. Thus it sheds light on more than a denomination. It is an important study in American Christianity.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
“If only we could be like the early church. If only we could get back to the Bible.” I’ve heard this refrain over many years from many Christians. Little do most know that the United States witnessed a significant, organized attempt to achieve just such a reality in the nineteenth century. In Reviving the Ancient Faith, Richard T. Hughes and James L. Gorman render a history of the Restoration Movement, begun by Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone. In this new edition, Gorman updates the scholarship of Hughes early work, trims the overall content, and adds chapters on recent developments in a new part three, “The Fragmentation of a Denomination.”
Specifically, the goal of the Campbells and Stone was to return to “primitive Christianity.” They sought a church without denominations, one that was based on the Bible and the Bible alone. They focused on baptism by immersion for repentance from sin, a way of salvation centered on human response to Christ, and a focus on Christ’s return and coming kingdom, or apocalypticism. The authors trace the respective movements begun by Campbell and Stone, their merger in 1832 and subsequent history. Particularly, they show a movement led by its publications as well as the Bible schools and colleges they founded, and the reaction of other leaders to them.
It is an account of growth and conflict, between sectarian ideas and emerging denominationalism, between church-centered efforts and mission societies, between law and grace. Perhaps of great significance was the sectional character, between North and South. Likewise, and as an adjunct, we see the growing tension between apocalypticism and a growing Christian nationalism. And they trace the tension between mission to all, including Blacks, and a largely segregated movement. Thus, they show how difficult it is to separate biblical and cultural Christianity.
The history traces the transition and development of the Churches of Christ as a denomination, beginning with the 1906 distinction between them and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I wish the authors would have given more space to this parting of the ways. Particularly, I would have valued a brief account of the subsequent history of the Disciples of Christ. Instead, they trace a denomination wrestling to maintain their distinctive emphases, often through the “fighting” style of a Foy Wallace while trying to modernize in their buildings, journals, and schools.
The newly added third part shows a church that has fragmented around these tensions, reflecting a broader fragmentation. On one hand, part of the church identified more with evangelicalism. This includes figures like Max Lucado, who identified so much with mainstream evangelicalism that his church ceased to be identifiably Church of Christ. Revivalist impulses manifest in the International Church of Christ movement led by Kip McKean. Meanwhile, a sizable number of churches embrace politically conservative forms of Christian nationalism.
On the other hand, the authors chronicle a progressive movement embracing racial reconciliation, the ministry of women and the acceptance of LGBTQ persons. Both conservative and progressive trends reflect efforts to reform a denomination in decline, again reflecting the larger landscape of the American church, The work concludes by recognizing an uncertain future.
This is an important and well-researched account of a major religious movement in American church history. It is a case study of both the aspirations and hubris in a “back-to-the-Bible” movement. And it is a reflection of the broader American landscape that has had such a powerful shaping effect on churches. In particular, it is an account of a church centered in the American South. Thus it sheds light on more than a denomination. It is an important study in American Christianity.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
August 4, 2024
Reviving the Ancient Faith is an even-handed, well-researched history of Churches of Christ from its origins during the Second Great Awakening in the nineteenth century to the challenges it faces in the early decades of the twenty-first century. Drawing plentifully on primary sources, Hughes and Gorman track major trends and attitudes within both the mainstream movement and its divergent offspring. The authors do not shy away from confronting challenging aspects of the movement's past, including the "tricky logic" that Churches of Christ have historically employed to erase their American origins. To their credit, the authors deal particularly candidly with the movement's long history of segregation and the White mainstream's post-war embrace of Christian nationalism.
Hughes and Gorman trace the divergent intellectual, cultural, and socioeconomic origins of the Restoration Movement, arguing that both Campbell's Baconian commonsense realism and Stone's apocalyptic pietism influenced the development of the Restoration Movement. Despite the founders' goal to unify the fragmented Christian landscape of nineteenth-century America, the authors highlight how these divergent threads created both unity and tension from the movement's earliest days. They go on to trace major ideological trends after formal separation from the Disciples of Christ, including controversies over premillennialism, institutionalization, and liberalism, including a candid exploration of the mainstream's response to the civil rights movement.
While likely challenging for sectarian hardliners, this book reflects the best of our intellectual tradition: Our devotion to information over emotionality and our impulse to become better people by embracing a deeply democratic ethic. This book is valuable for members of Churches of Christ who wish to explore their denominational origins more deeply and for scholars of religion studying the unique and varied incarnations of Christianity forged within the United States and the intellectual histories they embody.
Hughes and Gorman trace the divergent intellectual, cultural, and socioeconomic origins of the Restoration Movement, arguing that both Campbell's Baconian commonsense realism and Stone's apocalyptic pietism influenced the development of the Restoration Movement. Despite the founders' goal to unify the fragmented Christian landscape of nineteenth-century America, the authors highlight how these divergent threads created both unity and tension from the movement's earliest days. They go on to trace major ideological trends after formal separation from the Disciples of Christ, including controversies over premillennialism, institutionalization, and liberalism, including a candid exploration of the mainstream's response to the civil rights movement.
While likely challenging for sectarian hardliners, this book reflects the best of our intellectual tradition: Our devotion to information over emotionality and our impulse to become better people by embracing a deeply democratic ethic. This book is valuable for members of Churches of Christ who wish to explore their denominational origins more deeply and for scholars of religion studying the unique and varied incarnations of Christianity forged within the United States and the intellectual histories they embody.
July 19, 2024
Great overall.
The later chapters are slightly less relevant to me as they focus predominately on the mainstream of the movement. Gorman's addition is fine, but it doesn't quite measure up to the quality of the stuff from Hughes.
The later chapters are slightly less relevant to me as they focus predominately on the mainstream of the movement. Gorman's addition is fine, but it doesn't quite measure up to the quality of the stuff from Hughes.
December 1, 2025
This is a fine revision of highly regarded history. After describing how the Stone-Campbell Movement developed in the 19th century, the authors follow one stream of that tradition, the Churches of Christ, through the 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews