Back to Restoration Movements Overview Unity

The plea for Christian unity, creedlessness, and the union of all Christians.

The Restoration Movement was first of all a plea for unity. Thomas Campbell asked a simple question: since Christ's church is one, why should Christians be divided by creeds, names, and opinions? His answer was restoration: if Christians would take the Bible alone, preach the ancient gospel, and follow the ancient order, they could unite. The movement's slogan, where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where they are silent, we are silent, made Scripture the boundary of fellowship and opinion a matter of liberty. That same plea united Stone's Christians and Campbell's disciples in 1832 and later divided them over how strictly the Scriptures actually speak.

Unity ClaimDivision among Christians is contrary to the prayer of Christ and the nature of the one church; the Bible alone can unite all believers without requiring agreement on human opinions.

Main ReceiptsThomas Campbell, Declaration and Address (1809); Alexander Campbell, The Christian Union and Restoration of Primitive Christianity (1833); Stone, The Christian Messenger.

Live DisputeThe reformers themselves disagreed about how many practices the New Testament authorizes; the same plea for unity produced three families with different judgments about where the Scriptures speak.

Component Map

6 pieces that have to be kept distinct.

The Union PleaThe reformers insisted that division is a scandal and that Christians can unite on the Bible alone without settling every question of opinion.

Where the Scriptures SpeakThe movement's method: where the Scriptures speak, Christians must speak; where they are silent, Christians should be silent, allowing freedom of opinion in matters of expediency.

CreedlessnessThe reformers rejected creeds and confessions as tests of fellowship, arguing that human creeds perpetuate division and displace the authority of Scripture.

Bible Things and Bible NamesThe 1832 union of Stone's Christians and Campbell's disciples pledged to call Bible things by Bible names and to wear no name but Christian.

Unity and RestorationIn the Campbell plea, restoration was the means to unity: the ancient order and ancient gospel could unite divided Christians.

Limits of the PleaThe same plea that united reformers soon divided them over instruments, societies, and the nature of the church, showing how difficult the search for visible unity proved.

Receipt Trail

Start here before drawing conclusions.

Declaration and Address (1809)Thomas Campbell's foundational argument for union on the Bible alone.

The Christian Union (1833)Campbell's case for restoring primitive Christianity as the means of uniting divided Christendom.

Christian Messenger (1826-1845)Stone's periodical teaching the union of Christians without creeds.