History + Beliefs

The Restoration Movement developed from several independent efforts.
Two groups, developed similar approaches to the Christian faith, were particularly important.
The first, led by Barton W. Stone, began at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, and identified as “Christians”.
The second began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia) and was led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell, used the name “Disciples of Christ”.
Both groups sought to restore the pattern set forth in the New Testament, and both believed that creeds kept Christianity divided. In 1832 they combined their efforts.

Among other things, they were united in the belief that:
– Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
– Christians should celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first day of each week
– Baptism of adult believers by immersion in water is a necessary condition for salvation.

A number of slogans have been used in the Restoration Movement, which are intended to express some of the distinctive themes of the Movement, these include:
“Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.”
“The church of Jesus Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one.”
“We are Christians only, but not the only Christians.”
“No creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, no law but love, no name but the divine.”
“Do Bible things in Bible ways.”
“Call Bible things by Bible names.”

Because the founders wanted to abandon all denominational labels, they used Biblical names for followers of Jesus.​ ​Both groups promoted a return to the purposes of the 1st-century churches as described in the New Testament (in the Book of Acts & NT Epistles). One historian of the movement has argued that it was primarily a unity movement, with the restoration motif playing a subordinate role.

Background Influences of the Restoration Movement’s Development

1. Baconian Logic – The “Scientific Method” as espoused by Francis Bacon (1561-1626).
   While many Christian movements have focused upon mysticism or personal feelings, the Restoration Movement has sought a logical exploration of Scripture.
   From its beginning, the Restoration Movement has viewed the Bible as God’s divinely inspired revelation to humanity and the source for Christian conduct and practice.
2. American Primitivism
   As the eighteenth-century American colonists sought toestablish a new nation, they searched the ancient Greek and Roman models in an effort to form a perfect government.
   This idea of getting back to the primitive models influenced religious thought inAmerica.
   Many “Christians Only” groups formed with the expressed idea of returning to a New Testament model of Christianity. The Restoration Movement was among these primitivist religious groups.
3. America’s Religious Pluralism
   The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution insured that America would have no “established” national church. This provided for a “free market” of belief, and the Restoration Movement would develop within this context.