By the providence of God, I was born and raised in a Disciples of Christ church (First Christian Church) which later changed its name to "Church of Christ" when it joined the Independent Branch of the American Restoration (Stone-Campbell) Movement. The split from the Disciples of Christ per the Independent Branch was over
water baptist, is it really necessary for salvation. Per the Disciples of Christ the split was over if the Disciples of Christ was simply a denomination in Christendom or
The Church of Christ. The Liberalization of the Disciples of Christ was an issue too. Due to the Winds of Change and the International Churches of Christ controversy; water baptism in the Stone Campbell Movement is now a complex issue.
Having researched the history of the Stone Campbell Movement and being told by members of it that I know too much for my own good. I made the mistake of asking members of the Stone Campbell Movement discussion group if they desired a discussion of Barton Warren Stone's strange ideas about the Trinity, the silence to my request spoke much. Contrary to the revisionist history of the book "The Pilgrim Church by E. H. Broadbent"; Barton Warren Stone didn't leave the Presbyterians over his anti-Calvinism; but his teachings on the Trinity. I found it funny that Dave Hunt promoted a book on church history that whitewashed the Stone Campbell Movement. Broadbent beyond question is no true historian of church history. Just do a Google search and you can find what Barton Warren Stone taught about the Trinity.
A Mormon sect historian knowing the Campbellite connection to Mormonism asked me about Trinity beliefs in the Stone Campbell Movement to which I responded since Stone and Campbell never agreed on the Trinity and the movement was anti-creed; members of the movement have the freedom of creating the god of their choice. It was not the response he expected. Due to Liberalism the Independent Branch recognizes the Apostles Creed but tend to have issues with the Nicene Creed since it doesn't use words found in the Bible. Most of the anti-Trinity sects (
Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints,
Christadelphians) of the Stone Campbell Movement left the movement so the movement tends to be sort of Trinitarian.
To be a true
Christian Only in most of the Stone-Campbell Movement you have to worship the
The Church of Christ as it is the true body of Christ. As to if
Walter Scott or
Alexander Campbell was the true restorer of the Primitive First Century Christian Church, both made the claim and wrote a book about it. Being a member of the Independent Branch, I will burn in Hell for eternity for vain worship due to instrumental music being part of the worship service per the mainline
Church of Christ. If you think that Evangelicalism is a mess, don't even think of getting involved in the Stone Campbell Movement as it was a mess long before the Evangelicalism became total chaos. Keep in mind that the Stone Campbell Movement has experimented with every possible heresy long before those heresies appeared in Evangelicalism. If you think that Open-Theism is a new heresy, the mainline Churches of Christ experimented with it first. The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints and the International Churches of Christ are both cults that split from the Stone Campbell Movement. The Winds of Change in the Stone Campbell Movement has resulted in the Disciples Renewal Movement a merger of
John Calvin with
Alexander Campbell which strangely is more Calvinist than
Campbellite and many other strange unthinkable things. The International Church of Christ mess has made many cult research groups put the complete Stone Campbell Movement under a microscope. As for myself, I love to satire the Stone Campbell Movement and my jokes are not appreciated. I tell Mormon missionaries that they need to repent and rejoin the Disciples of Christ. I tell those that still believe that Alexander Campbell restored the true Christian church that
Joseph Smith did much more restoration. If only
Joseph Smith had not been killed,
Sidney Rigdon would have been possible eventual leader of the Saints rather than
Brigham Young. I tell Mormon Missionaries that they need to thank Sidney Rigdon for much of their theology which is basically Campbellite. Joseph Smith and especially Brigham Young added to the Campbellite teachings and even altered it some. I know too much of the Saint history to join your church and the Mormon missionaries think I am the strangest potential convert that they have ever encountered. Mormon missionaries are clueless about the Campbellite connection to Mormonism.
Per my research of American Christendom, I understand the British joke about go to America and create your own religion. In the USA, you have the freedom of religion to restore the Christian church of your choice as long as you can find sufficient followers and that typically is not difficult.
When the Discovery 1 teacher at GHCC (Golden Hill Community Church) made a statement that GHCC was a restored church, my response was can I escape the American dream of restoring a Christian church? He was clueless on my satire but that is typical. Naturally there is that AnaBaptist dream to restore a Christian church with no Roman Catholic connection; lots of luck but keep dreaming.
As for me, I believe in the Christendom that the Stone Campbell Movement claimed that they reformed.
