The Quest for Christian Unity, Peace, and Purity in Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address: Text and Studies

by Thomas H. Olbricht, Hans Rollmann

Overview

Composed in 1809 in order to organize and direct a loosely assembled network of Scots-Irish Presbyterians on the Western Pennsylvania frontier, the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington never quite achieved the immediate objectives that compelled its composition. Yet the document's lofty vision of a unified Christian Church, restored to the peace and purity that the New Testament had preached and promised, has for generations fueled the imagination and fired the commitment of millions of Christians worldwide—with, often, quite contradictory results. Emerging from the work of an international online seminar, this truly monumental volume presents a definitive text with critical apparatus for a landmark document in the history of American religion and worldwide Christian ecumenism, along with eighteen insightful, incisive studies of the document's historical provenance, its theological and ecclesiological significance, and its continuing influence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810838437
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/26/2000
Series:	ATLA Monograph Series , #46
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	5.36(w) x 8.44(h) x 1.07(d)

About the Author

Thomas H. Olbricht received his S.T.B. with a focus on church history from Harvard Divinity School, and his Ph.D. in rhetoric and early church history and his M.A. in speech communication from the University of Iowa. He has taught and occupied administrative posts at Harding University, University of Dubuque, Pennsylvania State University, Abilene Christian University, and Pepperdine University. He is distinguished professor of religion, emeritus, Pepperdine University, and lives in retirement in South Berwick, Maine. Hans Rollmann received his Ph.D. in biblical studies from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, his M.A. in history of religions from Vanderbilt University, and his B.A. magna cum laude from Pepperdine University. He has been on the faculty of the University of Toronto and is presently Professor of Christian Thought and History at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Editorial Reviews

...helpful resources for understanding and referencing the D&A. Any student of the movement will find the context and meaning of the document made more clear. Moreover, anyone interested in Christian unity will find Thomas Campbell's model given a modern consideration that is thought-provoking and challenging....

Stone-Campbell Journal

No student of the Stone-Campbell Movement should ignore this book. It significantly advances our understanding of the Declaration and Address. Every student of ecumenism should read it because it studies one of the first and primary documents of ecumenical thought in American Christianity. While each essay contributes something valuable, several are particularly significant.. .. Within the framework of an already/not yet eschatology, we seek the present experience of unity and purity but with the confession that we have not yet fully experienced what God intends. Perhaps this volume will not only contribute to the self-understanding of the Stone-Campbell Movement, but it will also renew the impetus for the search for unity and purity in the church.

Restoration Quarterly - John Mark Hicks

...enlightening and interesting...this text will bear great fruit for those who wish to understand the roots of the Stone-Campbell movement as a unity movement.

Lexington Theological Quarterly

...a useful tool...

Australian Christian

The most thorough study of the Declaration and Address available...Indispensable certainly for the study of Campbell, but also for the entire early period of the Stone-Campbell movement.

Encounter

The editors have assembled an impressive array of studies representing a variety of perspectives in order to assess the impact of Campbell's D&A on the elusive goal of Christian unity and its implications for the present. If not the final word on Campbell, it is unlikely we will see such a learned and comprehensive analysis of Campbell's works anytime soon. This work will serve as a basis for investigation into Campbell and the Disciples well into the future....

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online - William Atto

...a useful tool...

vol. 105 (2002) Australian Christian

The editors have assembled an impressive array of studies representing a variety of perspectives in order to assess the impact of Campbell's D&A on the elusive goal of Christian unity and its implications for the present. If not the final word on Campbell, it is unlikely we will see such a learned and comprehensive analysis of Campbell's works anytime soon. This work will serve as a basis for investigation into Campbell and the Disciples well into the future.

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online - William Atto

The editors have assembled an impressive array of studies representing a variety of perspectives in order to assess the impact of Campbell's D&A on the elusive goal of Christian unity and its implications for the present. If not the final word on Campbell, it is unlikely we will see such a learned and comprehensive analysis of Campbell's works anytime soon. This work will serve as a basis for investigation into Campbell and the Disciples well into the future.
— William Atto, University of Dallas

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online

No student of the Stone-Campbell Movement should ignore this book. It significantly advances our understanding of the Declaration and Address. Every student of ecumenism should read it because it studies one of the first and primary documents of ecumenical thought in American Christianity. While each essay contributes something valuable, several are particularly significant. . . . Within the framework of an already/not yet eschatology, we seek the present experience of unity and purity but with the confession that we have not yet fully experienced what God intends. Perhaps this volume will not only contribute to the self-understanding of the Stone-Campbell Movement, but it will also renew the impetus for the search for unity and purity in the church.
— John Mark Hicks

Restoration Quarterly

The editors have assembled an impressive array of studies representing a variety of perspectives in order to assess the impact of Campbell's D&A on the elusive goal of Christian unity and its implications for the present. If not the final word on Campbell, it is unlikely we will see such a learned and comprehensive analysis of Campbell's works anytime soon. This work will serve as a basis for investigation into Campbell and the Disciples well into the future.
— William Atto, University of Dallas

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online