Restorationism





Restorationism is not a single religious movement, but a wave of comparably
motivated movements that arose in the eastern United States and Canada in
the early 19th century in the wake of the Second Great Awakening. These
movements attempted to transcend the divisions of Protestant
denominationalism, and to restore Christianity according to its original
pattern.

Leading up to the 19th century, individual study of the Bible proliferated
among many people in the United States, but a sizeable number of those
curious about the Scriptures were indifferent to the Church and the
Christian life. The Second Great Awakening was a series of revivals that
made its way especially across the frontier territories, fed by this
religious sentiment of intense interest in the Bible, accompanied by
disinterest in, or dissatisfaction with, the Church. As these revivals
spread, they gathered converts to one of the Protestant sects of the time
such as the Baptists, Methodists, Congregational Church or Presbyterian
church. However, the fact that the revival moved freely across
denominational lines, with practically identical results, went farther than
ever before toward breaking down the historical allegiances which kept
adherents to these denominations loyal to their own and opposed to the others.

Restorationist movements were characterized by a discontent with mere
cooperation between denominations. The leaders of these movements did not
believe that the revivals were intended by God to simply fatten the old
institutions, and perpetuate the old divisions. Restorationism sought to
renew the whole Christian church, on the pattern set forth in the New
Testament, without regard to the creeds developed over time in Catholicism
or Protestantism, which allegedly kept Christianity divided.

This draws attention to a precept implied by Restorationism, sometimes
called the Great Apostasy. The Great Apostasy is a term used to describe a
general fallen state of traditional Christianity, that it is not a
legitimate successor to the church founded by Jesus Christ. If there were no
apostasy-at-large and a church on the true and legitimate pattern was
present, there would be no need for a restoration. Thus, restorationists can
be compared to one another in their conviction that there has been an
apostasy, a departure from essential Christianity so extensive and
disastrous as to render futile any plan to remodel Christianity on existing
foundations; necessitating a complete reconstruction, a restoration.

The most optimistic of these movements was the Restoration Movement, now
commonly called the Campbellites or, Stone-Campbell Churches. These churches
strongly prefer to avoid applying to themselves any of the labels of
convenience, which divide Christians from one another, calling themselves
instead by generic New Testament names, such as Disciples of Christ, The
Christian Church, or Church of Christ. They brought together many
Presbyterians, Methodists, and other Christians across a spectrum of
Evangelical Christianity, at first with astounding success. But, as the
movement progressed, it developed non-negotiable distinctives of its own,
and fractured into three major groups -- each of which has become a
recognizable denomination . No movement more typifies the Second Great
Awakening, than the anti-denominational movement, the Restoration Movement.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sought, as the Campbellites
did, to restore original Christianity: but they were much more pessimistic
about the state of Christianity. The Great Apostasy was of such disastrous
consequence, the Mormons believed, that a new Prophet and Apostle was
required in order for God's Kingdom on earth to be re-established. They
claimed that their founder, Joseph Smith, was just such a prophet.

Later, a movement arose that was more pessimistic in a different sense,
unhopeful about the future of world civilization, including the Church: the
Millerites, from whom the Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses
descend. This group revived apocalyptic teachings anticipating the end of
the world, and did not look for the unity of Christendom, but busied
themselves in preparation for Christ's return. Millerites sought to restore
a prophetic immediacy and uncompromising biblicism that they believed had
long been rejected by mainstream Protestant and Catholic churches.

The doctrines of these groups differ widely. Their commonalities, such as
baptism by immersion and other similarities, are superficial and expressive
only of the common temper of the times. But together, these groups typify an
epoch in history, as radical in its implications for Christianity as the
Protestant Reformation had been, and are still the fastest growing Christian
sects in the world.