Church History 102_Demo

The fourth pillar of the Restoration Movement was Walter Scott. Scott was also raised
Presbyterian, but upon arriving in New York from Scotland, he became influenced by George
Forrester. Forrester was part of the Scottish independent movement to restore the New
Testament Church. Their doctrines included baptism by immersion, the Lord’s Supper every
Sunday, and foot washing.
Scott was baptized by immersion in 1819, but in 1821 he had also become convinced that
baptism must be “for the remission of sins.” That is, he came to believe that baptism was not
merely an ordinance or ritual, but a decision of the penitent to release God to wash away our
sins—a formal remission.8
In 1826 Scott attended a meeting of the Campbell’s association and became even more
closely connected. Impressed with his preaching, the next year the association asked Scott
to be become their evangelist. Through his preaching over the next three years, more than
3000 converts were brought into the Stone-Campbell-Scott Movement. A central part of
Scott’s message was that in order to be saved, one must have faith, repent, and be baptized
for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and as a result God would provide that remission, the gift
of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life.
At that point, the Campbellite “reformers” became known as “Disciples.” The followers of
Walter Scott joined together with them and with Barton Stone’s “Christians” in 1832. But
about one-half of Stone’s “Christians” didn’t agree with the Campbell’s emphasis on the
necessity of baptism by immersion for salvation (baptismal regeneration), and did not
unite.10 The two merging groups adopted the Campbellite name, “Disciples of Christ” or the
Stone preference, the “Christian Church.”
Divisions
The Stone-Campbell-Scott Movement has experienced numerous divisions in their attempts
to restore what they view as pure New Testament Christianity. The schisms arose because
invariably the practical question arises, “Who determines whose interpretations of the New
Testament doctrines and practices are correct?” The issue always comes back to
hermeneutics (applied rules of Bible interpretation).
Lacking a sound hermeneutic, then, divisions resulted over issues like the use of instrumental
music, the support of mission agencies, and how much understanding a baptismal candidate
must have for effectual baptism, and even over whether or not previously baptized people in
Baptist or other immersion churches would be allowed communion (Lord’s Supper) if they
had an incomplete understanding of the necessity of baptism for salvation.
Another divisive issue, introduced by Barton Stone, was the doctrine of the trinity. Stone
interpreted the Holy Spirit as the power of force of God and concluded that the trinity was a
man-made tradition. This legacy has had an impact on many Churches of Christ today. It is
not unusual to encounter members who basically hold a view that the Holy Spirit and the
Bible are inseparably linked. The only time the Holy Spirit is present is when the Bible is
opened and read. It is almost like a genie in the bottle. When the Bible is closed, the Holy
Spirit returns to the Bible.