First American Denominations
Lesson 6
DISCIPLES
OF CHRIST
As Catholicism
dominated the religious world for centuries, Calvinism dominated the early sixteenth
and late seventeenth centuries. From the middle of the eighteenth century onward,
a series of revolts against Calvinism were in the making.
A number of religious
leaders from various Protestant denominations began to realize that their particular
religious denominational concept was not what God had intended. Each one began
to question the Calvinist teaching they had accepted.
Men such as John
Locke, John Glas, Thomas Campbell and others began to form a coalition based
upon being a Christian and only a Christian. Their principle stand was that
the bible was the complete guide and that there should be no man-made creeds.
They desired and sought to use only the New Testament as their authority. Their
plea was "Speak where the bible speaks, and be silent where the bible
is silent."
Alexander
Campbell (son of Thomas Campbell 1788-1866) came to America in 1809 and
soon began teaching the above principles. As congregations sprang up,
they sometimes called themselves Disciples of Christ, Christian churches
and also church of Christ.
For many years
these people united on the scriptures and taught and converted many from denominations.
But after the Civil War, a division developed and some sought unscriptural methods.
Instrumental music in worship and the missionary societies were among these
methods. The conservative groups who defended and upheld the truth (church of
Christ) separated from the more liberal group (Christian Church).
In l968, a new
design of church government was accepted at a general meeting of the Christian
Church. A less strict interpretation of scripture, questioning the biblical
teachings of salvation and putting emphasis on social progress, became their
motive.
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
Adventism
(belief that the second coming of Christ is imminent and that the central
feature of this event is the establishment of the millennial reign) began
in Massachusetts in 1831, under the leadership of William Miller. In 1833,
in Low Hampton, NY, Miller began to preach that the end of the world was
at hand. He published a pamphlet called, "Evidences from Scripture
and History of the Second Coming of Christ about the year 1843, and of
His Personal Reign of One Thousand Years."
When his
prediction failed, he declared that he had erred in his calculation and
set the time in l844. This too failed, and he set another time for 1845.
After this third attempt failed, his followers became dissatisfied and
broke up.
In l846,
Elder James White and his wife, who were followers of Miller, established
a new group or church called the Seventh Day Adventists. The name of this
religious group suggests two of their prominent doctrines: (1)
that the Sabbath or seventh day of the Old Testament is still the special
day for worshipping God and (2) that the "advent"
or coming of Christ will bring in a special 1000 year reign on earth.
MORMONS
No religious
body in America has had a more bizarre origin than have the Mormons, and
none has used its history so advantageously in creating loyalty and devotion
among its members. The Mormon church was organized April 6, 1830, in Fayette,
NY by Joseph Smith and had six members.
Smith, at
an early age, professed to have seen visions, the first occurring in 1820.
The angel Moroni revealed to him the "Bible of the New World"
(Moroni 10: 3-5). the Book of Mormon. According to Joseph Smith, on September
22, 1827, he unearthed some thin golden plates covered with characters,
which later Smith stated were of the "reformed Egyptian tongue"
(Morman 9:32). With the plates were found two crystals which Smith called
Urim and Thummim. He set these "miraculous aids" (The
book of Morman, Testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith) in a silver bowl
and, according to Smith, was then able to translate these plates.
The book of Mormon
claims to be an account of the history of America; beginning from 600 BC to
424 AD. It names the first settlers to America, the "Jaredites",
a people who had been dispersed at the Tower of Babel. Later, another group
called the Lammonites came to America (a barbaric people with dark skins); these
were the American Indians. Besides the Lammonites, another tribe called the
Nephites came to this land. They were suppose to be the lost tribe of Israel.
Much of the book
of Mormon is undoubtedly in King James style. In fact, direct quotes of the
King James Version were used. When the author departed from the biblical style,
it became ungrammatical, awkward and repetitious. Through the years, many revisions
have occurred to correct these grammatical mistakes. In the book of Mormon,
doctrines of most various origin are thrown together including: Calvinism, Methodism,
Catholicism and Freemasonry.
The true
origin of the book of Mormon is believed to have had its beginning with
Solomon Spaulding. Mr. Spaulding lived in Connecticut, OH. In 1809, he
studied at Dartmouth College and had served some years as a Presbyterian
minister. Later, he retired and took interest in the indian antiquities.
He composed a romance between an American Indian and a Jew. He finished
his work in l8l2 and bore it the title The Manuscript Found. Spaulding
took his manuscript to Pittsburgh intending to have it printed there.
While the manuscript was there, a fire broke out and the book was lost.
In l8l6, Spaulding died and sometime later the book of Mormon was published.
Spaulding's widow and others who had seen this book declared that the
book of Mormon was indeed Spauldings romance. However, Spaulding's manuscript
could never be found. A direct comparison with the book of Mormon was
impossible.
In 1831,
Joseph Smith and a small company of converts moved to Kirtland, OH, but
because of a scandal, were forced to move. They moved to Missouri. When
trouble broke out there Smith and about 15,000 followers went to Nauvoo,
IL. It was here that the doctrine of polygamy was introduced. Internal
problems arose at Nauvoo, and ill feelings ran high among the other settlers.
Finally, Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested for sexually abusing
young girls. While in prison, they were both killed. After his death,
the Mormon church split into two main groups. The Reorganized group who
moved to Missouri and the Utah group who founded Salt Lake City, UT.
JEHOVAH WITNESSES
Jehovah Witnesses
were a sect of the Adventist movement, founded by C.T. Russell under the
name of "Internal Bible Students". Their name was adopted
in 1931. The center of Russells message was his belief in the near end
of the world.
After Russell
died in 1916, Joseph Rutherford took leadership of the group and became
the president. Their main doctrine is witnessing the second return of
Christ which Russell first predicted in A.D. 1914. Although this prediction
was low key, it indicates that they expected the Millennium to start in
1915. They deny the eternal pre-existence of Christ. They also deny Jesus'
deity and ridicule the bodily resurrection of Christ. They also believe
that all churches, human governments, and commercial businesses are allies
of Satan. They do not believe in hell, but believe that only 144,000 will
be in heaven.
PENTECOSTALS
(ASSEMBLIES OF GOD)
Several Pentecostal
churches and assemblies combined together into a general council of the
Assemblies of God. Their origin dates back to 1914 when they met for the
first time to unite their beliefs and dogmas. Pentecostals believe in
Holy Spirit baptism, speaking in tongues and accept divine healing. They
believe all gifts of the Spirit are active today. They are looking for
the second coming of Christ to be followed by a 1000 year reign on earth.
They have a district organization and a general council in which each
congregation has one delegate and in which all ministers are ordained.
NAZARENE
This is the largest
denomination among holiness bodies. The church of the Nazarene is the result
of the merger of several independent groups: The National Holiness Movement,
Methodists in New England, NY, Association of Pentecostal churches of America
(Brooklyn, NY) and the church of the Nazarene (Los Angeles, CA). These groups
formed the Pentecostal church of the Nazarene in l907. Its church is patterned
after the Methodist church. They do not practice speaking in tongues but they
do believe in divine healing today. They practice baptism by sprinkling, pouring,
or immersion.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Christian
Science was founded by Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), a native of New
Hampshire and of Calvinistic origin. Having been subject from her youth
to various ailments, she believed she was healed through hypnotism by
P. P. Quimby. After Quimby's death (1866) she began to develop her own
system of spiritual healing. Their belief is that God is a healthy and
sound mind. They do not accept medical treatment from physicians including
blood transfusions. In 1879, the first church of Christ Scientist was
opened in Boston, MA.
This strange cult
pretends to combine Christianity and science. Mrs. Eddy based her conclusions
on the following ideas:
(1) Sickness
is unreal, does not really exist, but is present only in the imagination
of man.
(2) The
object of healing is to take away the belief in the existence of sickness.
(3) God,
Himself, is perfect health and man lives and is in God.
(4) God
is good, God is mind, God is spirit and God is all in all.
The personality
of God is denied by Mrs. Eddy, for God of this system has no existence apart
from the mind of man.
CONCLUSION:
We can go on and on studying various religions because it has been estimated
that are now over 1500 different religious bodies today. I believe the
ones we have studied are the more prominent ones. Therefore, we will be
studying their beliefs and teachings compared to the teachings of the
Bible. We must keep in mind that there is only one church that we can
read about in the Bible, one standard and one way to worship God.
QUESTIONS
- Who were some of the men involved
in the revolt against Calvinism?
- What was their plea?
- Name the issues that divided
the Disciples of Christ.
- Who started the Seventh Day
Adventists?
- How many predictions did William
Miller have concerning the return of Christ?
- Who established the Mormon church?
- What did Joseph Smith find?
- The Book of Mormon claims to
be an account of what country's history?
- How did Joseph Smith and his
brother Hyrum die?
- Name the possible author of
the Book of Mormon?
- Russell was the founder of
what religion?
- What is considered the largest
denomination among the Holiness Bodies?
- Who was Mary Baker Eddy?
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