New Restoration Book by C. C. Crawford [Under Construction]
I try not to "jump the gun," so to speak, when posting a book, etc... but have to share
this with Logos users who are interested in the Restoration Movement. The following
is an 19-chapter work (about 340 pages I suppose) by C. C. Crawford. He wrote many
books, especially some fantastic Bible Study Textbook Commentaries published by
the College Press [the old Green Books].
Anyway, this book has one of the most profound books on the history of the Restoration
Movement. It is often given the nickname "Search for the Ancient Order," although it
was first published in 1927 under the title "Sermon Outlines of the Restoration Plea" Now,
it really isn't a collection of sermons, but more like an extensive historical comment on
the overall Restoration Movement (i.e. Churches of Christ, Christian Church, and Disciples).
Unfortunately, the PDF file from which I am "slowly" extracting this text isn't making it easy.
Probably because I suspect that the PDF originated from "archive.org" They have some good
books but many are very difficult to convert. Even Calibre has a hard time with this one. So,
I am slowly converting each chapter, along with all original footnotes. The only thing I have
added to this book which went through a 2nd reprint in 1956, was biographical information about
the author "C.C. Crawford," by his cousin "Paul Stroble," who is an author as well.
The following book as of Sunday Sept 1st, 20024 has this information and all the text and
footnotes for the first two chapters (about 40 pages). If you know of a better copy of this book,
whether in PDF or epub, please let me know, especially if it would "speed up the process" in
creating this treasure about the Restoration Movement. I won't post anymore on this until I
finish several more chapters. Haven't seen this book anywhere else. This One is a "Keeper!,"
at least when I get it finished. I would put it in the same classification as "History of the Church"
by Robert Brumback, which is another Restoration Movement classic.
Sermon Outlines On The Restoration Plea.docx [File Size: 278KB - 9/01/24]
Please, if you have time, let me know what you all think. Would love to see this in a Restoration
Movement Package by LOGOS, but don't hold your breath! Anyway, this book was also reprinted
once in 1956 by DeHoff publications.
Comments
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Well, just had to share the update of this fantastic read by C.C. Crawford on
the Restoration Movement. Like I said, it has Nineteen(19) chapters and is
really challenging converting this PDF file for use in Logos.
Anyway, here is an update below, with the first four(4) chapters completed with
all original footnotes at the end of each chapter that is completed. Also, includes
the 1st page or so of Chapter Five. Anyone who is interested in the history of
the Restoration Movement in American, and/or just plain curious, this is he book
to read. After this, I would suggest "Search for the Ancient Order," which is 3 Volumes.
But it is only available for now in PDF and/or ebook format.Here is the update: Sermon Outlines On The Restoration Plea.docx
File Size: 342 KB - Date: 9-02-24.Here is a list of the Table of Contents Below. I am well into chapter Five as I enter
this post.....Table of Contents
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Foreword by George DeHoff
- Foreword by B.C. Goodpasture
- Acknowledgements
- General Introduction
- Chapter I - Early Beginnings
- Chapter II - The Stone Movement
- Chapter III - The Campbell Movement
- Chapter IV - A Movement Crystallizes
- Chapter V - Early Pioneer Preachers
- Chapter VI - Other Early Pioneer Preachers
- Chapter VII - The Progress of the Cause
- Chapter VIII - Early Efforts at Organization
- Chapter IX - The American Christian Missionary Society .
- Chapter X - Alexander Campbell and the Missionary Society
- Chapter XI - Growing Opposition
- Chapter XII - Organized Missionary Efforts
- Chapter XIII - Impressive
- Chapter XIV - Tennessee Troubles
- Chapter XV - Educational
- Chapter XVI – Moses Lard and J.W. McGarvey
- Chapter XVII - Instrumental Music
- Chapter XVIII - The Church During the War
- Chapter XIX -Trends of the Times
- Bibliography
Here is part of the introduction to this fine work:
Shortly after the turn of the nineteenth century various forces were at work in American religious circles pointing toward a restoration of apostolic Christianity. Few religious groups escaped the plea for reformation within their ranks. Among the Methodists there was James O’Kelley; among the Baptists, Abner Jones and Elias Smith; among the Presbyterians, Barton W. Stone; and in both the Presbyterian and Baptist ranks a little later, there was Alexander Campbell. In the popular mind Stone and Campbell are much better known as leaders in the plea for the return to the ancient order of things.
This religious movement spread rapidly until the 1850 census showed it to be the fourth ranking church in the nation. In the decade from 1850 to 1860 its ranks increased far more rapidly than any other group. But after the Civil War an ominous note began to be sounded. The Missionary Society had been introduced as early as 1849 and sporadic opposition was engendered, but this warfare began to increase tremendously in that era following the Civil War. Too, the instrument of music began to be popularly used in the worship. From here on other practices and attitudes began to multiply, and as they did, the opposition grew. A division within the ranks of this religious movement began to be inevitable. Wherever the society was introduced and the organ came into the worship, groups who could not work and worship with these were forced out to start over again. For the most part these groups that had to leave were in the minority. But they went to work in earnest to rebuild upon what they considered to be the original plea for restoration:
The story of this restoration movement has many times been written, but the story, from the viewpoint of this minority, has never been told. Yet it needs to be. This minority in many parts of the nation is now the majority. It is rapidly growing in many other localities. Many are optimistic enough to believe that within the next quarter of a century not a city or town of any size will be without congregations knowing the plea for a return to New Testament Christianity.
The division within the ranks of those who began pleading for the primitive order was given its first census recognition in 1906.
The churches of Christ and the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church were for the first time listed separately. The report for the churches of Christ was compiled by J. W. Shepherd, and begins with a history of the churches followed by the statistics. Because of the difficulty of getting congregations to report, this census was never regarded as being over a third of the total figures that should have been given. At any rate, the report states there were 2,649 congregations located in thirty-three states and territories. 1,979 of these churches were located in the south central states with Tennessee leading, and Texas coming second. Tennessee had six hundred and thirty-one congregations and Texas had six hundred and twenty-seven. There were 159,658 members among the churches of Christ, according to the report. The church had 1,974 buildings with property valued at $2,555,372. Six hundred and ninety-three churches were using rented halls for meeting places. The report also shows that there were 2,100 preachers that year among the churches.
There were eight Christian colleges employing seventy-three teachers and having an enrollment of 1,024 students among the churches of Christ in 1906. Value of all school property was listed at $170,500. In addition, there was a normal and business college with ten teachers, three hundred and fifty students and property valued at $40,000. There was a classical institute employing six teachers and having eighty students enrolled. The value of this property was listed at $20,000. Included was also an orphan school with six teachers and sixty pupils and property valued at $75,000. Of these, there were three schools in Tennessee, four in Texas, and one each in Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri and Oklahoma, according to the report.
The Disciples of Christ on the other hand had 8,293 local congregations. Missouri led that year with 1,424 churches. The total report shows 982,701 members and 6,641 preachers.
The significance of this year’s report lies not in the numbers presented but in the fact that it is an outward expression of division which had been wrought within the ranks of those who were pleading for a return to New Testament Christianity. The fact that the religious periodicals of the two groups paid so little attention to the report can largely be explained on the ground that it came as no surprise to either group. For several years the division had been recognized. For at least twenty years before 1906 there had been little fellowship remaining between the two groups. Down to the present day each has continued to go its own separate way.
To discover the underlying causes of this break which the census report then recognized after the turn of the century presents at once a complicated but most valuable study. The study is complicated because these causes are at once varied. Environmental and social causes are at work. Personal or temperamental causes are at work. In a measure political causes are at work. But, in the main, the causes, we think, narrow down to an interpretation of the plea, and a fundamental attitude toward the scriptures. On the other hand, the study is valuable because of the historical background it furnishes to present-day issues, and the inspiration it affords to those who are continuing at this late date the plea for a return to the ancient order.
The basic problem we face, then, is to seek to know the issues that caused this break in fellowship, and to try to go beneath them to discover the underlying philosophy of each group that made these outward issues so important. This, we realize, is a large order. But yet, this is the real problem which presents itself in a study of the restoration and without some conception, the movement is only partially understood. It would be useless to attempt any study which ignores the basic problem in it.
There are a number of factors to be taken into consideration in answering these problems. First and foremost of these is the men in the movement. These issues were realized in the men who championed them. The temperaments, dispositions, environmental background will be highly important. Yet with this, we recognize at once a danger of drifting into a purely humanistic conception of the whole movement, and attribute everything to background and natural causes. This mistake we do not propose to make. In view of that a second factor presents itself: an analysis of the issues upon the basis of the scriptures themselves. Whatever attitudes the men in the movement took, they did so because of convictions that here is what the Bible teaches. Our method, then, shall be to discover in the events and persons of the period what factors of environment, personal temperament and Bible teaching helped to bring these issues into the open and make them serious enough to have caused the division which came into the brotherhood.
Every historical study must start somewhere and end somewhere. We have set the dates of our investigation for this study to begin with 1849, the year of the establishment of the American Christian Missionary Society, and to end with 1906, the year when the
Religious Census for the first time gave recognition to a division. These dates we have purely arbitrarily set; maybe other dates would have suited the purpose just as well. We shall not be dogmatic in these dates, but they seem preferable to others which might be suggested.
The reader is, therefore, asked to remember that this is not intended to be a complete history of the restoration movement. By the year, 1849, the movement was well on its way. Its growth had been phenomenal. Generally speaking, brethren were pretty much united. But over this period of growth, the reader may find any number of books which will give him a good conception of what took place. Robert Richardson’s, “Memoirs of Alexander Campbell” is still unsurpassed. One may find in Barton W. Stone’s autobiography or in the later “Barton Warren Stone” by C. C. Ware much material to give a general knowledge of the Stone movement. Literature on the New England movement is, of course, much more scarce, but the reader will find M. T. Morrill’s “A History of The Christian Denomination in America” very helpful. On the other hand, there has been relatively little research done on the restoration movement from 1849 on down to the turn of the century. It is during this time that the cause is at the crossroads. For the churches of Christ here is the really important part of the movement. It is upon this part that we propose to give the major portion of our attention.
Our first two chapters will deal in a general way with the early part of the restoration movement. This material, we include for two reasons. First, many of our readers will have little or no knowledge of this part of the restoration, and little or no opportunity to read the books which give it. This may supply in part their deficiency. Second, a knowledge of the latter phase of the restoration will depend upon an understanding of the plea and principles which guided the movement in its earlier years. We shall hope to use this understanding of the earlier years as a platform from which to launch our investigation in a more critical and minute manner during the last half of the nineteenth century.
And so we begin....
Mark
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