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Alexander Campbell declared that next to personal salvation two objects constituted the summum bonum, or supreme good: the first was the union, peace, purity, and harmonious coöperation of Christians, guided by an understanding enlightened by the Holy Scriptures; and second, the conversion of sinners to God. He said that his predilections and antipathies on all religious questions arose from and were controlled by these all-absorbing interests. From these commenced his campaign against creeds as above defined. He said that he was always willing to give a declaration of his faith and knowledge of the Christian system, but that he firmly protested against propounding dogmatically his own views or those of any fallible mortal as a condition or foundation of church union or cooperation. ("Christian System," p. 9.)

While he and the Disciples generally were and are entirely willing, either with the tongue or by the pen, to proclaim to the ends of the earth all that they know concerning the gospel and the religion of Jesus, they have always desired, and desire now, to have it distinctly understood that they take the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, as the foundation of all Christian union and communion.

As to the readiness of the Disciples to make such a publication, attention is called to the fact that in 1846 (see "Millennial Harbinger" for 1846, p. 385) Mr. Campbell published the following eight propositions as embodying his theological beliefs:

"I. I believe that all Scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, and thoroughly accomplished for every good work.

"2. I believe in one God, as manifested in the person of

the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit-who are, therefore, one in nature, power, and volition.

"3. I believe that every human being participates in all the consequences of the fall of Adam, and is born into the world frail and depraved in all his moral powers and capacities, so that without faith in Christ it is impossible for him, while in that state, to please God.

"4. I believe that the WORD, which from the beginning was with God, and which was God, became flesh, and dwelt among us as Emmanuel, or "God manifest in the flesh," and did make an expiation of sin "by the sacrifice of himself," which no being could have done that was not possessed of a superhuman, superangelic, and divine

nature.

"5. I believe in the justification of a sinner by faith, without the deeds of law; and of a Christian, not by faith alone, but by the obedience of faith.

"6. I believe in the operation of the Holy Spirit through the Word, but not without it, in the conversion and sanctification of the sinner.

"7. I believe in 'the right and duty of exercising our own judgment in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.'

"8. I believe in the divine institution of the evangelical ministry; the authority and perpetuity of the institution of baptism and the Lord's Supper.'

In "Our Position," a tract by Isaac Errett, which is extensively circulated by the Disciples as setting forth their position, the following thirteen items of evangelical belief are named:

"1. The divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

"2. The revelation of God, especially in the New Tes

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tament, in the tri-personality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

"3. The alone-sufficiency and all-sufficiency of the Bible, as a revelation of the divine character and will, and of the gospel of grace by which we are saved; and as a rule of faith and practice.

"4. The divine excellency and worthiness of Jesus as the Son of God; his perfect humanity as the Son of man; and his official authority and glory as the Christ-the Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King, who is to instruct us in the way of life, redeem us from sin and death, and reign in and over us as the rightful Sovereign of our being and Disposer of our destiny. We accept, therefore, in good faith, the supernatural religion presented to us in the New Testament, embracing in its revelations :

"(1) The incarnation of the Logos-the eternal Word of God-in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

"(2) The life and teachings of this divinely anointed Lord and Saviour, as the highest and completest unfolding of the divine character and purposes, as they relate to our sinful and perishing race, and as an end of controversy touching all questions of salvation, duty, and destiny.

"(3) The death of Jesus as a sin-offering, bringing us redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. "(4) His resurrection from the dead, abolishing death and bringing life and immortality clearly to light.

"(5) His ascension to heaven and glorification in the heavens, where he ever liveth, the Mediator between God and men; our great High-priest to intercede for his people; and our King, to rule until his foes are all subdued and all the sublime purposes of his mediatorial reign are accomplished.

"(6) His supreme authority as Lord of all.

"5. The personal and perpetual mission of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to dwell in believers as their Comforter, Strengthener, and Sanctifier.

6. The alienation of the race from God, and their entire dependence on the truth, mercy, and grace of God, as manifested in Jesus the Christ, and revealed and confirmed to us by the Holy Spirit in the gospel, for regeneration, sanctification, adoption, and life eternal.

"7. The necessity of faith and repentance in order to the enjoyment of salvation here, and of a life of obedience in order to the attainment of everlasting life.

"8. The perpetuity of baptism and the Lord's Supper, as divine ordinances, through all ages, to the end of time.

"9. The obligation to observe the first day of the week as the Lord's day, in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, by acts of worship such as the New Testament teaches, and by spiritual culture such as befits this memorial day.

"10. The Church of Christ, a divine institution, composed of such as, by faith and baptism, have openly confessed the name of Christ; with its appointed rulers, ministers, and services, for the edification of Christians and the conversion of the world.

"II. The necessity of righteousness, benevolence, and holiness on the part of professed Christians, alike in view of their own final salvation and of their mission to turn the world to God.

"12. The fullness and freeness of the salvation offered in the gospel to all who accept it on the terms proposed.

"13. The final punishment of the ungodly by an everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power."

A prominent writer among the Disciples has been quoted

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as saying: "We take the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, as the foundation of all Christian union and communion." ("Christian System," preface to the second edition.)

It has also been said that the Disciples inscribed on their banner the following motto: "Faith in Jesus as the true Messiah, and obedience to him as our Lawgiver and King, the only test," etc.

If the question is as to the book by which a church is to be guided or ought to be guided, the language quoted can easily be defended. The Bible is the book. This was the doctrine of the Reformers of the sixteenth century. This is the true Protestant position. In the controversy with Rome at the time of the Reformation one chief issue was an infallible church or an infallible book-which? Romanists said an infallible church; Protestants, an infallible book. Chillingworth, a champion of the Protestant faith of the sixteenth century, is the author of the famous aphorism, "The Bible, the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants." When Chillingworth said that he was comparing the unity of the Bible teaching with the lack of unity in the doctrine of Bellarmine or Baronius, in the doctrine of the Sarbonne or of the Jesuits or Dominicans. He said that Rome furnished no safe guide since popes in faith and in doctrine were arrayed against popes, councils were against councils, fathers against fathers, and the church of one age against the church of another age. As the way out of this confusion the Protestants said that the Bible, and the Bible alone, contained their religion.

So when it is said by the Disciples, "The Bible is our creed," the statement is made with the various books of human and uninspired composition, written to aid in the preservation of faith and government of the church, in mind.