a beautiful spirit. It is an earnest appeal to evangelical believers to come together in aggressive Christian work, by a return in faith, in ordinance, and in life to the religion of Christ as described on the pages of the New Testament. The closing paragraph of the "Declaration and Address" reads as follows:

"May the Lord soon open the eyes of his people to see things in their true light, and excite them to come out of their wilderness condition, out of this Babel of confusion, leaning upon their Beloved, and embracing each other in him, holding fast 'the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' This gracious unity and unanimity in Jesus would afford the best external evidence of their union with him, and of their joint interest in the Father's love. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,' says he, 'if you have love one to another.' And, 'This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you.' And again, 'Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are,' even all that shall believe in me; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast loved me.' May the Lord hasten it in his time.

Farewell.

"Peace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

The spirit manifested in the above quotations, a spirit of tenderness, gentleness, and affection, is exhaled by the entire document from beginning to end.

To guard against misunderstandings and consequent

THE PRACTICAL QUESTION.

55

misrepresentations, the "Declaration and Address was followed by an explanation called an "Appendix." In the "Appendix " the following language is employed:

"We beg leave to assure our brethren that we have no intention to interfere, either directly or indirectly, with the peace and order of the settled churches by directing any ministerial assistance with which the Lord may please to favor us to make inroads upon such; or by endeavoring to erect churches out of churches, to distract and divide congregations." They express, however, a "desire to be instrumental in erecting as many churches as possible throughout the desolate places of God's heritage," on the one divine foundation, "being well persuaded that every such erection will not only in the issue prove an accession to the general cause" of Christian union on New Testament principles, "but will also, in the meantime, be a step toward" this grand consummation, "and, of course, will reap the first-fruits of that blissful harvest that will fill the face of the world with fruit."

Alexander Campbell said, in 1861, of this "Declaration and Address" that it contains what may be called the embryo, or the rudiments, of a great and rapidly increasing community. It virtually contains the elements of a great movement of vital interest to every citizen of Christ's kingdom. The author of it, and those who concurred with him in the views and propositions developed in it, did not, indeed could not, comprehend all its influence and bearings upon the nominal and formal profession of what is grossly called 'Protestant Christendom.'

One of the first practical questions that came up as a result of the adoption by the Washington Association of the "Declaration and Address" related to the Scriptural subject of Christian baptism. Alexander Campbell says that on reading the proof-sheets of this now historic docu

ment immediately after his arrival in Washington, Pa., in the autumn of 1809, he remarked to its author:

"Then, sir, you must abandon and give up infant baptism and some other practices for which, it seems to me, you cannot produce an express precept or an express example in any book of the Christian Scriptures.'

To which Thomas Campbell, after a pause, replied: "To the law and to the testimony we make our appeal. If not found therein we must, of course, abandon it. But," he added, "we could not unchurch ourselves now, and go out into the world and then turn back again and enter the church merely for the sake of form or decorum.”

CHAPTER VI.

CONNECTION WITH THE BAPTISTS.

So large an amount of space has been given to the Christian Association of Washington, Pa., to the "Declaration and Address," and to the "Appendix," because of their importance in coming to a correct understanding as to the origin and aim of the Disciples of Christ. There is no other single document in existence which states so fully, so clearly, and so authoritatively the intention of the Disciples in the very beginning of their existence as the "Declaration and Address" with the accompanying "Appendix."

After two or three years Thomas Campbell became dissatisfied because the work for which the Christian Association had been organized did not progress as rapidly as he desired. His proposition looking toward a union of evangelical believers seemed in a large degree to have fallen on dull ears. The favorable responses to his kindly overtures were few. No societies were organized auxiliary to the society in Washington, as was contemplated. The association itself was gradually assuming a character different from that which was in the minds of its organizers. It was expressly stipulated in the "Declaration and Address" that "this society by no means considers itself a church, nor does at all assume to itself the power peculiar to such a society; nor do the members, as such, consider themselves as standing connected in that relation; nor as at all

associated for the peculiar purposes of church association; but merely as voluntary advocates of church reformation." But under the ministry of himself and of his son Alexander, the Christian Association of Washington seemed to be gradually taking the position of a distinct ecclesiastical body. With this tendency they were displeased. The thought that they should be the agents in bringing into. existence another denomination was most abhorrent to their minds. There were already too many religious denominations.

Their purpose was the ultimate destruction of denominationalism in the Church of Christ. To avoid what now began to seem to be almost inevitable, the Campbells were willing to adopt any measures which were consistent with the clearly defined principles of the New Testament. It was at this juncture that the principal in this movement was invited by ministers and members to identify himself and the association with the Presbyterian Church. This, however, was not practical. The Association had no thought of surrendering its identity or its aims. It only desired to continue its labors as a society for the promotion of Christian union under the auspices and with the approval of the Presbyterian Church, and thus avoid the organization of a new denomination.

Dr. Richardson says ("Memoirs of Alexander Campbell," vol. i., p. 330) that "the society must obtain admission into some regularly organized religious body, or be itself compelled to change its attitude and resolve itself into an independent church—an alternative which Thomas Campbell particularly desired to avoid. It was this very dread of the ultimate formation of a new religious body that caused him to overlook the absurdity of expecting that any sect would receive him and the society he represented on the terms proposed. For a party to have admitted into its bosom those who were avowedly bent on