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Restorationism is not a single religious movement, but a wave of comparably motivated movements that arose in
the eastern United States and Canada in the early 19th century in the wake of the Second Great Awakening. These movements attempted to transcend
the divisions of Protestant denominationalism, and to restore Christianity according to its original pattern, as they believed it
to be.
Leading up to the 19th century, individual study of the Bible proliferated among many people in the United States, but a
sizeable number of those curious about the Scriptures were indifferent to the Church and the Christian life. The Second Great
Awakening was a series of revivals that made its way especially across the frontier territories, fed by this religious sentiment
of intense interest in the Bible, accompanied by disinterest in, or dissatisfaction with, the Church. As these revivals spread,
they gathered converts to one of the Protestant sects of the time such as the
Baptists, Methodists, Congregational Church or Presbyterian church. However, the fact that the revival moved freely across denominational lines,
with practically identical results, went farther than ever before toward breaking down the historical allegiances which kept
adherents to these denominations loyal to their own and opposed to the others.
Restorationist movements were characterized by a discontent with mere cooperation between denominations. The leaders of these
movements did not believe that the revivals were intended by God to simply fatten the old institutions, and perpetuate the old
divisions. Restorationism sought to renew the whole Christian church, on the pattern set forth in the New Testament, without regard to the creeds developed over time in Catholicism or Protestantism,
which allegedly kept Christianity divided.
This draws attention to a precept implied by Restorationism, sometimes called the Great Apostasy. The Great Apostasy is a term used to describe a general fallen state of traditional
Christianity, that it is not a legitimate successor to the church founded by Jesus Christ. If there were no apostasy-at-large and a church on the true and legitimate pattern was present,
there would be no need for a restoration. Thus, restorationists can be compared to one another in their conviction that there has
been an apostasy, a departure from essential Christianity so extensive and
disastrous as to render futile any plan to remodel Christianity on existing foundations; necessitating a complete reconstruction,
a restoration.
Of these movements, the most optimistic about the then-present state of Christianity was the Restoration
Movement, now commonly called the Campbellites or, Stone-Campbell Churches. These churches strongly prefer to avoid applying
to themselves any of the labels of convenience, which divide Christians from one another, calling themselves instead by generic
New Testament names, such as Disciples of Christ, the
Christian Church, or Church of Christ. They brought together many Presbyterians, Methodists, and other Christians across a
spectrum of Evangelical Christianity, at first with astounding success. But, as the movement progressed, it developed
non-negotiable distinctives of its own, and fractured into three major groups—each of which has become a recognizable
denomination. No movement more typifies the Second Great Awakening, than the anti-denominational movement, the Restoration Movement.
Joseph Smith, considered the first prophet by many adherents . According to Joseph Smith, in 1820, God the Father and Jesus
Christ appeared to him, telling him that he was to again restore the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. Following the Smith's
martyrdom, the fractured group formed several different denominations, of which today, the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is most prominent.
Later, the Millerites arose with an even less optimistic view of the state
of not only Christianity, but the future of world civilization. From the Millerites descended the Seventh-day Adventists. This group revived apocalyptic teachings anticipating the end of the
world, and did not look for the unity of Christendom, but busied themselves in preparation for Christ's return. Millerites sought
to restore a prophetic immediacy and uncompromising biblicism that they believed had long been rejected by mainstream Protestant
and Catholic churches. Another prominent Millerite organization is the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Attempts to restore primitive Christianity by some groups led to superficial, but strongly held beliefs, on how to conduct
church. These included dropping all musical accompaniment, or meeting in a circle, and generally creating a sort of Christian
minimism. Some elements of previous Christian ritual were felt to be magical and superstitious, and were stripped away. The
result was that some church services came to resemble a classroom with singing before and after a lecture, considered by some to
resemble little of what academic research suggests about the primitive church.
One major difficulty lay in reconstructing forms of church service without reliance upon any historical documentation of
tradition. Moreover, differences in doctrine were largely those of interpretation. The differences of how to reconstruct the
primitive church without the aid of historical documents led to a proliferation of interpretations, each of which had its own
supporters who believed that their way was right. Thus, in many instances instead of transcending denominational divisions,
restorationism fostered them, and more competing groups arose than ever before.
Attempting to reconstruct doctrine from an unknown past led to novelty as well as much quibbling over details. Since the Bible
was regarded as the exclusive source of all questions, historical documents relating to the early church were seldom, if at all,
consulted. Thus, the doctrines of these groups differ widely. Each leader developed strong opinions on how to interpret
scripture, and historical and early theological writings were tended to be ignored since they were assumed to be part of the
Great Apostasy. The commonalities of Restorationist splinter groups, such as baptism
by immersion and other similarities, are superficial and expressive only of the common temper of the times. But together, these
groups typify an epoch in history, as radical in its implications for Christianity as the Protestant Reformation had been, and
are still the fastest growing Christian sects in the world.
See also
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