That the “traditional view” is not traditional within the churches of Christ is evident by those who laid the foundation of the American Restoration Movement. To name just two, Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, and David Lipscomb did not hold to the “spousal adultery only” view that would come into vogue around 1940.
Continue reading “THE “TRADITIONAL VIEW” IS NOT TRADITIONAL, Part 1″
I once believed that brotherhood views on divorce and remarriage were a monolith of agreement. That has never been true. Pioneer Christians didn’t argue that some marriages must not be allowed to pollute the church. Nor were marriages considered matters of fellowship.
Campbell, key to the restoration movement, believed an abandoned spouse could remarry:
Continue reading “CAMPBELL, SCOTT, AND LIPSCOMB ON DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE”
Jeremiah pled, “Ask for the old paths, where the good way is…” (V. 6:16). A new error based on a doubtful interpretation of Matt. 19:9 has gained ground: the divorced may remarry only if their spouses have “cheated.” It is sugarcoated as the “traditional view.” The spousal-adultery-only notion is not a Protestant tradition; key reformers Luther, Calvin, and others did not believe it.1 Nor is it traditional in the churches of Christ. Campbell and other “back to the Bible” advocates did not believe it.
Continue reading “N. B. HARDEMAN AND W. W. OTEY ON DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE”
David Lipscomb had a “tremendous impact on the movement to restore New Testament Christianity . . . it can be argued that no one—not even Alexander Campbell—has become more identified with a specific geographical location. . . . Lipscomb must belong to the South.” In 1866, Lipscomb began co-editing the Gospel Advocate with Tolbert Fanning and remained its driving force for more than six decades. He was a founder of Nashville Bible School, now David Lipscomb University.
Continue reading “WISDOM FROM DAVID LIPSCOMB”