Baptist History, Heritage and Distinctives – Graves vs. Campbell PART ONE of SIX

Thomas E Kresal – Facebook

3h  · April 15, 2024 Baptist History, Heritage and Distinctives – Graves vs. Campbell PART ONE of SIX J. R. Graves / Alexander Campbell Dispute By Samuel H. Ford, 1900. There was no man who delivered such trip-hammer blows on the system of teaching called Campbellism as did J. R. Graves. Mr. Campbell, as a general thing, ignored Graves, or treated him as a misrepresentative of the Baptist people and claimed to have evidence that the Baptists generally disapproved of Graves’ course. So frequently and emphatic were these statements by the leader of the “Current Reformation,” that the General Association of Middle Tennessee and North Alabama, at its session in Winchester (TN) in 1854, thought it necessary to pass the following preamble and resolutions: “Whereas, Alexander Campbell, in a late number of his Millennial Harbinger, has asserted that the doctrines contended for by the editor of the Tennessee Baptist are not approved by the Baptists of Tennessee, and that he is in possession of letters from many distinguished Baptist ministers, condemning the course of Bro. Graves, as editor of the Tennessee Baptist, in his recent controversy with him (Mr. C.), and awarding to Mr. C. as much orthodoxy as they claim for themselves. And whereas, we believe that the doctrines advocated and enforced by the editor of the Tennessee Baptist, are sustained by the word of God, and are the same which have distinguished Baptists in all ages from the beginning of the Gospel; and whereas, we believe that the so-called “Current Reformation,” as represented and propagated by Mr. C. and his followers, is a system of gross heresies, opposed to the teachings of the Gospel, subversive of all spirituality in religion, and destructive to the souls of men and whereas, we regard the charge put forth by Mr. C. as an unjust imputation upon the character of the Baptist ministers and churches in the State.Presented by: Thomas E. Kresal – From Ford’s Christian Repository and Home Circle, August, 1900, pp. 487-493.