So what is it about? The complete title might help: Attitudes and Consequences in the Restoration Movement. If, like me, you are a third generation Christian and wonder exactly how you got where you are, this book might answer the question. It will also answer a few other questions you might have like, "Why have people called me a Campbellite?" and "Is the Christian Church related to us in any fashion at all?" Yes, it is a history of the 19th century movement called, at first, the Reformation, but later, the Restoration Movement. The point is, to not just reform Protestant religions, but to scrap everything and start over completely, restoring the New Testament Church and its pattern in worship, work, and living.
The book does get bogged down occasionally with extensive quotations from various preachers, but no one can accuse the author of misrepresenting anyone that way. He tells it warts and all, it seems to me. In some cases I was a little aghast at statements those old fellows made, though they were not old when they made them. These were zealous men in the prime of their lives who saw no religious group following the New Testament pattern and sought to change that in an effort to promote unity among everyone claiming to be a Christian, for the sake of spreading the Gospel. But when people would not give up their cherished beliefs, no matter how wrong they were shown to be, they settled for gathering the ones who would and became a strong movement for the Truth of the Word. They were ridiculed by many, but many others joined the choruses we have heard all our lives: "Where the Scripture speaks, we speak; where the Scripture is silent we are silent," and "For every action we must have a 'Thus saith the Lord.'" It is the development of that attitude that the book follows.
As was even the case in the First Century, there was a falling away, and the author chronicles that as well. Those who were born after the original printing of this book (1945) can tell of similar problems that have risen in their own lifetimes. If nothing else, the book encourages us to stay faithful. It may not be for everyone, but for those of us who "have always wondered," it could be a profitable read.
Attitudes and Consequences was republished by Truth Publications in 2011.
Dene Ward