Practicing primitive Christianity in a progressive world: a historical examination of two divisions within the Churches of Christ in America.

Abstract

Since their birth in America, Churches of Christ have believed in and sought after the unity of all Christendom through the restoration of primitive, New Testament Christianity. Throughout its history, this group has divided over issues it believed were jeopardizing this objective of unity through restoration. These issues, often branded innovations by more traditionalist members, have led to several major wings within the Churches of Christ at large. This study examines two such issues effecting one of the most conservative of these wings: the break over the requisite number of cups in the communion service, and the still-recent split over the issue of divorce and remarriage. A close examination of these divisions brings to light much historical evidence indicating that these rifts had their genesis, not from any new biblical hermeneutic, but rather from the constant and graduated pressure placed on the church by an evolving and progressing society.