Disciples, Christians, or Campbellites?
By Editor
COURTESY, if nothing else, would forbid our calling any denomination by a name which they repudiated, or as a term of reproach. Therefore we do not use the name Campbellite, though we see that some religious papers use it freely. Justice to other bodies will not permit us to call any denomination Christians, as that amounts to an insinuation that others are not Christians. Besides, there is another denomination which called itself the Christian Church, or, if our memory serves us right, "the Christian Connection," before the present "Christian" church, or the Disciples, had an existence as a denomination. Alexander Campbell called his church by the name of Disciples, and this name we always apply to that denomination. There is a paper published in Oregon, of that denomination, called the Christian Herald. We were much struck with remarks in a recent number of that paper on "That Name," and append the closing part of the article:— "But can we not take a Scriptural name and make a sectarian name out of it by misapplying it? It is not only necessary to have the right name, but we must make the proper application of it, if we would avoid sectarianism. Take for example Bro. Collins' own statement. While speaking of the name 'Baptist' he says: 'I cheerfully concede that this is a Scriptural name, but it is never in the Scriptures applied to the church, but to an individual, and he not a member of the church at all!' Now on the brother's principle, we assert without the fear of successful contradiction that the phrase 'Baptist Church' is as Scriptural as the phrase 'Christian Church,' for he very well knows that so far as either 'Baptist' or 'Christian' being applied to the church, anywhere in the Bible, is concerned, they stand on an equal footing. It was not the church that was called 'Christian Church' first in Antioch, but the record says, 'the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.' We should be satisfied to let things remain just where the Holy Spirit has placed them. Neither do we believe that the name Christian was ever used in a specific denominational sense by the Spirit, or that the people of God need any such denominational name at the present time. All of this talk about adopting some one specific denominational name in order to our existence and recognition as a religious people is worse than child's play on the part of those engaged in the restoration of apostolic Christianity. When we get ready for this, we propose to be consistent, and accept the name Campbellite!"