The Hermeneutics of the Early Stone-Campbell Movement

Leading thinkers of the Stone-Campbell Movement during the antebellum era
called on Christians to conform their faith to “the Bible alone” independently
of  any  other  church  authorities.  Their  position,  an  amalgam  of  Protestant,
Enlightenment, and Common Sense thought, reflected confidence that God’s
revelation in the Scriptures was intelligible to common people. Reviewed here
are advisories on responsible biblical interpretation by Alexander Campbell,
Tolbert Fanning, Robert Richardson, and James Sanford Lamar. Despite dif-
fering emphases, all four dealt with views and resources in discussion among
scholars in the United States, England, and continental Europe.