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Cane Ridge in Context: Perspectives on Barton W. Stone and the Revival
From the dust jacket:
This volume brings together several lectures with work undertaken for this book on the legacy of Barton W. Stone and the meaning of the great revival. The chapters are arranged to proceed from reflections upon the various ways Barton W. Stone has been remembered in the Stone-Campbell traditions (chapters one to three) to a contemporary assessment of his contribution (chapter four). Two chapters (five and six) consider Stone, his theology, and the events around the Cane Ridge revival in the context of Reformed Protestantism and Presbyterianism. The closing three chapters (seven, eight, and nine) broaden the focus to the social and religious background of Cane Ridge and trajectories out from this place.
This collection is offered in the hope that it may be a resource for those who will continue to celebrate and investigate the heritage of Cane Ridge and of Barton W. Stone, both in this bicentennial era and in the years to come.
This volume brings together several lectures with work undertaken for this book on the legacy of Barton W. Stone and the meaning of the great revival. The chapters are arranged to proceed from reflections upon the various ways Barton W. Stone has been remembered in the Stone-Campbell traditions (chapters one to three) to a contemporary assessment of his contribution (chapter four). Two chapters (five and six) consider Stone, his theology, and the events around the Cane Ridge revival in the context of Reformed Protestantism and Presbyterianism. The closing three chapters (seven, eight, and nine) broaden the focus to the social and religious background of Cane Ridge and trajectories out from this place.
This collection is offered in the hope that it may be a resource for those who will continue to celebrate and investigate the heritage of Cane Ridge and of Barton W. Stone, both in this bicentennial era and in the years to come.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 5, 2017
This is my second reading on the revival at Cane Ridge, KY. I have never really heard of this revival until recently, thinking that the Azusa Street revival was the first one of a Pentecostal nature. From this revival evolved the Churches of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), denominations I was hitherto unfamiliar about except by name. The book's emphasis is on the "legacy of Barton Stone" and the ways he has been remembered in the context of the Stone-Campbell movement, and its contribution to the Christian movement, especially for the Disciple of Christ. This book is a collection of essays from various contributors.
The most interesting and instructive chapters to me are as follows:
Chapter 4: Here, the contributing writer explores the controversial differences between Stone and Campbell in areas like with water baptism, Communion, and Christian unity. Regarding the latter, it seems that in the Cane Ridge Revival, Stone may have encourage and emphasize the first, at least in America, a movement towards ecumenicalism, that is, the unity of all believers of whatever their denomination, and to teach that creeds are subordinate, if not unessential, to Biblical revelation. "Stone understood Christian unity would never come as a result of 'New Testament doctrines,' but of New Testament life, as it is seen in the love of Christ" (p.67).
Chapter 5, discusses Stone's theology of revival. Although his background lay in the teachings by Presbyterians of the Great Awakening, known as "New Light" and essentially Calvinistic, Barton "was a product of the Revolutionary era in America that had been charmed by the philosophy of John Locke." Therefore, he was of the view that propositions contrary to reason are self-contradictions, and self-contradictions seem to be what Calvinist theology rests on. As such, "for Stone, the doctrine of election seemed to rob the gospel of its rational or moral power to save sinners from the power of sin" and "concluded the salvation was available to all who would believe" (p.79). Interestingly, Stone, as with Calvinism, saw that "Faith (that is, belief of the gospel) is the sovereign gift of God because it depends on the strength of God's testimony, not on any disposition of the sinner" (p.81).
Chapter 8 (along with chapters 7 and 9) "focus on the social and religious background of Cane Ridge" (inside dust jacket). I found two things very interesting: (1) the Cane Ridge revival found precedent in the Scottish Protestant revivals during their intermittent, once yearly (?) communion services in the 1620's and 1740's, which were seen as "dramatic." One contemporary of the Cane Ridge revival, describing it as "astonishing" and comparing it to a communion revival in Cambuslang, Scotland. The contributor comments that on these excitements in the Scottish revivals during their observance of Communion, that "when you think about it...Christ's giving his life...remembered and in some sense made real and present. Grasped, that realization just might be expected to produce the shakes or groanings or tears or embraces" (p.121).
Finally, one interesting practice of the Disciples of Christ that came from Cane Ridge revivals was the Biblical notion that, "We were the church. We never 'went to church'; we went to meeting.' The church met in its meetinghouse" (p.134).
Although I found it hard only because I was reading on an historical topic I have no idea of at all nor had any background ides of the theology and teaching of the denomination from which had sprung for the from this Cane Ridge (by the way, a name given to the place by Daniel Boone) revival, I would recommend it to all those whose specific and, perhaps, primary interest is Christianity's revival history.
The most interesting and instructive chapters to me are as follows:
Chapter 4: Here, the contributing writer explores the controversial differences between Stone and Campbell in areas like with water baptism, Communion, and Christian unity. Regarding the latter, it seems that in the Cane Ridge Revival, Stone may have encourage and emphasize the first, at least in America, a movement towards ecumenicalism, that is, the unity of all believers of whatever their denomination, and to teach that creeds are subordinate, if not unessential, to Biblical revelation. "Stone understood Christian unity would never come as a result of 'New Testament doctrines,' but of New Testament life, as it is seen in the love of Christ" (p.67).
Chapter 5, discusses Stone's theology of revival. Although his background lay in the teachings by Presbyterians of the Great Awakening, known as "New Light" and essentially Calvinistic, Barton "was a product of the Revolutionary era in America that had been charmed by the philosophy of John Locke." Therefore, he was of the view that propositions contrary to reason are self-contradictions, and self-contradictions seem to be what Calvinist theology rests on. As such, "for Stone, the doctrine of election seemed to rob the gospel of its rational or moral power to save sinners from the power of sin" and "concluded the salvation was available to all who would believe" (p.79). Interestingly, Stone, as with Calvinism, saw that "Faith (that is, belief of the gospel) is the sovereign gift of God because it depends on the strength of God's testimony, not on any disposition of the sinner" (p.81).
Chapter 8 (along with chapters 7 and 9) "focus on the social and religious background of Cane Ridge" (inside dust jacket). I found two things very interesting: (1) the Cane Ridge revival found precedent in the Scottish Protestant revivals during their intermittent, once yearly (?) communion services in the 1620's and 1740's, which were seen as "dramatic." One contemporary of the Cane Ridge revival, describing it as "astonishing" and comparing it to a communion revival in Cambuslang, Scotland. The contributor comments that on these excitements in the Scottish revivals during their observance of Communion, that "when you think about it...Christ's giving his life...remembered and in some sense made real and present. Grasped, that realization just might be expected to produce the shakes or groanings or tears or embraces" (p.121).
Finally, one interesting practice of the Disciples of Christ that came from Cane Ridge revivals was the Biblical notion that, "We were the church. We never 'went to church'; we went to meeting.' The church met in its meetinghouse" (p.134).
Although I found it hard only because I was reading on an historical topic I have no idea of at all nor had any background ides of the theology and teaching of the denomination from which had sprung for the from this Cane Ridge (by the way, a name given to the place by Daniel Boone) revival, I would recommend it to all those whose specific and, perhaps, primary interest is Christianity's revival history.
October 7, 2024
This book is really only for people who have historiographical questions about the Stone-Campbell movement, and specifically the reception and interpretation of Stone in that movement and among American religious historians. I am one of those people, though. Richard L. Harrison Jr.'s essay in particular was very enlightening.
May 26, 2014
An interesting series of lectures on one of the most-ignored founder of the Restoration Movement.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews