The Biography of Eld. Barton Warren Stone

by Barton Warren Stone

This is a copy of the original book. In this series, we are bringing old books back into print using our own state-of-the-art techniques. Generally, these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way that the author intended. However, as we are working with old material, so occasionally there may be certain imperfections within the text. We are so pleased to ensure these classics are available again for generations to come.

Genres: Church History, Biography

526 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1847

About the author

Barton Warren Stone (December 24, 1772 – November 9, 1844) was an American Evangelist during the early 19th-century Second Great Awakening in the United States. First ordained a Presbyterian minister, he and four other ministers of the Washington Presbytery resigned after arguments about doctrine and enforcement of policy by the Kentucky Synod. This was in 1803, after Stone had helped lead the mammoth Cane Ridge Revival, a several-day communion season attended by nearly 20,000 persons.

Stone and the others briefly founded the Springfield Presbytery, which they dissolved the following year, resigning from the Presbyterian Church altogether. They formed what they called the Christian Church, based on scripture rather than a creed representing the opinion of man. He later became allied with Alexander Campbell, a former Presbyterian minister who was also creating an independent path, sometimes allied with Baptists, and formed the Restoration Movement. Stone's followers were first called "New Lights" and "Stoneites". Later he and Campbell brought the groups together that relied solely on the Scriptures.

Several church groups have historical roots in Stone's efforts. The three main groups are the Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. Additionally, there are the International Churches of Christ, the International Christian Church, the Churches of Christ in Australia, the Churches of Christ in Europe, and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada.

Reviews

[Caleb Bratcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The actual autobiography is a short and worthwhile read for anyone interested in (or a member of) the Restoration stream of churches. I especially appreciated his emphasis on forbearance as a necessity for any congregation that hopes to be a uniting force for Christians as opposed to merely another schismatic one. We need forbearance no less now than we did in Stone's day.

Much of the rest of the book is skimmable and contains a lot of smoke-blowing that I found uninteresting, although I'm sure Stone was an honorable and well-loved fella. There are some interesting historical documents like the original apology of the Springfield Presbytery and some remarks on the gospel in general and doctrinal statements. These were valuable reads, even if I might not land in the same place on everything as Stone did. Forbearance, right?

[Daniel Silliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really important historical resource.

There are some questionable editorial choices—we could probably use an update—but this text offers an important glimpse into an era of American history and an aspect of American evangelicalism that is too often obscured.

[John Culbertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I fibbed. I only read the autobiographical portion of the book, written by Stone (the first 80 pages). Stone's biography is incredibly fascinating. The text sheds light both on his life (as he reviewed it in 1843) and the genre of early American autobiography.

The rest of the text includes additional information about the last 3 or 4 years of Stone's life, publications by the short-lived Springfield Presbytery, and numerous correspondences between Stone and various leaders within the Reformer-Christian movement. If you have any interest, whatsoever, in the early years of the Stone-Campbell movement (particularly from a Stoneite perspective), this is a MUST READ.

[Rev. Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barton Stone was one of the founders of the denomination "The Christian Church (Discples of Christ)"...this is one of the textbooks for a course I am taking at Brite Divinity this Fall about the history of "Disciples of Christ"