Life of Alexander Campbell

The first critical biography of Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of the Stone-Campbell Movement 

A Life of Alexander Campbell examines the core identity of a gifted and determined reformer to whom millions of Christians around the globe today owe much of their identity—whether they know it or not. 

Douglas Foster assesses principal parts of Campbell’s life and thought to discover his significance for American Christianity and the worldwide movement that emerged from his work. He examines Campbell’s formation in Ireland, his creation and execution of a reform of Christianity beginning in America, and his despair at the destruction of his vision by the American Civil War. A Life of Alexander Campbell shows why this important but sometimes misunderstood and neglected figure belongs at the heart of the American religious story.

368 Pages

Table of Contents

Preface: Why a Biography of Alexander Campbell?

SECTION ONE: FORMATION
1: The Formation of Alexander Campbell’s Ireland
2: The Formation of Alexander Campbell’s Father
3: The Formation of the Mind of Alexander Campbell

SECTION TWO: CREATION
4: The Creation of a Career
5: The Creation of the Ancient Gospel and Order of Things
6: The Role of Christian Unity in Alexander Campbell’s Agenda
7: The Creation of a Better Bible
8: The Defender of Protestant Christianity
9: The Creation of Two Crucial Institutions

SECTION THREE: DEFENSE AND CONFLICT
10: The Rise of Anti-Campbellism
11: Bitter Clashes with Baptists
12: John Thomas and the Lunenburg Letter
13: Campbell versus the Mormons
14: Campbell versus the Presbyterians—Again
15: The Clash with Walter Scott
16: Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone
17: The Ferguson-Fanning-Richardson Affair

SECTION FOUR: SURRENDER
18: Slavery: The Greatest Threat to the Movement
19: The Civil War and the Millennium
20: The Death of a Reformer

SECTION FIVE: LEGACY
21: The Shadow of Alexander Campbell