Some preachers and members of the Church of Christ take offense at my urging that they closely examine our doctrines to see where they originated. They are offended, because that they maintain that our Church of Christ doctrines originated with the apostles, and have been preserved in their pristine condition over the past 2,000 years.

This is a perversion of our church history. The American Restorers proclaimed that there was only one church, which belongs to Jesus Christ. They accepted any repentant, believer baptized for the remission of sins as a member of that one, true church.

Over time, the claim has devolved into “the only, true church is the denomination that has named itself the Church of Christ”, and you have to repent, confess, and be baptized into that group. We are told that this “one, true church” named the Church of Christ was started in the time of the apostles of Christ and has continued to the present day exactly as it was 2,000 years ago.

By rewriting our church history, we deny that our present beliefs were influenced by any other church group, such as the Roman Catholics, the Catholic-Protestants, the American Restorers, or the Church of Christ of the past 100 years. The truth is that much of what we teach and practice is either directly from doctrinal decisions made within the Roman Catholic church; by their reformers, who became known as Protestants; by American Restorers, such as Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone; or by preachers, orators, writers, editors, and college founders within the Church of Christ over the past 100 years.

Since we have these influences, it behooves us to examine our doctrines as to where they actually originated, instead of blindly proclaiming that they are pristine, preserved from the time of the apostles of Jesus Christ.

I have put together a simple doctrinal timeline showing a few of the many changing influences on us over the past 2000 years. Keep in mind that the middle column is the one alleged by many preachers, teachers, and members in the Church of Christ. It is not the truth. The right column shows the actual chain of events that led to the formation of the Church of Christ, denominated as such by David Lipscomb, of Nashville, Tennessee, around 1906.

Now that you know the truth, please examine every religious thing that you say that you believe, or that you practice, and do a bit of research. Don’t just assume that it is upheld in the scriptures, even if you can point to, or quote, a verse that you think supports that doctrine. Too many scriptures are taken out of context in a desperate attempt to support false doctrines that have been handed down to us by our religious forebears.

Do you want to know the truth? Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Doctrinal Timeline of the Church of Christ

Dates (Approximate)

Alleged History

Actual History

Approximately 30 AD

Jesus, Apostles, early church

Jesus, Apostles, early church

|

|

100 – 600 AD

Church of Christ

So-called “Church fathers”

|

|

325 AD

Church of Christ

Roman Catholic Church began

|

|

1517 AD

Church of Christ

Reformers, Protestants (Roman Catholics)

|

|

1534 AD

Church of Christ

Church of England

|

|

1547-1572 AD

Church of Christ

Presbyterianism

|

|

1560 AD

Church of Christ

Presbyterian Church

|

|

Began around 1801 AD

Church of Christ

Stone-Campbell Movement (American Restoration)

|

|

1906 AD

Church of Christ

Church of Christ began

|

|

Present

Church of Christ today

Church of Christ today

Some dates are approximate due to discrepancies in reported historical dates and confusing history regarding disparate religious activities in Christianity which were later alleged to be part of a highly organized Roman Catholic church, when in reality they were not.

Many in the Church of Christ claim a straight line of doctrine from the apostles to the present, a false claim first put forth by the Roman Catholics, and adopted by different groups, including some Baptists, and the Church of Christ.

The truth is that doctrine in the Church of Christ evolved over time, including through the Roman Catholic Church, as well as through the Protestant Reformation – which was itself carried out by Roman Catholics, through the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, Presbyterianism, and the American Restoration, also called the Stone-Campbell Movement. Doctrines were further refined by Church of Christ preachers, editors, orators, and writers.

Efforts were made, first by the Roman Catholic Reformers (Protestants), and more recently, the American “Restorers” (Stone-Campbell Movement), to move doctrine back toward what the Bible teaches. Unfortunately, too much of the evolved doctrine since the time of the apostles has been handed down to us, with attempts to justify it by abusing, misusing, and taking out of context, certain scriptures. Instead of going back to the apostles’ doctrine, a false claim is made that we have always had it, thereby negating a need to keep examining and comparing our doctrine to theirs.