New Light Christians: Initiators of the Nineteenth Century Reformation

Most students of the Restoration know quite a bit about Alexander Campbell. Barton W. Stone is usually known for preaching in an 1801 revival at Cane Ridge (most don’t know about the Pentecostal-ish goings on there), and later for joining forces with Alexander Campbell. These are probably the only two things most people know about him (if they even know those). This book seeks to correct that-and not necessarily just put-ting Barton W. Stone back into his place in Restoration Movement history, but also his whole movement, which included more men than just him. The New Light Christians never referred to themselves by that name, but the author of this book uses it as a convenient way to distinguish them from other localized groups who also called themselves Christians or the Christian Church (specifically, James O'Kelly’s Christian Church in the south, and Abner Jones and Elias Smith’s Christian Church or Christian Connexion in New England). So don’t let his use of the name cloud your view of the information.

The author was connected with the Disciples of Christ, the most liberal branch of the Restoration Movement, but this fact does not come across in the following pages.

All footnotes are original to this work, except for ones marked Editor, which have been added for this updated edition.

We hope you find this work interesting and beneficial to your understanding of Restoration Movement history.