es of faith. The movement came to be called the"Restoration Movement" by its adherents since they believed they were restoringChristianity to what it was in the New Testament.Perhaps one of the best, short statements of the beliefs, purpose, methods and goals of theChurches of Christ was written by Batsell Barrett Baxter, a widely respected Church ofChrist minister and writer who died only a few years ago."[The churches of Christ are] primarily a plea for religious unity based upon the Bible. In a dividedreligious world it is believed that the Bible is the only possible common denominator upon whichmost, if not all, of the God-fearing people of the land can unite. This is an appeal to go back to theBible. It is a plea to speak where the Bible speak and to remain silent where the Bible is silent in allmatters that pertain to religion. It further empasizes that in everything religious there must be a"Thus saith the Lord" for all that is done. The objective is religious unity of all believers in Christ.The basis is the New Testament. The method is the restoration of New Testament Christianity."As Baxter's statement makes clear, the Churches of Christ do not see themselves asparticularly exclusive. From their point of view, their emphasis on the "Bible only" andrejection of creeds is an attempt at reunifying a divided Christianity. The implementationof this belief in many places has had a quite different effect, though -- there are at leasttwenty significant factions in the mainline Churches of Christ, most of whom do notrecognize each other, let alone the "denominational churches", as Christian.The Churches of Christ have no formal hierarchy or religious structure above the localcongregation, and no written creed, but their beliefs are well defined and agreed uponamong the members. Anyone who has been a member knows these beliefs:Churches of Christ believe in following only the Bible and no "creeds of men". Anyreligious practice which is n...
