Dr. Robert Richardson stood in a special place. As an editor for the leading journal of the day, the Millennial Harbinger, as professor at Bethany College, and as Campbell's personal physician, Richardson had his hand on the theological pulse of the movement during its formative years.

In 1852 Richardson collected several of his articles into a small book. His goal was to present clearly and simply the basic principles that shaped what he called the "present Reformation." Though widely read in the 1850s, the work was lost in the turbulence that swept churches after the Civil War.

With this new edition, the surprising and radical proposals of Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, and others are now offered to contemporary readers. In a time when issues about identity are being asked in Churches of Christ and Christian Churches, Richardson's principles speak with remarkable relevance, clarity, and hope.

Table of Contents

	Introduction, Carson E. Reed	7
	Letter to the Reader	25
1.	Distinction between Faith and Opinion	29
2.	The Christian Faith	45
3.	The Basis of Christian Union	55
4.	Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian Institutions	69
5.	Commencement of the Christian Church	73
6.	The Action and Design of Baptism	77
7.	The Agency ot the Holy Spirit in Conversion and Sanctification	87
8.	Weekly Communion	95
9.	Church Government	97
	In Conclusion	100