Essay 64 (3-11-05)

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL: THE MAN AND HIS MISSION (2)

II. The Formative Years: Born of Calvinistic Piety (1788-1807)

"My father was the best teacher of young men I ever knew."

Family Background

Alexander Campbell was born of Thomas and Jane Corneigle Campbell on September 12, 1788 near Ballymena in the parish of Broughshane, County Antrim, Ireland. Thomas was by lineage an Argyle Scot and Jane descended from the French Huguenots. Thomas was of medium stature and eminently handsome, while Jane was tall, erect, and "remarkably retiring in her disposition and manners." In a memoir to his mother in his old age, Alexander described her as "the beau ideal of the Christian mother," and regardless of all the hardships she had to bear he never heard her complain.

He not only esteemed his father the best teacher he ever knew, but the most pious as well. He was devoted to and never neglected the spiritual disciplines. When the father was widowed, aged, and blind he lived with his son in Bethany. Alexander was sometimes in his father's presence when he was unaware that anyone was around. He would often be whispering a Psalm or quietly singing a hymn, interspersed with cries of "Glory be to God." He saw his father as constantly in the presence of God.

Alexander and his six younger siblings grew up in a home with "a family altar." Morning and evening there were prayers, singing, and recitation of memorized Scripture. Later in life he credited both of his parents with urging him to memorize large portions of the Bible. Once he had a family of his own, he carried on the "family altar" tradition — long a part of strict Calvinistic piety.

Early Education

Except for brief periods in a grammar school and an academy conducted by his uncles, Alexander was "home schooled" by his father. While for sometime he was more interested in sports than study, he eventually cultivated an insatiable appetite for books and ideas. He developed a remarkably retentive memory, which might explain how he could discourse for hours without notes. He not only memorized large portions of Scripture, but hymns and choice selections from world literature, especially the British poets. He also studied Latin, French, Greek, and moral philosophy — especially John Locke, whose ideas on civil and religious liberty substantially influenced his thinking. He began his life long interest in John Milton.

His father grew up an Anglican but eventually became an ordained minister in the Seceder Presbyterian Church. To supplement his meager income, he conducted private schools in his own home or in the home of others, there being no public schools. When he started a school in Rich Hill — near Armaugh in Northern Ireland — in 1804, Alexander, then sixteen, was academically prepared to serve as his assistant. Some of his siblings were among his students. He soon gained a reputation as an excellent teacher, and was largely responsible for the school's growing enrollment

His father had become pastor of the Ahorey Presbyterian Church — located a few miles from Rich Hill where the family lived — in 1798. It was a church destined to play a significant role in Campbell history. Today it has a tower that honors Thomas Campbell and a stained-glass window that memorializes Alexander Campbell.

Earliest Religious Experiences

The move to Rich Hill and becoming a teacher was a turning point in young Campbell's life. While he was still taking advanced studies from his father, he was coming into his own. In his late teens he began to take both life and religion more seriously. While his father was urging him to consider the ministry, he was struggling with his religious faith. Unsure of his own salvation, he walked in secluded places and prayed for some assurance of pardon.

From the time he first began to read the Bible he believed in Jesus as the Christ, but he did not have a feeling of his salvation that he supposed he should have. This caused him great distress of soul, and he had "the awakenings of a guilty conscience." Recalling this in later life, he wrote, "Finally, after many strugglings, I was able to put my trust in the Savior, and to feel my reliance on him as the only Savior of sinners." This gave him the peace he sought. He remembered that it never entered his head to investigate the subject of baptism, which, after a few more years, would demand much of his attention.

Once he was received as a member of the Ahorey Presbyterian Church, he began to take more seriously his father's desire that he devote himself to the ministry. He entered upon an extensive study of theology and church history. At the outset he was disturbed by things in the religious world that were to challenge him for the rest of his life — ignorance, superstition, priest-ridden oppression, and particularly divisions among Christians.

His father had born such concerns for years. He had sought to restore peace among the factions in his own Seceder church to no avail. He was also grieved that church doctrines were related more to creeds than to the Bible. And he was so concerned to instill spiritual discipline and to nurture people in the Scriptures that his church at Ahorey became known as the best educated in the presbytery. But his efforts-particularly his attempt to unite the warring Seceder factions - not only were unappreciated, but brought painful opposition. His son was later to explain that his father's problem was that he attempted the impossible — a reformation within the Seceder sects.

Possible Migration to America

Besides such discouragement, Thomas Campbell's health grew delicate. His doctor advised a lengthy sea voyage. It was decided that he would sail to America — not only for health's sake, but to search out what might possibly be a new home for his family in the New World. If it worked out, the family would join him. Alexander — going on nineteen — would care for the school, continue his private studies, and help his mother care for the children.

Thomas Campbell embarked at Londonderry, Ireland on the good ship Brutus for Philadelphia on April 8, 1807. It was another turning point in the Campbell story. Thomas would soon have experiences on the American frontier that would lay the groundwork for the Movement that he and his son would lead. Alexander — back at Rich Hill with a covey of children at his feet — could hardly have imagined what was destined for him - some of it soon.

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