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Loading... Alexander Campbell: Adventurer in Freedom: A Literary Biography, Volume Three (edition 2009)by Eva Jean Wrather, D. Duane Cummins (Editor)1   SCRH | Sep 13, 2010 |   "Saved the best for last" is what I think of this final volume of the three-volume series on the life of Alexander Campbell. I must add that I found the first two volumes to be excellent and very educational as well. In Volume three, author Wrather (and editor Cummins) covers the period 1830-1866 which includes the Disciples of Christ becoming a unique faith group until the death of Alexander Campbell. People and events of the period are too numerous to cover in this review, but I found the chapters (19-20) on the founding and early years of Bethany College, in then Virginia, to be most enlightening. Chapter 21 entitled "Always Anti-Slavery, but Never an Abolitionist" should clarify for modern readers, who tend to merge the two attitudes into one, that Campbell was very much against the enslavement of humans, but equally against radical abolition. Campbell was truly caught in the middle, as members of his immediate and extended family were either for or against slavery and/or secession, although most of his closest family members were pro-South. Most of the students at Bethany College were from the South as well. Since Selina Campbell's brother, Edwin W. Bakewell, and Alexander Campbell's secretary, W. F. M. Arny, eventually moved to Bloomington, Illinois (my current home), I was pleased to read of them in this volume. Both Bakewell and Arny went on to "make a name for themselves" in multiple ways. An "Alexander Campbell Timeline" (pp. 273-288) prepared by editor Cummins adds value to the work. While the volume includes an index, it is somewhat abbreviated (as is the case with the first two volumes), and is the one little negative I have on the entire series. Persons interested in learning more about Alexander Campbell and the Stone-Campbell religious tradition, especially those who are members of or involved with its churches or institutions, should find the entire series a good read and a blessing. My hat is off to author Wrather, editor Cummins, and everyone else who brought the project to its fruition. (  )1 SCRH | Sep 13, 2010 | |
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"Saved the best for last" is what I think of this final volume of the three-volume series on the life of Alexander Campbell. I must add that I found the first two volumes to be excellent and very educational as well.
In Volume three, author Wrather (and editor Cummins) covers the period 1830-1866 which includes the Disciples of Christ becoming a unique faith group until the death of Alexander Campbell. People and events of the period are too numerous to cover in this review, but I found the chapters (19-20) on the founding and early years of Bethany College, in then Virginia, to be most enlightening.
Chapter 21 entitled "Always Anti-Slavery, but Never an Abolitionist" should clarify for modern readers, who tend to merge the two attitudes into one, that Campbell was very much against the enslavement of humans, but equally against radical abolition. Campbell was truly caught in the middle, as members of his immediate and extended family were either for or against slavery and/or secession, although most of his closest family members were pro-South. Most of the students at Bethany College were from the South as well.
Since Selina Campbell's brother, Edwin W. Bakewell, and Alexander Campbell's secretary, W. F. M. Arny, eventually moved to Bloomington, Illinois (my current home), I was pleased to read of them in this volume. Both Bakewell and Arny went on to "make a name for themselves" in multiple ways.
An "Alexander Campbell Timeline" (pp. 273-288) prepared by editor Cummins adds value to the work.
While the volume includes an index, it is somewhat abbreviated (as is the case with the first two volumes), and is the one little negative I have on the entire series.
Persons interested in learning more about Alexander Campbell and the Stone-Campbell religious tradition, especially those who are members of or involved with its churches or institutions, should find the entire series a good read and a blessing. My hat is off to author Wrather, editor Cummins, and everyone else who brought the project to its fruition. (