Question: Dear sir, Someone told me that Alexander Campbell started the Church of Christ. Is this true?

Answer: Thomas and Alexander Campbell came to this country in the early 19th century. They, and others such as Barton W. Stone, were troubled by religious division. They realized that it was the human creeds and confessions of faith that caused the divisions among those who claim to be followers of Christ. The only solution, in their view, was to proceed in religion purely on the basis of the New Testament. If everyone, they reasoned, would believe, confess, and practice what the New Testament teaches, no more and no less, then all would be simply Christians and be one in Christ. They did not seek to add another denomination to the many, but rather stressed that all should respond to the gospel on the terms announced by the apostles (read Acts 2), and let Christ add them to his church. They believed that the faith and practice contained in the New Testament would not produce denominations but the church that Jesus Christ established (Matthew 6:18).