Richard T. Hughes

Summary: A history of Churches of Christ in America, from sect, to denomination, to recent fragmentation and decline.

“If only we could be like the early church. If only we could get back to the Bible.” I’ve heard this refrain over many years from many Christians. Little do most know that the United States witnessed a significant, organized attempt to achieve just such a reality in the nineteenth century. In Reviving the Ancient Faith, Richard T. Hughes and James L. Gorman render a show more history of the Restoration Movement, begun by Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone. In this new edition, Gorman updates the scholarship of Hughes early work, trims the overall content, and adds chapters on recent developments in a new part three, “The Fragmentation of a Denomination.”

Specifically, the goal of the Campbells and Stone was to return to “primitive Christianity.” They sought a church without denominations, one that was based on the Bible and the Bible alone. They focused on baptism by immersion for repentance from sin, a way of salvation centered on human response to Christ, and a focus on Christ’s return and coming kingdom, or apocalypticism. The authors trace the respective movements begun by Campbell and Stone, their merger in 1832 and subsequent history. Particularly, they show a movement led by its publications as well as the Bible schools and colleges they founded, and the reaction of other leaders to them.

It is an account of growth and conflict, between sectarian ideas and emerging denominationalism, between church-centered efforts and mission societies, between law and grace. Perhaps of great significance was the sectional character, between North and South. Likewise, and as an adjunct, we see the growing tension between apocalypticism and a growing Christian nationalism. And they trace the tension between mission to all, including Blacks, and a largely segregated movement. Thus, they show how difficult it is to separate biblical and cultural Christianity.

The history traces the transition and development of the Churches of Christ as a denomination, beginning with the 1906 distinction between them and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I wish the authors would have given more space to this parting of the ways. Particularly, I would have valued a brief account of the subsequent history of the Disciples of Christ. Instead, they trace a denomination wrestling to maintain their distinctive emphases, often through the “fighting” style of a Foy Wallace while trying to modernize in their buildings, journals, and schools.

The newly added third part shows a church that has fragmented around these tensions, reflecting a broader fragmentation. On one hand, part of the church identified more with evangelicalism. This includes figures like Max Lucado, who identified so much with mainstream evangelicalism that his church ceased to be identifiably Church of Christ. Revivalist impulses manifest in the International Church of Christ movement led by Kip McKean. Meanwhile, a sizable number of churches embrace politically conservative forms of Christian nationalism.

On the other hand, the authors chronicle a progressive movement embracing racial reconciliation, the ministry of women and the acceptance of LGBTQ persons. Both conservative and progressive trends reflect efforts to reform a denomination in decline, again reflecting the larger landscape of the American church, The work concludes by recognizing an uncertain future.

This is an important and well-researched account of a major religious movement in American church history. It is a case study of both the aspirations and hubris in a “back-to-the-Bible” movement. And it is a reflection of the broader American landscape that has had such a powerful shaping effect on churches. In particular, it is an account of a church centered in the American South. Thus it sheds light on more than a denomination. It is an important study in American Christianity.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review. show less

The American Dream is White Supremacy

This second, expanded edition of Myths America Lives By came about because author Richard Hughes was on a panel one day, and one of the panelists told him his book had missed the biggest American Myth of all – White Supremacy. The more the disbelieving Hughes looked into it, the more it became apparent. It put his first edition into a new, comprehensive and unified context. The result is a chilling reevaluation of America’s values. For some it will be show more terrifying, for others long overdue validation. It is a most worthwhile read.

Whites fight any sort of advancement by blacks, whether it is public schooling or a black president. Challenging white supremacy is a capital offense. Death threats to Obama were four times as high as for Bush. Congress vowed to block anything that came from Obama, regardless of merit. Even Lincoln was repulsed by the concept of equality, and publicly claimed whites were superior. Hughes came to the conclusion the White Supremacy Myth undergirds all the other myths and defines the United States. And of course it makes a mockery of the American Creed of equality and freedom, one nation under God, liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson, the documents’ author, was clear that black inferiority was self-evident, much like whites’ truths.

The first edition examined five foundational myths that have grown into the basis of America. They are not thought about, nor even assumed, because they don’t have to be. For white Americans, they are America and don’t have to be stated. They are:
-The Chosen Nation (chosen by God to pursue His/its values, excusing American exceptionalism.)
-The Christian Nation (despite the Founders’ purposeful exclusion of any specific religion in the founding documents and despite its most un-Christian policies and acts.)
-Nature’s Nation (God’s real work, as appreciated and participated in by white Americans, from a standing start, without prior influence, and the natural superiority of its white populace. And despite the raping of the environment.)
-The Millennial Nation (placed here to promote its glorious values to the world. The ultimate salvation of Man. Manifest Destiny gone wild.)
-The Innocent Nation (a new, pure country with no history/baggage, and therefore no agenda or bias. Nothing America does can have ulterior motives.)

Hughes says Americans have no history: “The American people typically live in the eternal present, with little or no sense of history, they have long since forgotten about laws that were made, doors that were opened, and economic structures that were put in place that allow some to thrive while others do not.” There is no looking back. There are no lessons to learn, no education that can be beneficial. When you’re down and out in America, you’re history. There is no worse fate in the USA.

What’s new in the second edition is white supremacy - everywhere. For every one of the myths, underlying assumptions of white supremacy power it. Hughes was able to pull quotes going back before independence to show the Church and government proudly boasting of white supremacy as powering America. And it has only gotten worse, as no one bothered to consider what they were actually saying. Hughes shows white supremacy as the enabler of each of the other myths, unifying them, giving them a bedrock basis, and framing American values completely at odds with its own estimation.

There are a number of points Hughes makes almost in passing, that are worth noting:
-The founders believed America was a natural tabula rasa set out for them, natives notwithstanding. Natives were not considered human, and if they didn’t get out of the way, it was legitimate to exterminate them.
-Jefferson wrote that blacks are by nature inferior to whites. Franklin concurred. Madison was right in there, too.
-“Racism is rendered as the innocent daughter of Mother Nature,” Hughes quotes Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is baked into the fabric of America by its founders and their founding documents, giving black men a fraction of the value of white men (60%).
-John Adams, in a treaty with Tripoli, declared “The government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” It was passed by a two-thirds majority and signed into law, without fuss. That was original intent. It quickly fell to religious takeover that is stronger than ever.
-The Church was conflicted. While it meant to spread itself everywhere, it feared equality for blacks would mean loss of control. How could a Christian nation tolerate slavery of Christians? Yet it also could not countenance blacks worshipping beside whites. So it invented things like the Colonizing Society, which freed slaves and sent them to Liberia to start over.
-Frederick Douglass didn’t mince words: “I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity.”

What whites fear most is colored “advancement”. Coloreds cannot get ahead or even be seen to be getting ahead without it being life-threatening to whites. Allowing blacks in schools or churches, giving them academic degrees, letting them become professionals, serving in the armed forces, playing pro sports, or living in white neighborhoods are all symptoms of eroding the core value of white supremacy. That, above all, powered Jim Crow, mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings and voter suppression.

What Myths America Lives By provides like no other book I’ve read is perspective. Through Hughes’ agonizing over whether white supremacy really did rule America, he has been able to distance himself from the United States and see the country for what it really is. That he couldn’t immediately see or believe it showed him how ingrained it was. That’s a gigantic accomplishment, especially for a white religious scholar at a parochial college in central Pennsylvania. Hats off to Richard Hughes for making sense of it all in a clear and devastatingly thorough way.

David Wineberg show less

This book, more than any other, has helped me understand the Restoration Movement. Knowing how the Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ split and what precipitated that schism has given me a greater appreciation for our movement while at the same time feelings of disappointment and frustration. Hughes gives so much good information on Campbell and Stone throughout that it almost doubles as biography. I also appreciate how he writes objectively while recognizing areas of the movement show more that need reform and others we can celebrate. show less

It's a difficult task, ranking this book, because I'm unsure upon which metric it should be ranked. On one hand, I would have to say 5/5, as I could not hardly put it down without finishing it, even as it was thick and longish. It was intriguing, challenging, engaging, instructive, and altogether out of my normal conversation; it was a real enemy of my echo chambers, which I like. However, I came to this book seeking help and answers, and I was largely disappointed. To frame my question, "I show more can't conceive that White Supremacy undergirds the society that I know, but I want to address it if it does. Will you show me what and where it is and how I can address it?" To this, Hughes strongly asserted that it does undergird my society – in terms that were uncomfortable. I appreciate the experience of reading such strong words from his perspective, and I do believe he has illuminated truths of which I was unfamiliar. And, I wholeheartedly agreed with the case he made against the USA that preceded my birth in 1983, the time period against which he waged 95% of his case. But, when he transitioned to demonstrate White Supremacy and systemic racism in 2021 today, his case weakened tremendously. He saw White Supremacy in the opposition to Barak Obama, the "murder" of Michael Brown, and the election of Donald Trump. He saw systemic racism in the wealth whites inherited from before the Civil Right Era and in racist policing. I may not have grown up in the inner city, but hailing from "racist" Birmingham, Alabama, I feel as though I would have seen at least some of what he was talking about. But, I saw opposition against Obama that had nothing to do with race. I saw a case in Ferguson which was disputed on the ground, and a "victim" that was far from innocent. I saw Donald Trump elected in response to Obama, but not at all in response to Obama's color. I agree that white's inherited the country's wealth prior to the Civil Right's Era, though it's not in my bank account. And, I do agree that bad policing exists and I hate it, along with most the people I've ever known in Birmingham. I want to do whatever I can to erase bad policing, but I also have a hard time hearing Hughes talk like Bull Connor's still out there on the streets. How could he be, if the society I know doesn't want him there? All told, I'm glad for having read the book and I would read it again. I would not recommend it to people with further right leanings because it would only be to them evidence with which to ridicule the liberal position – it would not help them listen. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to listen, though I would add my caveats above. show less