Restorationism
Sign in to saveAlso known as Restorationist, Restorationists
Restorationism, also known as Christian primitivism, is a religious perspective holding that the early beliefs and practices of the followers of Jesus were either lost or adulterated after his death, and therefore require restoration. It is a view that often "seeks to correct faults or deficiencies, in other branches of Christianity, by appealing to the primitive church as normative model".
~50 min read
Encyclopedic overview
46 sectionsContents
- Uses of the term
- Historical models
- Ecclesiastical Primitivism
- Ethical Primitivism
- Experiential Primitivism
- Gospel Primitivism
- Middle Ages
- Protestant Reformation
- German
- Swiss
- {{anchor|Church of England and Caroline Divines}}English
- First Great Awakening
- Separate Baptists
- Groups arising in the era of the Second Great Awakening
- American Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement
- Christadelphians
- Swedenborgians
- Irvingians
- Latter Day Saint movement
- Adventism
- Millerism and Seventh-day Sabbatarianism
- Seventh-day Adventists
- Worldwide Church of God
- Advent Christian Church
- Other groups originating in the nineteenth century
- Bible Students
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Plymouth Brethren
- 20th-century and contemporary groups
- Oneness Pentecostalism
- British New Church Movement
- Shepherding movement
- Apostolic-Prophetic Movement
- Church of God (Restoration)
- Iglesia ni Cristo
- La Luz del Mundo
- Apostolic Catholic Church (Philippines)
- Local churches
- Jesuism
- World Mission Society Church Of God
- Other religious movements called Restorationist
- Catholic critique of primitivism
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Restorationism, also known as Christian primitivism, is a religious perspective holding that the early beliefs and practices of the followers of Jesus were either lost or adulterated after his death, and therefore require restoration. It is a view that often "seeks to correct faults or deficiencies, in other branches of Christianity, by appealing to the primitive church as normative model".
Efforts to restore an earlier, purer form of Christianity are frequently a response to denominationalism. As Rubel Shelly put it, "the motive behind all restoration movements is to tear down the walls of separation by a return to the practice of the original, essential and universal features of the Christian religion." Different groups have attempted to implement the restorationist vision in various ways; for instance, some have focused on the structure and practice of the church, others on the ethical life of the church, and still others on the direct experience of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The relative importance assigned to the restoration ideal, and the extent to which the full restoration of the early church is believed to have been achieved, also varies among groups.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Restorationism” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.