A Life of Alexander Campbell

Douglas A. Foster

A Life of Alexander Campbell examines the core identity of a gifted and determined reformer to whom millions of Christians around the globe today owe much of their identity—whether they know it or not.

Douglas Foster assesses principal parts of Campbell’s life and thought to discover his significance for American Christianity and the worldwide movement that emerged from his work. He examines Campbell’s formation in Ireland, his creation and execution of a reform of Christianity beginning in America, and his despair at the destruction of his vision by the American Civil War. A Life of Alexander Campbell shows why this important but sometimes misunderstood and neglected figure belongs at the heart of the American religious story.

Read the excerpt here.

Douglas A. Foster served as professor of church history and director of the Center for Restoration Studies at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas for twenty-seven years and now serves as Scholar in Residence. He co-edited The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement and The Stone-Campbell Movement: A Global History and has published books and articles on Stone-Campbell history and racism in American Christianity. Douglas and his wife Linda live in Abilene, Texas.