In 1809 in western Pennsylvania, Thomas Campbell was trying to explain to friends how Christians could stop dividing. He offered a simple rule: “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.” A man named Andrew Munro saw right away where that might lead and said it would be an end of infant baptism. Another friend, Acheson, was moved to tears. That August they formed the Christian Association of Washington, and Campbell soon wrote his Declaration and Address. Those few words still challenge us. Speak boldly where God has spoken, and stay humble where He hasn’t.
