The Evangelical Church; or True Grounds for The Union of the Saints 1840 BAPTIST

Ranney, Darwin H. The Evangelical Church; or True Grounds for The Union of the Saints. Woodstock, Vt.: Mercury Press, 1840. First Edition. [10683] Teal cloth, original paper title label to front, cloth is partly raised from the boards, probably due to moisture exposure. 6 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches, 144 clean pages, tight. Good. Hardcover. Ranney promotes open communion. Chapter I. - The Prospect. "In the visions of Prophecy, the Lord has revealed to his Saints the prospect of an approaching Millennium." Chapter II. - Of the Church; - Its true limits; - and the nature and obligations of union prescribed in Scripture. Chapter III. - The deviations of the Modern Church; - Baptism - and the relation it sustains to christian character. Chapter IV. Of Creeds. "The Church has departed from Apostolic example, and placed itself in a position from which it must, before the Millennium, retreat, in aiming at uniformity in all religious doctrines." Chapter V. - Of Discipline. "The Church has deviated from the Apostolic Model in the principles and character of its Discipline." Chapter VI. - How Union is to be Secured. This chapter includes a suggested Articles of Faith and Covenant upon which the author believes that all evangelical Christians may believe. Darwin Harlow Ranney (1812-1873), b. Townshend, Vermont; d. Brattleboro, Vermont. Ranney began his career as a schoolteacher in several place, and became a Baptist pastor. He was pastor at Claremont, NY; Dover, NH; Wilmington, VT; and at Greenfield and Bernardston, MA. For a time he was a member of the Vermont Legislature, representing Brattleboro.