Eight lectures printed as delivered to the School of Religion, Butler University, Indianapolis, in 1947. Much of the material was originally prepared for the Commission of the Edinburgh Conference, 1937 (Faith and Order Movement) which dealt with The Church and the Word of God. After Lausanne (1927), Robinson became convinced that questions of the sacraments or ministry could not be resolved without the issue of the nature of the church being tackled. This is his attempt, written from the perspective of a 19th century unity movement centered around the leadership of Americans Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell.
