TY - BOOK AU - Shepherd,J.W. TI - The Church, the Falling Away, and the Restoration AV - BX PY - 2019/// CY - Salt Lake City, UT PB - Project Gutenberg KW - Disciples of Christ -- Doctrines KW - Disciples of Christ -- Controversial literature KW - Churches of Christ -- Doctrines N1 - Release date is 2019-03-03; Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net; Original publication data not identified N2 - "The Church, the Falling Away, and the Restoration" by J. W. Shepherd is a religious text written in the early 20th century. The work explores the history and principles of the New Testament church, focusing on how it was initially established, how it fell into apostasy, and the subsequent movements aimed at restoration. The author emphasizes the significance of returning to the original and pure practices of the early church, calling for a critique of contemporary church practices that deviate from biblical teachings. At the start of the book, the author presents the purpose behind the text, highlighting the importance of understanding the true essence of the New Testament church and the historical events that led to its current state. In the opening chapters, Shepherd discusses the characteristics of the original church, including the need for divine authority, proper governance, and the role of members within the church. He stresses the necessity of adhering to scriptural principles and the qualifications for membership, setting the stage for a broader discussion on the religious reforms and historical figures involved in the restoration movement. (This is an automatically generated summary.) UR - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58998 ER -