Daniel Austen Sommer was the son of the highly influential Restoration preacher Daniel Sommer. Though not as well known as his father, Daniel Austen Sommer was a fearless writer and debater who had the unique ability of getting to the heart of an issue and forcefully make his point.
Many of the arguments being leveled against the Lord’s church are merely old arguments recycled or revamped. Sommer does a masterful job meeting the issues of his day and supplying help as we face many of the same issues today.
Here is a list of the topics and issues addressed within the book according to chapter:
Chapter 1: The Divine Origin of the Bible
Chapter 2: The Three Dispensations of Religion
Chapter 3: Jesus As Absolute King
Chapter 4: Establishment of the Church, or Kingdom, of Christ
Chapter 5: Conversion, Or The New Birth, From A Denominational Standpoint
Chapter 6: Conversion, Or The New Birth, From The New Testament Standpoint
Chapter 7: New Testament Examples Of Conversion, Or The New Birth
Chapter 8: The Evidence of Pardon
Chapter 9: The Three Baptisms of the New Testament
Chapter 10: The Different Links In The Chain Of Religion, Or Salvation
Chapter 11: The Importance, The Design, And The Subjects Of Baptism
Chapter 12: The Action of Baptism
Chapter 13: The Name Of The Church And Its Members
Chapter 14: The Government Of The Church
Chapter 15: The Discipline Of The Church
Chapter 16: The Work Of The Church
Chapter 17: The Worship Of The Church
Chapter 18: Instrumental Music In Christian Worship
Chapter 19: Christian Liberty
Chapter 20: Trine Immersion, Feet Washing, And The Holy Kiss
Chapter 21: The Keeping Of Days
Chapter 22: Divisions – Their Sinfulness, Their Cause, And Their Remedy
Chapter 23: The Origin Of The Clergy
Chapter 24: The Perpetuation Of The Clergy Through Theological Seminaries, Bible Schools, and Colleges
Chapter 25: The Church And The Lodge
Chapter 26: The Church Of Christ And Babylon
Chapter 27: The Family
Chapter 28: The Simple Life
Though Sommer does an excellent job addressing all of his topics, his comments regarding church discipline and forsaking the assembly are exceptional and highly recommended.
In short, in The Church of Christ, Sommer provides the type of teaching most of our congregations need to hear. Congregational teachers have gotten away from addressing many of these doctrinal issues and the result is a lack of understand and uniformity among our congregations. It is time for the Lord’s church to get back to addressing the basics and laying a strong foundation of faith upon which to build. It is our hope that this book will help fill the need of some of that teaching.