Benjamin Franklin (1812–1878) — named for his great-uncle, the Philadelphia printer and statesman — was an influential evangelist, editor, and debater, and ultimately a leading opponent of missionary societies and other agencies standing outside the local congregation.
Through the American Christian Review, founded in 1856 and known to its supporters as "Old Faithful," Franklin became by some accounts the most influential preacher and editor among the Disciples after Alexander Campbell's death. His objection to the societies was not administrative but ecclesiological: a body that had dismantled every authority above the congregation could not consistently build a new one and call it cooperation.
His conservatism shaped the young Daniel Sommer, who took over the Review in 1886 and carried the argument through to a call for open separation.
Relationships
-
Shaped and handed the American Christian Review to: Daniel Sommer
Sommer took over Franklin's American Christian Review in 1886 and pressed his objections toward formal separation.