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Christadelphians

January 18, 2023

The Christadelphians (/ˌkrɪstəˈdɛlfiənz/) or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries.[1] The movement developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century around the teachings of John Thomas, who coined the name Christadelphian[2][3] from the Greek words for Christ (Christos) and brothers (adelphoi).[4][5][6]

Basing their beliefs solely on the Bible, Christadelphians differ from mainstream Christianity in a number of doctrinal areas. For example, they reject the Trinity and the immortality of the soul, believing these to be corruptions of original Christian teaching. They were initially found predominantly in the developed English-speaking world, but expanded in developing countries after the Second World War. Congregations are traditionally referred to as "ecclesias".

History

19th century

Christadelphianism traces its origins to John Thomas (1805–1871), who emigrated from England to North America in 1832.[7] Following a near shipwreck he vowed to find out the truth about life and God through personal Biblical study.[7] Initially he sought to avoid the kind of sectarianism he had seen in England. In this he found sympathy with the rapidly emerging Restoration Movement in the United States at the time. This movement sought a reform based upon the Bible alone as a sufficient guide and rejected all creeds. However, this liberality eventually led to dissent as John Thomas developed his personal beliefs and began to question mainstream orthodox Christian beliefs. While the Restoration Movement accepted Thomas's right to have his own beliefs, when he started preaching that they were essential to salvation, it led to a fierce series of debates with a notable leader of the movement, Alexander Campbell. John Thomas believed that scripture, as God's word, did not support a multiplicity of differing beliefs, and challenged the leaders to continue with the process of restoring 1st-century Christian beliefs and correct interpretation through a process of debate. The history of this process appears in the book Dr. Thomas, His Life and Work (1873) by a Christadelphian, Robert Roberts.[8]

During this period of formulating his ideas John Thomas was baptised twice, the second time after renouncing the beliefs he previously held. He based his new position on a new appreciation for the reign of Christ on David's throne.[9] The abjuration of his former beliefs eventually led to the Restoration Movement disfellowshipping him when he toured England and they became aware of his abjuration in the United States of America.

 
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Elpis Israel

The Christadelphian community in the United Kingdom effectively dates from Thomas's first lecturing tour (May 1848 – October 1850). His message was particularly welcomed in Scotland, and Campbellite, Unitarian and Adventist friends separated to form groups of "Baptised Believers". Two thirds of ecclesias, and members, in Britain before 1864 were in Scotland.[10][11][12] In 1849, during his tour of Britain, he completed (a decade and a half before the name Christadelphian was conceived) Elpis Israel[13] in which he laid out his understanding of the main doctrines of the Bible. Since his medium for bringing change was print and debate, it was natural for the origins of the Christadelphian body to be associated with books and journals, such as Thomas's Herald of the Kingdom.

 
John Thomas

In his desire to seek to establish Biblical truth and test orthodox Christian beliefs through independent scriptural study he was not alone. Among other churches, he had links with the Adventist movement and with Benjamin Wilson (who later set up the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith in the 1860s). In terms of his rejection of the trinity, Thomas's views had certain similarities with Unitarianism which had developed in a formal way in Europe in the 16th century (although he formally described both Unitarianism and Socinianism as "works of the devil" for their failure to develop his doctrine of God-manifestation).[14][15]

Although the Christadelphian movement originated through the activities of John Thomas, he never saw himself as making his own disciples. He believed rather that he had rediscovered 1st century beliefs from the Bible alone,[16] and sought to prove that through a process of challenge and debate and writing journals. Through that process a number of people became convinced and set up various fellowships that had sympathy with that position. Groups associated with John Thomas met under various names, including Believers, Baptised Believers, the Royal Association of Believers, Baptised Believers in the Kingdom of God, Nazarines (or Nazarenes), and The Antipas[17] until the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865). At that time, church affiliation was required in the United States and in the Confederate States of America in order to register for conscientious objector status, and in 1864 Thomas chose for registration purposes the name Christadelphian.[2][3][4][5]

Through the teaching of John Thomas and the need in the American Civil War for a name, the Christadelphians emerged as a denomination, but they were formed into a lasting structure through a passionate follower of Thomas's interpretation of the Bible, Robert Roberts. In 1864, he began to publish The Ambassador of the Coming Age magazine. John Thomas, out of concern that someone else might start a publication and call it The Christadelphian, urged Robert Roberts to change the name of his magazine to The Christadelphian,[18][19] which he did in 1869. His editorship of the magazine continued with some assistance until his death in 1898. In church matters, Roberts was prominent in the period following the death of John Thomas in 1871, and helped craft the structures of the Christadelphian body.[20]

Initially, the denomination grew in the English-speaking world, particularly in the English Midlands and in parts of North America.[which?] In the early days after the death of John Thomas, the group could have moved in a number of directions. Doctrinal issues arose, debates took place, and statements of faith were created and amended as other issues arose. These attempts were felt necessary by many[according to whom?] to both settle and define a doctrinal stance for the newly emerging denomination and to keep out error. As a result of these debates, several groups separated from the main body of Christadelphians, most notably the Suffolk Street fellowship (with members believing that the whole of the Bible wasn't inspired) and the Unamended fellowship.

20th century

The Christadelphian position on conscientious objection came to the fore with the introduction of conscription during the First World War. Varying degrees of exemption from military service were granted to Christadelphians in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. In the Second World War, this frequently required the person seeking exemption to undertake civilian work under the direction of the authorities.

During the Second World War, the Christadelphians in Britain assisted in the Kindertransport, helping to relocate several hundred Jewish children away from Nazi persecution by founding a hostel, Elpis Lodge, for that purpose.[21][22] In Germany, the small Christadelphian community founded by Albert Maier went underground from 1940 to 1945, and a leading brother, Albert Merz, was imprisoned as a conscientious objector and later executed.[23]

After the Second World War, moves were taken to try to reunite various of the earlier divisions. By the end of the 1950s, most Christadelphians had united into one community, but there are still a number of small groups of Christadelphians who remain separate.

Today

The post-war and post-reunions periods saw an increase in co-operation and interaction between ecclesias, resulting in the establishment of a number of week-long Bible schools and the formation of national and international organisations such as the Christadelphian Bible Mission[24] (for preaching and pastoral support overseas), the Christadelphian Support Network[25] (for counselling), and the Christadelphian Meal-A-Day Fund (for charity and humanitarian work).

The period following the reunions was accompanied by expansion in the developing world, which now accounts for around 40% of Christadelphians.[26]

Beliefs

Due to the way the Christadelphian body is organised there is no central authority to establish and maintain a standardised set of beliefs and it depends upon what statement of faith is adhered to and how liberal the ecclesia is, but there are core doctrines most Christadelphians would accept. In the formal statements of faith a more complete list is found; for instance the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith has 30 doctrines to be accepted and 35 to be rejected.

The Bible

Christadelphians state that their beliefs[27] are based wholly on the Bible,[28] and they do not see other works as inspired by God.[29] They regard the Bible as inspired by God and, therefore, believe that in its original form, it is error-free apart from errors in later copies due to errors of transcription or translation.[30] Based on this, Christadelphians teach what they believe as true Bible teaching.[31][32]

God

Christadelphians believe that God, Jehovah,[33] is the creator of all things and the father of true believers,[34] that he is a separate being from his son, Jesus (who is subordinate to him),[35][36] and that the Holy Spirit is the power of God used in creation and for salvation.[37] They also believe that the phrase Holy Spirit sometimes refers to God's character/mind, depending on the context in which the phrase appears,[38] but reject the view that people need strength, guidance and power from the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life,[39] believing instead that the spirit a believer needs within themselves is the mind/character of God, which is developed in a believer by their reading of the Bible (which, they believe, contains words God gave by his Spirit) and trying to live by what it says during the events of their lives which God uses to help shape their character.[40][41]

 
Christadelphian Hall in Bath, United Kingdom

Jesus

Christadelphians believe that Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah, in whom the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament find their fulfilment.[36][42][43] They believe he is the Son of Man, in that he inherited human nature (with its inclination to sin) from his mother, and the Son of God by virtue of his miraculous conception by the power of God. Christadelphians also reject the doctrine of Christ's pre-existence. They teach that he was part of God's plans from the beginning and was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, but was no independent creature prior to his earthly birth.[36][42][44][45] Although he was tempted, Jesus committed no sin, and was therefore a perfect representative sacrifice to bring salvation to sinful humankind.[36][42][44] They believe that God raised Jesus from death and gave him immortality, and he ascended to Heaven, God's dwelling place.[42] Christadelphians believe that he will return to the Earth in person to set up the Kingdom of God in fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham and David.[46][47] This includes the belief that the coming Kingdom will be the restoration of God's first Kingdom of Israel, which was under David and Solomon.[48][49][50] For Christadelphians, this is the focal point of the gospel taught by Jesus and the apostles.

Devil

Christadelphians believe that the Satan or Devil is not an independent spiritual being or fallen angel. Devil is viewed as the general principle of evil and inclination to sin which resides in humankind. They believe that, dependent on the context, the term HaSatan in Hebrew merely means "opponent" or "adversary" and is frequently applied to human beings. Accordingly, they do not define Hell as a place of eternal torment for sinners, but as a State of Eternal Death; respectively, non-existence due to annihilation of body and mind.[51]

Salvation

Christadelphians believe that people are separated from God because of their sins but that humankind can be reconciled to him by becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.[52][53] This is by belief in the gospel, through repentance, and through baptism by total immersion in water.[53][54] They reject assurance of salvation, believing instead that salvation comes as a result of remaining "in Christ". After death, believers are in a state of non-existence, knowing nothing until the Resurrection at the return of Christ.[55] Following the judgement at that time, the accepted receive the gift of immortality, and live with Christ on a restored Earth, assisting him to establish the Kingdom of God and to rule over the mortal population for a thousand years (the Millennium).[56] Christadelphians believe that the Kingdom will be centred upon Israel, but Jesus Christ will also reign over all the other nations on the Earth.[57] Some unorthodox Christadelphians believe that the Kingdom itself is not worldwide but limited to the land of Israel promised to Abraham and ruled over in the past by David, with a worldwide empire.[58]

Life in Christ

 
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The Commandments of Christ

The Commandments of Christ demonstrates the community's recognition of the importance of biblical teaching on morality. Marriage and family life are important. Christadelphians believe that sexual relationships should be limited to heterosexual marriage, ideally between baptised believers.[59][60]

Organisation

General organisation

In the absence of centralised organisation, some differences exist amongst Christadelphians on matters of belief and practice. This is because each congregation (commonly styled 'ecclesias') is organised autonomously, typically following common practices which have altered little since the 19th century. Many avoid the word "church" due to its association with mainstream Christianity, and its focus on the building as opposed to the congregation. Most ecclesias have a constitution,[61] which includes a 'Statement of Faith', a list of 'Doctrines to be Rejected' and a formalised list of 'The Commandments of Christ'.[62] With no central authority, individual congregations are responsible for maintaining orthodoxy in belief and practice, and the statement of faith is seen by many as useful to this end. The statement of faith acts as the official standard of most ecclesias to determine fellowship within and between ecclesias, and as the basis for co-operation between ecclesias. Congregational discipline and conflict resolution are applied using various forms of consultation, mediation, and discussion, with disfellowship (similar to excommunication) being the final response to those with unorthodox practices or beliefs.[63]

The relative uniformity of organisation and practice is undoubtedly due to the influence of a booklet, written early in Christadelphian history by Robert Roberts, called A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias.[64] It recommends a basically democratic arrangement by which congregational members elect 'brothers' to arranging and serving duties,[65] and includes guidelines for the organisation of committees, as well as conflict resolution between congregational members and between congregations.[66] Christadelphians do not have paid ministers. Male members (and increasingly female in some places) are assessed by the congregation for their eligibility to teach and perform other duties, which are usually assigned on a rotation basis, as opposed to having a permanently appointed preacher. Congregational governance typically follows a democratic model, with an elected arranging committee for each individual ecclesia. This unpaid committee is responsible for the day-to-day running of the ecclesia and is answerable to the rest of the ecclesia's members.

Inter-ecclesial organisations co-ordinate the running of, among other things, Christadelphian schools[67] and elderly care homes, the Christadelphian Isolation League (which cares for those prevented by distance or infirmity from attending an ecclesia regularly) and the publication of Christadelphian magazines.

Adherents

No official membership figures are published, but the Columbia Encyclopaedia gives an estimated figure of 50,000 Christadelphians, spread across approximately 120 countries.[68] Estimates for the main centers of Christadelphian population are as follows: Mozambique (10,000),[69] Australia (9,734),[70] the United Kingdom (8,200),[71] Malawi (7,000),[72] United States (6,500),[73] Canada (3,000),[74] Kenya (2,700),[75] New Zealand (1,785),[76] and India (1,790),.[77] Figures from Christadelphian mission organisations are as follows: Africa (24,100),[78] Asia (4,000),[77] the Caribbean (400),[79] Europe (including Russia) (700),[80] Latin America (275),[79] and the Pacific (200).[77]

Fellowships

The Christadelphian body consists of a number of fellowships – groups of ecclesias which associate with one another, often to the exclusion of ecclesias outside their group. They are to some degree localised. The Unamended Fellowship, for example, exists only in North America. Christadelphian fellowships have often been named after ecclesias or magazines who took a lead in developing a particular stance.

The majority of Christadelphians today belong to what is commonly known as the Central Fellowship.[81] The term "Central" came into use around 1933 to identify ecclesias worldwide who were in fellowship with the Birmingham (Central) Ecclesia. These were previously known as the "Temperance Hall Fellowship". The "Suffolk Street Fellowship" arose in 1885 over disagreements surrounding the inspiration of the Bible. Meanwhile, in Australia, division concerning the nature of Jesus Christ resulted in the formation of the "Shield Fellowship". Discussions in 1957–1958 resulted in a worldwide reunion between the majority Christadelphians of the "Temperance Hall Fellowship" and the minority "Suffolk Street Fellowship", closely followed in Australia by the minority "Shield Fellowship".

The Unamended Fellowship, consisting of around 1,850 members, is found in the East Coast and Midwest USA and Ontario, Canada.[82] This group separated in 1898 as a result of differing views on who would be raised to judgement at the return of Christ. The majority of Christadelphians believe that the judgement will include anyone who had sufficient knowledge of the gospel message, and is not limited to baptised believers.[83] The majority in England, Australia and North America amended their statement of faith accordingly. Those who opposed the amendment became known as the "Unamended Fellowship" and allowed the teaching that God either could not or would not raise those who had no covenant relationship with him. Opinions vary as to what the established position was on this subject prior to the controversy.[84] Prominent in the formation of the Unamended Fellowship was Thomas Williams, editor of the Christadelphian Advocate magazine. The majority of the Unamended Fellowship outside North America joined the Suffolk Street fellowship before its eventual incorporation into Central fellowship. There is also some co-operation between the Central (Amended) and Unamended Fellowships in North America – most recently in the Great Lakes region, where numerous Amended and Unamended ecclesias are working together to unify their ecclesias. The "Central Fellowship" in North America is still often referred to today as the Amended Fellowship.

The Berean Fellowship was formed in 1923 as a result of varying views on military service in England, and on the atonement in North America. The majority of the North American Bereans re-joined the main body of Christadelphians in 1952. A number continue as a separate community, numbering around 200 in Texas, 100 in Kenya and 30 in Wales.[85] Most of the divisions still in existence within the Christadelphian community today stem from further divisions of the Berean Fellowship.[86]

 
Gate of the Christadelphian Cemetery near Hye, Texas

The Dawn Fellowship[87] are the result of an issue which arose in 1942 among the Berean Fellowship regarding divorce and remarriage. The stricter party formed the Dawn Fellowship who, following re-union on the basis of unity of belief with the Lightstand Fellowship in Australia in 2007 increased in number.[88] There are now thought to be around 800 members in England, Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Poland, the Philippines, Russia and Kenya.[89]

The Old Paths Fellowship[90] was formed in 1957 in response to the reunion of the Temperance Hall (Central) and Suffolk Street fellowships. A minority from the Temperance Hall (Central) fellowship held that the reasons for separation remained and that full unity of belief on all fundamental principles of Bible teaching was necessary; thus reunion was only possible with the full agreement and understanding of all members rather than a decision by majority vote. Ecclesias forming the Old Paths Fellowship arose in England, Australia, New Zealand and Canada numbering around 500 members in total. They now number around 250 members in total. They maintain that they hold to the original Central Fellowship position held prior to the 1957 Reunion.

Other fellowships (ranging in numbers from as few as 10 to over 200 members) include the Watchman Fellowship,[91] the Companion Fellowship[92] and the Pioneer Fellowship.[93]

According to Bryan Wilson, functionally the definition of a "fellowship" within Christadelphian history has been mutual or unilateral exclusion of groupings of ecclesias from the breaking of bread.[94] This functional definition still holds true in North America, where the Unamended Fellowship and the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith are not received by most North American Amended ecclesias. But outside North America this functional definition no longer holds. Many articles and books on the doctrine and practice of fellowship now reject the notion itself of separate "fellowships" among those who recognise the same baptism, viewing such separations as schismatic.[95] Many ecclesias in the Central fellowship would not refuse a baptised Christadelphian from a minority fellowship from breaking bread; the exclusion is more usually the other way.

 
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Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith

They tend to operate organisationally fairly similarly, although there are different emphases. Despite their differences, the Central, Old Paths, Dawn[96] and Berean[97] fellowships generally subscribe to the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith (BASF), though the latter two have additional clauses or supporting documents to explain their position. Most Unamended ecclesias use the Birmingham Unamended Statement of Faith (BUSF)[98] with one clause being different. Within the Central fellowship individual ecclesias also may have their own statement of faith, whilst still accepting the statement of faith of the larger community. Some ecclesias have statements around their positions, especially on divorce and re-marriage, making clear that offence would be caused by anyone in that position seeking to join them at the 'Breaking of Bread' service. Others tolerate a degree of divergence from commonly held Christadelphian views. While some communities of Christadelphian origin have viewed previous statements of faith as set in stone, others have felt it necessary to revise them in order to meet contemporary issues, update language or add supporting Biblical quotations.

For each fellowship, anyone who publicly assents to the doctrines described in the statement and is in good standing in their "home ecclesia" is generally welcome to participate in the activities of any other ecclesia.

Related groups

There are a number of groups who, while sharing a common heritage and many Christadelphian teachings, have adopted alternative names in order to dissociate themselves from what they believe to be false teachings and/or practice within the main Christadelphian body. Ranging in size from two or three members in size to around 50, each group restricts fellowship to its own members. These include the Nazarene Fellowship,[99] the Ecclesia of Christ, the Remnant of Christ's Ecclesia,[100] the Apostolic Fellowship of Christ [101] and the Apostolic Ecclesia.[102]

The Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith (CGAF) also has common origins with Christadelphians and shares Christadelphian beliefs.[103] Numbering around 400 (primarily Ohio and Florida, USA),[104] they are welcomed into fellowship by some "Central" Christadelphians and are currently involved in unity talks.

Similarities and differences with other Christians

Disagreement with some mainstream doctrines

Christadelphians reject a number of doctrines held by many other Christians,[105] notably the immortality of the soul (see also mortalism; conditionalism), trinitarianism,[35][38] the personal pre-existence of Christ,[36][38] the baptism of infants,[54] the personhood of the Holy Spirit,[35][36][37][38] the divinity of Jesus and the present-day possession of the Holy Spirit (both "gift of" and "gifts of") (see cessationism).[37][38][42] They believe that the word devil is a reference in the scriptures to sin and human nature in opposition to God, while the word satan is merely a reference to an adversary (be it good or bad). According to Christadelphians, these terms are used in reference to specific political systems or individuals in opposition or conflict. Hell (Hebrew: Sheol, Gehenna; Greek: Hades, Tartarus) is understood to refer exclusively to death and the grave, rather than being a place of everlasting torment (see also annihilationism).[44][106] Christadelphians do not believe that anyone will "go to Heaven" upon death. Instead, they believe that only Jesus Christ went to Heaven, and when he comes back to the Earth there will be a resurrection and God's Kingdom will be established on Earth, starting in the land of Israel.[49][50] Christadelphians believe the doctrines they reject were introduced into Christendom after the 1st century in large part through exposure to pagan Greek philosophy,[107] and cannot be substantiated from the Biblical texts.[35][36][38]

Other historical groups and individuals with some shared doctrines

See also: Baptist successionism

One criticism of the Christadelphian movement has been over the claim of John Thomas and Robert Roberts to have "re-discovered" scriptural truth.[108][109] However one might argue that all Protestant groups make the same claims to some extent. Although both men believed that they had "recovered" the true doctrines for themselves and contemporaries, they also believed there had always existed a group of true believers throughout the ages, albeit marred by the apostasy.[110][111][112]

The most notable Christadelphian attempts to find a continuity of those with doctrinal similarities since that point have been geographer Alan Eyre's two books The Protesters[113] (1975) and Brethren in Christ[114] (1982) in which he shows that many individual Christadelphian doctrines had been previously believed. Eyre focused in particular on the Radical Reformation, and also among the Socinians and other early Unitarians and the English Dissenters. In this way, Eyre was able to demonstrate substantial historical precedents for individual Christadelphian teachings and practices, and believed that the Christadelphian community was the 'inheritor of a noble tradition, by which elements of the Truth were from century to century hammered out on the anvil of controversy, affliction and even anguish'.[115] Although noting in the introduction to 'The Protestors' that 'Some recorded herein perhaps did not have "all the truth" — so the writer has been reminded',[115] Eyre nevertheless claimed that the purpose of the work was to 'tell how a number of little-known individuals, groups and religious communities strove to preserve or revive the original Christianity of apostolic times',[116] and that 'In faith and outlook they were far closer to the early springing shoots of first-century Christianity and the penetrating spiritual challenge of Jesus himself than much that has passed for the religion of the Nazarene in the last nineteen centuries'.[117]

Eyre's research has been criticized by some of his Christadelphian peers,[118] and as a result Christadelphian commentary on the subject has subsequently been more cautious and circumspect, with caveats being issued concerning Eyre's claims,[119][120] and the two books less used and publicised than in previous years.

Nevertheless, even with most source writings of those later considered heretics destroyed, evidence can be provided that since the first century BC there have been various groups and individuals who have held certain individual Christadelphian beliefs or similar ones. For example, all the distinctive Christadelphian doctrines (with the exception of the non-literal devil),[121] down to interpretations of specific verses, can be found particularly among sixteenth century Socinian writers (e.g. the rejection of the doctrines of the trinity, pre-existence of Christ, immortal souls, a literal hell of fire, original sin).[122][123] Early English Unitarian writings also correspond closely to those of Christadelphians.[124] Also, recent discoveries and research have shown a large similarity between Christadelphian beliefs and those held by Isaac Newton who, among other things, rejected the doctrines of the trinity, immortal souls, a personal devil and literal demons.[125] Further examples are as follows:[original research?]

Organised worship in England for those whose beliefs anticipated those of Christadelphians only truly became possible in 1779 when the Act of Toleration 1689 was amended to permit denial of the Trinity, and only fully when property penalties were removed in the Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813. This is only 35 years before John Thomas' 1849 lecture tour in Britain which attracted significant support from an existing non-Trinitarian Adventist base, particularly, initially, in Scotland where Arian, Socinian, and unitarian (with a small 'u' as distinct from the Unitarian Church of Theophilus Lindsey) views were prevalent.

Practices and worship

 
A sign showing the times of service for a Christadelphian ecclesia in Richmond, Va.

Christadelphians are organised into local congregations, that commonly call themselves ecclesias,[159] which is taken from usage in the New Testament[160] and is Greek for gathering of those summoned.[161] Congregational worship, which usually takes place on Sunday, centres on the remembrance of the death and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by the taking part in the "memorial service". Additional meetings are often organised for worship, prayer, preaching and Bible study.

Ecclesias are typically involved in preaching the gospel (evangelism) in the form of public lectures on Bible teaching,[162] college-style seminars on reading the Bible,[163] and Bible Reading Groups. Correspondence courses[164] are also used widely, particularly in areas where there is no established Christadelphian presence. Some ecclesias, organisations or individuals also preach through other media like video, Christadelphianvideo.org has the largest collection of video material - working in collaboration with central ecclesias from all over the world.[165] and internet forums.[166] There are also a number of Bible Education/Learning Centres around the world.[167]

Only baptised (by complete immersion in water) believers are considered members of the ecclesia. Ordinarily, baptism follows someone making a "good confession" (cf. 1 Tim. 6:12) of their faith before two or three nominated elders of the ecclesia they are seeking to join. The good confession has to demonstrate a basic understanding of the main elements – "first principles" – of the faith of the community. The children of members are encouraged to attend Christadelphian Sunday schools and youth groups. Interaction between youth from different ecclesias is encouraged through regional and national youth gatherings, conferences and camping holidays.

Christadelphians understand the Bible to teach that male and female believers are equal in God's sight, and also that there is a distinction between the roles of male and female members.[168] Women are typically not eligible to teach in formal gatherings of the ecclesia when male believers are present, are expected to cover their heads (using hat or scarf, etc.) during formal services, and do not sit on the main ecclesial arranging (organising) committees. They do, however: participate in other ecclesial and inter-ecclesial committees; participate in discussions; teach children in Sunday schools as well as at home, teach other women and non-members; perform music; discuss and vote on business matters; and engage in the majority of other activities. Generally, at formal ecclesial and inter-ecclesial meetings the women wear head coverings when there are acts of worship and prayer.

There are ecclesially accountable committees for co-ordinated preaching, youth and Sunday school work, conscientious objection issues, care of the elderly, and humanitarian work. These do not have any legislative authority, and are wholly dependent upon ecclesial support. Ecclesias in an area may regularly hold joint activities combining youth groups, fellowship, preaching, and Bible study.

Christadelphians refuse to participate in any military (and police forces) because they are conscientious objectors[169][170] (not to be confused with pacifists).

Most Christadelphians do not vote in political elections, as they take direction from Romans 13:1–4, which they interpret as meaning that God puts into power those leaders He deems worthy. To vote for a candidate that does not win an election would be considered to vote against God's will.[citation needed] To avoid risk of such conflict, most Christadelphians abstain from voting.

There is a strong emphasis on personal Bible reading and study[171] and many Christadelphians use the Bible Companion to help them systematically read the Bible each year.[172]

Hymnody and music

Main article: Christadelphian hymnals
 
The 2002 English language hymn book

Christadelphian hymnody makes considerable use of the hymns of the Anglican and English Protestant traditions (even in US ecclesias the hymnody is typically more English than American). In many Christadelphian hymn books a sizeable proportion of hymns are drawn from the Scottish Psalter and non-Christadelphian hymn-writers including Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, William Cowper and John Newton. Despite incorporating non-Christadelphian hymns however, Christadelphian hymnody preserves the essential teachings of the community.[173]

The earliest hymn book published was the "Sacred Melodist" which was published by Benjamin Wilson in Geneva, Illinois in 1860.[174] The next was the hymn book published for the use of Baptised Believers in the Kingdom of God (an early name for Christadelphians)[17] by George Dowie in Edinburgh in 1864.[175] In 1865 Robert Roberts published a collection of Scottish psalms and hymns called The Golden Harp (which was subtitled "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, compiled for the use of Immersed Believers in 'The Things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ'").[176] This was replaced only five years later by the first "Christadelphian Hymn Book" (1869), compiled by J. J. and A. Andrew,[177] and this was revised and expanded in 1874, 1932 and 1964. A thorough revision by the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association resulted in the latest (2002) edition[178] which is almost universally used by English-speaking Christadelphian ecclesias. In addition some Christadelphian fellowships have published their own hymn books.

Some ecclesias use the Praise the Lord songbook.[179] It was produced with the aim of making contemporary songs which are consistent with Christadelphian theology more widely available. Another publication, the "Worship" book[180] is a compilation of songs and hymns that have been composed only by members of the Christadelphian community. This book was produced with the aim of providing extra music for non-congregational music items within services (e.g. voluntaries, meditations, et cetera) but has been adopted by congregations worldwide and is now used to supplement congregational repertoire.

In the English-speaking world, worship is typically accompanied by organ or piano, though in recent years a few ecclesias have promoted the use of other instruments (e.g. strings, wind and brass as mentioned in the Psalms). This trend has also seen the emergence of some Christadelphian bands[181] and the establishment of the Christadelphian Art Trust to support performing, visual and dramatic arts within the Christadelphian community.

In other countries, hymn books have been produced in local languages,[182] sometimes resulting in styles of worship which reflect the local culture. It has been noted that Christadelphian hymnody has historically been a consistent witness to Christadelphian beliefs, and that hymnody occupies a significant role in the community.[183]

References

  1. ^ "BBC – Religions – Christianity: Christadelphians". Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b "The Christadelphians, or brethren in Christ ... The very name 'Christadelphian' was coined by the founder of the movement, John Thomas, at the time of the American Civil War principally to provide a distinctive nomenclature for the use of the civil authorities [...] At the time of the American Civil War, Thomas coined a name for his followers: Christadelphian – brethren in Christ. The exigencies of the situation in which the civil authorities had sought to impress men into the armed forces had accelerated the tendency for those religious bodies objecting to military service to become more definite in their teaching and conditions of membership." Bryan R. Wilson, Sects and Society (London: William Heinemann, 1961), p. 219, 238
  3. ^ a b "Christadelphians (or Brethren in Christ) ... Congress had exempted from war service the members of any religious body which was conscientiously opposed to bearing arms. In order to go upon record in a manner that would secure this exemption, the name [Christadelphian] was adopted and certified to by Dr. Thomas, in August or September, 1864." 'Christadelphians' in John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature Supplement, Volume 1 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1889), p. 937
  4. ^ a b Thomas preferred the name Brethren in Christ, but settled on Christadelphian. He once wrote in a letter, "I did not know a better denomination that would be given to such a class of believers, than Brethren in Christ. This declares their true status; and, as officials prefer words to phrases, the same fact expressed in another form by the word Christadelphians, or Christou Adelphoi, Christ's Brethren. This matter settled to their [i.e., the civil authorities'] satisfaction ... " (Carter, John (May 1955). "Our Name". The Christadelphian. 92: 181.).
  5. ^ a b "... conscientious objectors had to demonstrate membership in a recognized religious group that prohibited participation in war activity ... Hence in 1864, Thomas settled on the name 'Christadelphian' (from the Greek for "Brethren in Christ") in order that his adherents might provide the necessary credentials for exemption from military service." Charles H. Lippy, The Christadelphians in North America (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1989), p. 52
  6. ^ Vincent L. Milner, Hannah Adams Religious denominations of the world 1875 "CHRISTADELPHIANS. (BRETHREN OF CHRIST.) The distinctive name Christadelphian is derived from two Greek words — Christos (Christ) and Adelphos (brother) — and has been chosen as a fit representation of the intimate spiritual connection ....2, "To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ."
  7. ^ a b "Dr Thomas: His Life and Work. Chapter 3: Emigration to America". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  8. ^ "Dr Thomas: His Life and Work". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  9. ^ "Faith In The Last Days". Antipas.org. 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  10. ^ Wilson, AB op cit
  11. ^ Evans, Christmas. The Christadelphian 1956–63
  12. ^ Norrie, William "Early History of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in Britain" Earlston 1904. Available online 2015-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ John Thomas, Elpis Israel: an exposition of the Kingdom of God with reference to the time of the end and the age to come (London: 1849). Available online
  14. ^ Thomas, J. (1869). Phanerosis: An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Old and New Testaments, concerning the Manifestation of the Invisible Eternal God in Human Nature. Birmingham: published by Robert Roberts, p. 11.
  15. ^ See History of Unitarianism
  16. ^ 'The Lecturer [John Thomas] commenced by denying a statement which had appeared in many of the London and country newspapers, and amongst them, one made by a religious Editor in this town, to the effect that he assumed to himself the true, infallible, prophetic character, as one sent from God, verbatim. He would appeal to his writings – and he had written a great deal in twelve years – and to his speeches, whether he had ever claimed to be such, in the remotest degree whatever. He believed truth as it was taught in the scriptures of truth...' "The Destinies of the Cities, Countries, and Empires". Nottingham Mercury. Nottingham, UK. 13 July 1849.
  17. ^ a b Peter Hemingray, John Thomas: His Friends and His Faith 2003 p. 235
  18. ^ Bryan R. Wilson, Sects and Society (London: William Heinemann, 1961), p. 241
  19. ^ The Christadelphian is published by The Christadelphian Magazine & Publishing Association Ltd (Birmingham, UK)
  20. ^ . Andrew Wilson writes of Roberts that "The organising ability of Robert Roberts was very important: he gave the movement its rules, institutions and much of its literature". Andrew Wilson, History of the Christadelphians 1864–1885: the emergence of a denomination 1997 p.399.
  21. ^ . Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 27 January 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  22. ^ Morrell, Leslie. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  23. ^ April 1941 in Berlin.Bogner, Gustav. Geschichte der Christadelphians in Deutschland (2) http://www.projekt-glauben.de/?p=205[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ "History". Christadelphian Bible Mission UK. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  25. ^ "About". Christadelphian Support Network. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  26. ^ Based on figures from CBM Worldwide Guide 2006, Christadelphian Bible Mission (UK), 2006
  27. ^ See, e.g., the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ "About us".
  29. ^ Bull, Mike. The Bible—The Word of God. Hyderabad: Printland Publishers. ISBN 81-87409-52-5.
  30. ^ . Christadelphia.org. Archived from the original on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  31. ^ . Truebibleteaching.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  32. ^ . Truebibleteaching.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  33. ^ Roberts, Robert (1672). The Meaning of the Christadelphian Movement as Apparent in the Report [by R. Roberts] of a Four Days gathering of Christadelphians ... in Birmingham, Etc. United Kingdom. p. 67.
  34. ^ Drabbenstott, Mark (2000). God Our Father. Hyderabad: Printland Publishers. ISBN 81-87409-64-9.
  35. ^ a b c d Flint, James; Deb Flint. One God or a Trinity?. Hyderabad: Printland Publishers. ISBN 81-87409-61-4.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g Jesus: God the Son or Son of God?. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  37. ^ a b c Tennant, Harry. The Holy Spirit—Bible Understanding of God's Power. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  38. ^ a b c d e f Broughton, James H.; Peter J Southgate. . UK: The Dawn Book Supply. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011.
  39. ^ Whittaker, Edward; Carr, Reg. 'Spirit' in the New Testament. The Testimony., p. 117,132,145
  40. ^ Pearce, Graham. The Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit Gifts. Logos., p. 27-29. Also see the collated quotations from various other Christadelphian authors in pp. 71–83 of Pearce's book.
  41. ^ 'I believe that the Holy Spirit is the only Authoritative, infallible, efficient, and sufficient teacher of the Christian religion, in all its parts. If I be asked, what is the manner in which he teaches this religion, I reply in the same way that all teachers convey instruction to their pupils; by words, either spoken or written. ... Now Paul says that the sacred Scriptures are able to make us wise to salvation, by the faith (or gospel) which is through Jesus Christ. What more do we want than wisdom in relation to this matter? If the sacred Scriptures are able to make us wise, we need no other instrumentality. The Holy Spirit by the word, without infusing a single idea into it more than it actually and ordinarily contains, and without any collateral influence, teaches us all wisdom and knowledge that is necessary ...' John Thomas, The Apostasy Unveiled, as quoted in G. Pearce, The Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit Gifts, pp. 71–2
  42. ^ a b c d e Zilmer, Paul. Who is Jesus?. Hyderabad: Printland Publishers. ISBN 81-87409-68-1.
  43. ^ Tennant, Harry. Christ in the Old Testament: Israel's True Messiah. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  44. ^ a b c Do You Believe in a Devil?. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  45. ^ . Archived from the original on 2013-01-08. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  46. ^ Wilson, Sheila. The End of the World: Horror Story—or Bible Hope?. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  47. ^ Scott, Malcolm. Christ is Coming Again!. Hyderabad: Printland Publishers. ISBN 81-87409-34-7.
  48. ^ Morgan, Tecwyn. Christ is Coming! Bible teaching about his return. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  49. ^ a b Hughes, Stephen. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth!. Hyderabad: Printland Publishers. ISBN 81-87409-55-X.
  50. ^ a b Owen, Stanley. The Kingdom of God on Earth: God's plan for the world. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  51. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  52. ^ Watkins, Peter. The Cross of Christ. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  53. ^ a b Flint, James; Deb Flint. Salvation. Hyderabad: Printland Publishers.
  54. ^ a b Why Baptism Really Matters: What must we do to be saved?. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  55. ^ After Death – What?. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  56. ^ Resurrection & Judgement. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  57. ^ M. Israel: God's People, God's Land. Birmingham, UK: CMPA.
  58. ^ See What is the true Gospel?, available online
  59. ^ . Archived from the original on 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  60. ^ Homosexuality and the Church: Bible Answers to Moral Questions (Birmingham: Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association). Available online
  61. ^ Example: Constitution of the Birmingham Christadelphian Ecclesia, Midland Institute c.1932-onwards
  62. ^ This list as published by The Christadelphian Magazine contains 53 paraphrases of Bible verses which were originally read weekly as part of the service at Temperance Hall ecclesia. Other versions, of unconfirmed origin, exist with the list expanded to 100 including some verses justifying division.
  63. ^ Robert Roberts, A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias (Birmingham: 1883), Sections 32, 35–36
  64. ^ Robert Roberts, A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias (Birmingham: 1883). Available online
  65. ^ Robert Roberts, A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias (Birmingham: 1883), Sections 17–27
  66. ^ Robert Roberts, A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias (Birmingham: 1883), Sections 35–38, 41–42
  67. ^ For example: Christadelphian Heritage College, Cooranbong and Christadelphian Heritage College Sydney, Kemps Creek.
  68. ^ 'Christadelphians' July 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, The Columbia Encyclopedia
  69. ^ "Africa". Christadelphian Bible Mission UK. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  70. ^ Census of Population and Housing: Census article - Religious affiliation in Australia, 2021 https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/2021/Census%20article%20-%20Religious%20affiliation%20in%20Australia.xlsx
  71. ^ The Christadelphian Tidings, October 2019, back cover. https://tidings.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tidings-2019-10-Oct-647973.pdf 2020-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
  72. ^ "Malawi". Christadelphian Bible Mission UK. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  73. ^ . The Columbia Encyclopedia. Education.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28.
  74. ^ "2011 National Household Survey - Data Tables". Statistics Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  75. ^ "Kenya". Christadelphian Bible Mission UK. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  76. ^ 2006 Census figures from Statistics New Zealand 2013-11-15 at the Wayback Machine (link opens Excel file)
  77. ^ a b c . Archived from the original on 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  78. ^ "Christadelphian Bible Mission UK".
  79. ^ a b "Christadelphian Bible Mission of the Americas".
  80. ^ "Christadelphian Bible Mission UK - Europe".
  81. ^ The first use of the term "Birmingham (Central) fellowship" in The Christadelphian magazine was in volume 70, 1933, p. 376.
  82. ^ Verified figure, Ecclesial Directory 2006. Parts of grouping currently involved in unity talks with Central.
  83. ^ The Sydney Ecclesia, Australia had already "disfellowshipped" 10 members for denying this in 1883. The Christadelphian Magazine 1884, ecclesial news p.90 and editorial comment p.382
  84. ^ For example: Website claiming views held by Amended community were original Christadelphian beliefs Versus Website 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine claiming views held by Unamended community were original Christadelphian beliefs.
  85. ^ . Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  86. ^ Phillips, Jim, The Berean Christadelphians: Why the Bereans? From the Formation of the Bereans to the Restatement (1923–1960), Our last 30 Years
  87. ^ Andrew Longman (2007-01-05). "The Dawn Christadelphian Homepage". Dawnchristadelphian.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
     • . Dawnchristadelphians.org. Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  88. ^ The Dawn Christadelphian Magazine, January 2008
  89. ^ Estimate undergoing review. Please see Talk pages – on the Discussion tab at page head
  90. ^ "Old Paths Fellowship (Australia)". Gospeltruth.info. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
     • "Old Paths Fellowship (UK)". Christadelphians.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  91. ^ "Christadelphian Watchman Fellowship". Christadelphian-watchman-fellowship.org.
  92. ^ "Companion Christadelphians". Companion Christadelphians. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  93. ^ "Pioneer Christadelphians". Pioneer Christadelphians. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  94. ^ See Wilson op.cit.
  95. ^ Oates & Pearce Fellowship and Withdrawal (doc) 1957
     • H.A. Whittaker Block Disfellowship? (doc) articles from Testimony Magazine 1973
     • "Biblical Fellowship". Christadelphianbooks.org. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
     • Perry, Andrew. Fellowship Matters, Willow publications, 2nd edition, 1996
  96. ^ . Dawn Christadelphians. Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  97. ^ Bereans.org BASF 2013-06-19 at the Wayback Machine With some exceptions including the Lampasas Texas Berean Ecclesia. Some have an amendment in the Doctrines to be Rejected which prohibits a person being a police constable.
  98. ^ Birmingham Unamended Statement of Faith. Available online 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
  99. ^ The Nazarene Fellowship[permanent dead link]
  100. ^ . Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  101. ^ "The Apostolic Fellowship of Christ".
  102. ^ "The Apostolic Ecclesia".
  103. ^ . Archived from the original on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  104. ^ From CGAF directory.
  105. ^ Doctrines to be Rejected, retrieved August 29, 2012
  106. ^ Doctrines to be Rejected—an appendix to the Christadelphian Statement of Faith
  107. ^ Answering Common Questions about the Christadelphians from Christadelphian Info
  108. ^ Christendom Astray, Robert Roberts, written 1862, Lecture 1: 'Do you mean to say, asks the incredulous enquirer, that the Bible has been studied by men of learning for eighteen centuries without being understood? and that the thousands of ministers set apart for the very purpose of ministering in its holy pages are all mistaken?' (He then goes on to suggest that social conditioning, self interest by the clergy and an incomplete reformation prevented its rediscovery.)
  109. ^ In an article 'A Glance at The History and Mystery of Christadelphianism', a contemporary of John Thomas, David King, from the Restoration Movement 1881, argues that a complete losing of truth would have been unlikely. Available online
  110. ^ 'An arrangement of this sort was absolutely necessary for the preservation and protection of the One Body, witnessing for the truth against "the worshipping of the daemonials and idols", in the midst of the nations, and "before the God of the earth;" the weapons of whose warfare were civil disabilities, and the infernal tortures of anti-heretical crusaders and inquisitions.', John Thomas, 'Eureka' (1915 edition), volume 2, chapter 11, section 2.1
  111. ^ 'Thus, the history of the ages and the generations of the unmeasured Court is in strict harmony with this prophecy of the witnesses. For a period considerably over a thousand years after Rome renounced its old gods for the ghosts, dry bones, and fables of the catholic superstition, the Spirit had provided himself with Two Witnessing Classes, to whose custody he providentially committed the truth, and its judicial vindication by fire and sword.', John Thomas, 'Eureka', volume 2, chapter 11, section 2.2
  112. ^ 'Though the apostles died, their work continued, and the generation of believers that went to the grave with them were succeeded by other believers who maintained the integral structure of the temple of God, founded in Europe. True, the work was marred and corrupted by the apostasy of the mass: still, a real work—a real temple, existed, consisting of the remnant of true believers preserved by God as His witnesses in the midst of the prevailing corruption.', Robert Roberts, 'Thirteen Lectures On The Apocalypse' (4th edition 1921), page 98
  113. ^ "The Protesters Contents". Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  114. ^ "Brethren In Christ Contents Contents". Antipas.org. 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  115. ^ a b Alan Eyre, 'The Protestors', page 8 (1975)
  116. ^ Alan Eyre, 'The Protestors', page 11 (1975)
  117. ^ Alan Eyre, 'The Protestors', pages 11–12 (1975)
  118. ^ E.g., both of Eyre's works were criticized by Ruth McHaffie 'Finding Founders and Facing Facts' (2001), in which evidence was presented suggesting that Eyre had misread a number of his sources, and that some his claims could not be supported from (and were often contradicted by) the available historical evidence. Also see James Andrews, Ferenc Dávid and the search for Bible truth in Transylvania
  119. ^ 'But some, though having neither time nor opportunity to search archives, knew enough to realise that the claims were exaggerated, however praiseworthy the intention. Moreover, misgivings increased as the years passed and when members examined the subject more closely for themselves. As explained in the November 1993 issue of The Endeavour Magazine, Brother Ron Coleman in 1986, when preparing an address for the Oxford ecclesia to commemorate the 450th anniversary of William Tyndale's death, not only sought information from The Protesters but also from Tyndale's own writings. He was surprised to find serious misrepresentations in our community's publication.', Ruth McHaffie, 'Finding Founders And Facing Facts' (2001), page 8
  120. ^ 'In 1989 when an article by Brother Alan appeared in The Christadelphian containing a number of inaccuracies on the hymn writer Isaac Watts, editor of The Christadelphian, and subsequently corresponded with Alan in the manner which becomes Brethren. Scholarly evidence to disprove Ron's criticisms was not forthcoming with regard to either Tyndale or Watts, and the editor was requested to publish a short note of amendment on both writers, but there appears to have been no response.', Ruth McHaffie, 'Finding Founders And Facing Facts', (2001), page 8
  121. ^ Rees, Thomas. (1818). The Racovian Catechism: With Notes and Illustrations, Translated from the Latin; to which is Prefixed a Sketch of the History of Unitarianism in Poland and the Adjacent Countries, p. 7.
  122. ^ Pope, Hugh (1912). "Socinianism". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company – via New Advent.
  123. ^ 'Socinianism' in Ologies & -Isms (The Gale Group, 2008). Available online
  124. ^ See, e.g., Joseph Cottle, Essays on Socinianism (London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1850), p. 10; Edward Hare, The principal doctrines of Christianity defended against the errors of Socinianism (New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), p. 37
  125. ^ Snobelen, Stephen D. (1999). (PDF). British Journal for the History of Science. 32 (4): 381–419. doi:10.1017/S0007087499003751. S2CID 145208136. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-07.
  126. ^ The Christadelphian understanding of Daniel 12:2, etc.
     • 'Barr is surely right to stress that the Genesis story as it now stands indicates that humans were not created immortal, but had (and lost) the chance to gain unending life.', Wright, 'The Resurrection of the Son of God', p. 92 (2003); Wright himself actually interprets some passages of Scripture as indicating alternative beliefs, 'The Bible offers a spectrum of belief about life after death', Wright, 'The Resurrection of the Son of God', p. 129 (2003)
     • 'In contrast to the two enigmatic references to Enoch and Elijah, there are ample references to the fact that death is the ultimate destiny for all human beings, that God has no contact with or power over the dead, and that the dead do not have any relationship with God (see, inter alia, Ps. 6:6, 30:9–10, 39:13–14, 49:6–13, 115:16–18, 146:2–4). If there is a conceivable setting for the introduction of a doctrine of the afterlife, it would be in Job, since Job, although righteous, is harmed by God in the present life. But Job 10:20–22 and 14:1–10 affirm the opposite.', Gillman, 'Death and Afterlife, Judaic Doctrines Of', in Neusner, 'The Encyclopedia of Judaism', volume 1, p. 176 (2000)
     • ' "Who knows whether the breath of human beings rises up and the breath of an animal sinks down to the earth?" (Eccles 3:21). In Qohelet's day there were perhaps people who were speculating that human beings would enjoy a positive afterlife, as animals would not. Qohelet points out that there is no evidence for this.', Goldingay, 'Old Testament Theology', volume 2, p. 644 (2006)
     • 'The life of a human being came more directly from God, and it is also evident that when someone dies, the breath (rûaḥ, e.g., Ps 104:29) or the life (nepeš, e.g., Gen 35:18) disappears and returns to the God who is rûaḥ. And whereas the living may hope that the absence of God may give way again to God's presence, the dead are forever cut off from God's presence.241 Death means an end to fellowship with God and to fellowship with other people. It means an end to the activity of God and the activity of other people. Even more obviously, it means an end to my own activity. It means an end to awareness.', ibid., p. 640
  127. ^ 'In the first place, there have not been a few, both in ancient and modern times, who have maintained the truth of a "Conditional Immortality".', McConnell, 'The Evolution of Immortality', p. 84 (1901).
     • 'At the same time there have always been isolated voices raised in support of other views. There are hints of a belief in repentance after death, as well as conditional immortality and annihilationism.', Streeter, et al., 'Immortality: An Essay in Discovery, Co-Ordinating Scientific, Psychical, and Biblical Research', p. 204 (1917)
     • 'Many biblical scholars down throughout history, looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes, have denied the teaching of innate immortality.', Knight, 'A brief history of Seventh-Day Adventists', p. 42 (1999)
     • 'Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier in Baptist history as well. Several examples illustrate this claim. General as well as particular Baptists developed versions of annihilationism or conditional immortality.', Pool, 'Against returning to Egypt: Exposing and Resisting Credalism in the Southern Baptist Convention', p. 133 (1998)
  128. ^ 'However, Strack and Billerbeck, noted authorities on Rabbinic literature, suggest that the pseudepigraphal references to eternal punishment simply denote everlasting annihilation. See Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch (Munchen: C.H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Oskar Beck, 1928), 2:1096.', Fudge, 'The Old Testament', in Fudge & Peterson, 'Two views of hell: a biblical & theological dialogue', p. 210 (2000)
     • 'Psalms of Solomon 3:11–12; Sybilline Oracles 4:175–85; 4 Ezra 7:61; Pseudo-Philo 16:3. Other presumed annihilation texts may be found in Fudge, The Fire That Consumes, 125–54', Walvoord, 'The Metaphorical View', in Crockett & Hayes (eds.), 'Four Views on Hell', p. 64 (1997).
  129. ^ 'Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish as well as his colleague Rabbi Yannai, said that there is no such thing as the popular concept of a hell, gehinnom, lasting a long time, but that at the time when G'd passes out judgment the wicked will be burned', Chananel, et al., 'Hut ha-meshulash', p. 183 (2003)
     • 'Thus we have one Rabbi denying the very existence of hell. "There is no hell in the future world," says R. Simon ben Lakish.', Darmesteter, 'The Talmud', p. 52 (2007)
  130. ^ Edward Fudge, Robert A. Peterson Two views of hell: a biblical & theological dialogue p184
  131. ^ 'Some have believed in the annihilation of the wicked after they should have undergone just punishment proportioned to their sins. This supposition has had a considerable number of advocates. It was maintained, among others, by Arnobius, at the close of the 3rd century, by the Socini, by Dr. Hammond, and by some of the New England divines.', Alger, 'The Destiny of the Soul: A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life', p. 546 (14th ed. 1889).
     • 'The theory of annihilationism in which the wicked pass into nonexistence either at death or the resurrection was first advanced by Arnobius, a 4th-century "Christian" apologist, according to standard reference works such as Baker's Dictionary of Theology (p. 184).', Morey, 'Death and the Afterlife', p. 199 (1984)
     • 'Already in the fourth century Arnobius taught the annihilation of the wicked.', Hoekama, 'The Bible and the Future', p. 266 (1994)
  132. ^ 'others arose in Arabia, putting forward a doctrine foreign to the truth. They said that during the present time the human soul dies and perishes with the body, but that at the time of the resurrection they will be renewed together.', Eusebius (a contemporary), 'Ecclesiastical History' (6.37.1), NPNF2 1:297
     • 'It is unclear if Arabian thnetopsychism ['soul death'] is related to the Syriac tradition of the soul's dormition [sleep] espoused by writers like Aphrahat (d. ca. 345), Ephrem (d. 373), and Narsai (d. 502), according to whom the souls of the dead are largely inert, having lapsed into a state of sleep, in which they can only dream of their future reward or punishments.', Constas, '"To Sleep, Perchance to Dream": The Middle State of Souls in Patristic and Byzantine Literature', in Talbot (ed.), 'Dunbarton Oaks Papers', No. 55, p. 110 (2001)
     • 'Gouillard notes that variations of thnetopsychism ['soul death'] and hypnopsychism ['soul sleep'] existed alongside the views of the official church until the 6th century when they were resoundingly denounced by Eustratios.', ibid., p. 111.
     • 'Thnetopsychism ['soul death'] continued to challenge the patience and ingenuity of church officials, as evidenced by writers such as John the Deacon, Niketas Stethatos, Philip Monotropos (Dioptra, pp. 210, 220), and Michael Glykas, all of whom are keenly interested in the survival of consciousness and memory among the souls of the departed saints. John the Deacon, for example, attacks those who "dare to say that praying to the saints is like shouting in the ears of the deaf, as if they had drunk from the mythical waters of Oblivion" (line 174).', Murray, 'Symbols of church and kingdom: a study in early Syriac tradition', p. 111 (2006)
     • 'The Syriac tradition of the soul's "sleep in the dust" (Job 21:26), with its links to the Old Testament and Jewish apocalyptic, stands as a corrective to overly Hellenized views of the afterlife, and was canonized at a Nestorian synod in the 8th century (786–787) presided over by Timothy I (d. 823), who rejected anything else as blatant Origenism.', ibid., p. 111.
     • 'In virtually every period of Byzantine history, critical voices denied that the souls of the dead could involve themselves in the affairs of the living or intercede on their behalf in heaven. Based on a more unitive, materialist notion of the self as irreducibly embodied, some thinkers argued that the souls of the dead (sainted or otherwise) were largely inert, having lapsed into a state of cognitive oblivion and psychomotor lethargy, a condition sometimes described as a state of "sleep" in which the soul could only "dream" of its future punishment or heavenly reward. Still others argued for the outright death of the soul, which, they claimed, was mortal and perished with the body, and which would be recreated together with the body only on the day of resurrection.', Constas, '"To Sleep, Perchance to Dream": The Middle State of Souls in Patristic and Byzantine Literature', in Talbot (ed.), 'Dunbarton Oaks Papers', No. 55, p. 94 (2001)
     • 'Till the end of the sixth century and beyond, Christians in Nisibis and Constantinople, Syria and Arabia adduced Leviticus 17:11 which states that "The soul of the whole flesh is the blood" to argue that the soul after death sank into non-existence, that it lost its sensibility and stayed inert in the grave together with the body.', Samellas, 'Death in the eastern Mediterranean (50–600 AD.): the Christianization of the East: An Interpretation', Studien Und Text Zu Antike Und Christentum, pp. 55–56 (2002)
  133. ^ 'The doctrine of the 'sleep of the soul' after death, a Syrian tradition held in common with Ephrem, Narsai and others', Murray, 'Symbols of church and kingdom: a study in early Syriac tradition', p. 279 (2006)
  134. ^ 'On the subject of the fate of souls after death. Aphrahat insists – as does Ephrem – "that as yet no one has received his reward. For the righteous have not inherited the Kingdom, nor have the wicked gone into torment" (8.22; fc. 20). At present, the dead simply "sleep" in their graves, which are collectively referred to as Sheol, or the underworld. Their capabilities for activity and experience are, apparently, almost non-existent, "for when people die, the animal spirit is buried with the body and sense is taken away from it, but the heavenly spirit they receive [i.e. the Holy Spirit, given in baptism] goes, according to its nature, to Christ" (6.14). Aphrahat, however, seems to ascribe to the dead a kind of anticipatory consciousness of their own future which is akin to dreaming in earthly sleep.', Daley, 'The hope of the early church: a handbook of patristic eschatology', p. 73 (1991)
     • 'The wicked will be sent back to Sheol, the real of Death under the world (22.17.24; cf. 6.6), where they will be punished in the measure and the way that their sins deserve – some in "outer darkness," others in unquenchable fire, others by simple exclusion from the presence of God (22.18–22).', ibid., p. 73.
  135. ^ 'Ephrem, too, conceives of the time between our death and the second coming of Jesus as a "sleep," a period of inactivity in virtually every aspect of human existence. Because his anthropology is more highly developed than Aphrahat's, and because he is so insistent – in contrast to Bardaisan and other earlier, more dualistic Syriac writers – that the human person needs both body and soul to be functional, Ephrem seems to imagine that this sleep as [sic] deprived even of the "dreaming" Aphrahat mentions. For Ephrem, the soul without the body is "bound," "paralyzed" (CN 476.6); it is like an embryo in its mother's womb or like a blind or deaf person: "living, but deprived of word and thought" (HP 8.4–6).', ibid., p. 74
     • 'Because of his insistence on the positive role of the body in human life and its necessity for a full human existence (e.g., CN 47.4), Ephrem sees eschatological reward and punishment as delayed until the resurrection of the dead. Resurrection will begin when souls are "awakened" from their sleep by the angel's trumpet and the commanding voice of God (CN 49.16f.).', ibid., p. 75
     • 'Ephrem's picture of Gehenna is less detailed and more traditional than his picture of heaven. The damned there seem to suffer most from their awareness that they have lost all hope sharing in beauty and happiness (HP 2.3f.; 7.29).', ibid., p. 76
  136. ^ 'Following in the tradition of Ephrem and Aphrahat, as well as that of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Narsai assumes that the souls of the dead do not receive the reward or punishment for their deeds until they are reunited with their bodies in the resurrection; until then, they must all wait in Sheol, the earthly place of the dead, in a state of conscious but powerless inactivity that Narsai refers to as a "sleep."', ibid., p. 174
     • 'The Nestorian Narsai described the soul and the body as a pair of inseparable lovers who could not live the one without the other. From the moment that her lover deserted her, he recounts, nephesh lost her speech and fell into a deep slumber. In spite of this, even in this state of forced inertia, she maintained her essential characteristics: her galloping intellect, her acute judgement, the emotions that open up a view in the world. The reason that all her faculties had ceased to function is that they had no more any purpose to serve, since the body for the sake of which they operated was no longer there. Nephesh recovered her sentience and her speech at the end of time when, together with the body, she rose to give an account for her deeds. Till then she felt no pain or joy. The vague knowledge she had of what was in store for her scarcely disturbed her peaceful sleep.', Samellas, 'Death in the eastern Mediterranean (50–600 AD.): the Christianization of the East: An Interpretation', Studien Und Text Zu Antike Und Christentum, pp. 56–57 (2002)
  137. ^ '"Isaac," too, is convinced that the final reward and punishment for human deeds awaits the resurrection (e.g., Bedjan 724.4 from bottom). Then those who died in "peace and quiet" with the lord will find eternal peace (Bedjan 276.15), while sinners will be banished to a darkness far away from God (Bedjan 117f.). Gehenna, the kingdom of the demons (Bedjan 203.4 from bottom), is a place of fire, and on the day of judgment this fire will burst forth from the bodies of the damned (Bedjan 73.4.; 118.3–7). Until the resurrection, the dead must wait in Sheol, which the author seems to imagine as a collective grave (Bedjan 366.3 from bottom; 368.5; 369.4). Some passages in the corpus suggest that the dead continue to act, in Sheol, as they have during life (e.g., Bedjan 90.13; 366.10–18). Others declare that action for good or ill is no longer possible after death (e.g., Bedjan 392.4 from bottom), and even envisage Sheol, before the judgment, as a place of fire ruled over by Satan (Bedjan 93.4f.).', Daley, 'The hope of the early church: a handbook of patristic eschatology', pp. 174–175 (1991)
  138. ^ 'His eschatology remains within the Syriac tradition. Thus he speaks often of death in personified terms, as the captor of an enslaved human race or as an insatiable glutton; although Sheol, where the dead now exist, is a dark place of sleep. Jacob also describes the experience of death as a dangerous journey across a sea of fire.', Daley, 'The hope of the early church: a handbook of patristic eschatology', p. 175 (1991)
     • 'On the influence of hypnopsychism on the theology of Jacob of Sarug see M. D. Guinan, "Where are the dead? Purgatory and Immediate Retribution in James of Sargu," in Symposium Syriacum 1972, pp. 546–549.', Samellas, 'Death in the eastern Mediterranean (50–600 AD.): the Christianization of the East: An Interpretation', Studien Und Text Zu Antike Und Christentum, p. 56 (2002)
  139. ^ 'But Ibn Ezra held that the souls of the wicked perish with their bodies.', Davidson, 'The Doctrine of Last Things Contained in the New Testament, Compared With Notions of the Jews and the Statements of Church Creeds', p. 139 (1882)
  140. ^ 'Maimonides claims that since the greatest punishment would be to lose one's immortal soul, the souls of the wicked are destroyed along with their bodies.', Rudavsky, 'Maimonides', p. 105 (2010)
  141. ^ 'Maimonides' views are reasserted by Joseph Albo (1380–1444) in his Book of Principles.', ibid., p. 206.
  142. ^ 'During the pre-Reformation period, there seems to be some indication that both Wycliffe and Tyndale taught the doctrine of soul sleep as the answer to the Catholic teachings of purgatory and masses for the dead.', Morey, 'Death and the Afterlife', p. 200 (1984)
  143. ^ 'He has written at length on psychopannychism, the doctrine of soul sleep, widely held in the sixteenth century by such diverse figures as Camillo Renato, Michael Sattler, and for a while, Martin Luther.', Williams, Petersen, & Pater (eds.), 'The contentious triangle: church, state, and university: a festschrift in Honor of Professor George Huntston Williams', Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, volume 2, p. (1999)
     • 'It appears that Sattler came to hold the doctrine of psychopannychism, or sleep of the soul', Snyder, The life and thought of Michael Sattler', p. 130 (1984)
  144. ^ 'Many who became Anabaptists also believed that the soul is not naturally immortal but "sleeps" between death and the final resurrection. Some affirmed, further, that only the righteous would be resurrected, while the unrighteous would simply remain dead. Many denied hell. The Venice Synod affirmed soul sleep and rejected hell (ibid., pp. 871–72).', Finger, 'A contemporary Anabaptist theology: biblical, historical, constructive', p. 42 (2004)
  145. ^ 'The belief that the soul goes to sleep at the death of the body to await eventual resurrection was held by both Martin Luther and William Tyndale', Watts, 'The Dissenters: From the Reformation to the French Revolution', p. 119 (1985)
  146. ^ a b Hagner, "Jewish Christianity", in Martin & Davids (eds.), 'Dictionary of the later New Testament and its developments' (2000)
  147. ^ Wright, "Ebionites", in Martin & Davids (eds.), 'Dictionary of the later New Testament and its developments' (2000)
  148. ^ 'They called Jesus the Son of God (→ Christological Titles 3.3), accepted his virgin birth, but rejected his preexistence as God', Merkel, 'Nazarene', in ), Fahlbusch & Bromiley (eds.), 'Encyclopedia of Christianity', volume 3, p. 714 (1993–2003)
  149. ^ 'He came from Byzantium to Rome under Pope *Victor (c.189–198), proclaiming that Jesus was a man who was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism and thus became Christ. He was excommunicated by Victor. His disciples, who were known as 'Theodotians', included his namesake, 'Theodotus the Money-changer' (early 3rd cent.)', Cross & Livingstone (eds.), 'The Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church', p. 1614 (3rd ed. rev. 2005)
  150. ^ 'Adoptionist heretic. He is mentioned twice by *Eusebius, who says that *Paul of Samosata revived his heresy (HE 5. 28 and 7. 30. 16 f.)', ibid., p. 113
  151. ^ 'It is clear that in his Christology Paul was an *Adoptianist, holding that in the Incarnation the Word descended on and dwelt in the man Jesus, who thus became 'Son of God'.', ibid., p. 1250
  152. ^ R.P.C. Hanson (1916–1988), Lightfoot Professor of Divinity The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, 318–381 (9780801031465): 1973 "Christ, Photinus said, did not exist before Adam, but Adam before Christ. The sayings about Christ's celestial origins do not refer to his person, but to his teaching and his character."
  153. ^ Wulfert De Greef The writings of John Calvin: an introductory guide 2008 p253 "Lelio Sozzini's Brevis explicatio in primum Johannis caput appeared in 1561, which marked the beginning of the Socinian phase among the Italian..."
  154. ^ R. K. Webb "Miracles in English Unitarian Thought" Essay, chapter 6 in ed. Mark S. Micale, Robert L. Dietle, Peter Gay Enlightenment, passion, modernity: historical essays in European Thought and Culture 2007 p120
  155. ^ The Baptist theologian John Gill (1697–1771) acknowledged that early Jewish teachers interpreted 'satan' as a reference to the natural inclination people have to sin, the 'evil imagination'; "...they often say, "Satan, he is the evil imagination", or corruption of nature...", Gill on 12 Corinthians 12:7 in An Exposition of the New Testament
  156. ^ Carus P. History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil
  157. ^ Snobelen, Stephen (2004). (PDF). In Force, J.E.; Hutton, S. (eds.). Newton and Newtonianism. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-07.
  158. ^ An attempt to shew that the opinion concerning the devil or satan, as a fallen angel, and that he tempts men to sin, hath no real foundation in scripture. By William Ashdowne. 1791, printed by J. Grove; and sold by Johnson, in St. Paul's Church-yard; Marsom, bookseller, Holborn; Bristow, Canterbury; and Ledger, Dover (Canterbury)
  159. ^ "Who are the Christadelphians?".
  160. ^ e.g. see Greek of Acts 5:11; 7:38
  161. ^ Ecclesia. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 3 February 2009.
  162. ^ Examples of lecture titles on Handsworth Christadelphians 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine website
  163. ^ For example: Learn to Read the Bible Effectively
  164. ^ For example: This is Your Bible
  165. ^ For example: https://ChristadelphianVideo.org videos and the Christadelphians of Southern California's videos 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. Podcasts, For example: Bible Truth Feed 1000's of bible related audio files Bible Truth FeedSearch for Hope podcasts.
  166. ^ For example: [ Bible Truth Discussion Forum
  167. ^ For example, the Solihull Bible Learning Centre 2012-01-13 at the Wayback Machine (UK); Castle Hill Bible Education Centre, Sydney (Aus.); Urbana Bible Education Center, Champaign County, Illinois (USA); Durban Bible Education Centre (SA). There are also other BECs in SA, Cambodia and India 2012-01-11 at the Wayback Machine.
  168. ^ Ashton, Michael, Women Priests? The Bible Answer to the Current Debate, Birmingham: CMPA
  169. ^ Norris, Alfred. The Gospel and Strife. Birmingham, UK: Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association.
  170. ^ Watkins, Peter. War and Politics: The Christian's Duty. Birmingham, UK: Christadelphian Auxiliary Lecturing Society.
  171. ^ 'They are characterized by holding a firm belief in the inspired status of the Bible and place enormous emphasis upon biblical study', Evans, John S, 'The Prophecies of Daniel 2', page 251, USA:Xulon Press (2008)
     • 'Christadelphian devotion centers on daily Bible study and weekly meetings', page 421, Fahlbusch, Erwin and Bromiley, Geoffrey W, 'The Encyclopedia of Christianity', USA:Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (1999)
     • 'Christadelphians are devoted students of the Bible, which they believe to be the infallible and inerrant word of God', Edwards, Linda, 'A Brief Guide to Beliefs', page 421, USA:Westminster John Knox Press (2001)
     • 'Daily Bible study is enjoined', Powles, Lilian V, 'The Faith and Practice of Heretical Sects', page 23, Michigan:Mothers' Union (1962)
  172. ^ "The BBC Website". Bbc.co.uk. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  173. ^ 'Hymnody was an important part of Christadelphianism from its beginning, and, along with the journal, The Christadelphian, gave independent ecclesias a broader fellowship. Hymns reflected the essential doctrines and principles of their faith. These principles were anti-Trinitarianism. They also believed that God would establish his kingdom on Earth through the return of Jesus to reign a thousand years in Jerusalem', Wesley Roberts, Professor of Music, Campbellsville University, Kentucky, in the magazine 'Hymn', July 1997
  174. ^ Hocking, Rachel (2000). (Thesis). The University of New South Wales, Sydney. Archived from the original on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  175. ^ Andrew Wilson, History of the Christadelphians 1864–1885: the emergence of a denomination 1997 p. 326
  176. ^ Peter Hemingray, John Thomas: His Friends and His Faith 2003 p. 195
  177. ^ Ambassador of the Coming Age Vol. 6, P. 148
  178. ^ "Hymn Books". Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  179. ^ Praise the Lord (Hoddesdon Christadelphian Service, 1993, 2000)
  180. ^ "Worship". Worship Book Committee, NCC, 2008, 2010. Theworshipbook.com.
  181. ^ An example is the Christadelphian folk rock band Fisher's Tale (albeit this is a witness project as opposed to being for the purpose of church worship)
  182. ^ e.g. Liedboek van de Broeders in Christus (Netherlands, circa 1980)
  183. ^ 'Considering the scope of hymnic literature by Christadelphians, we might conclude that few branches of Christianity can claim such a close relationship between hymn writing and their own religious development, and such a high percentage of hymnists in their membership. As their hymns become better known, this close relationship will reveal that the heritage and faith of Christadelphians has been enhanced through a strong emphasis on hymnody, from their beginnings to the present day', Wesley Roberts, Professor of Music, Campbellsville University, Kentucky, in the magazine 'Hymn', July 1997

Further reading

  • Bibliography of Christadelphians
  • Fred Pearce, Who are the Christadelphians? Introducing a Bible Based Community (Birmingham: CMPA). Available https://www.thechristadelphian.com/resources/read-booklets-online/who-are-the-christadelphians/ online]
  • Stephen Hill, The Life of Brother John Thomas – 1805 to 1871 (2006).
  • Peter Hemingray, John Thomas, His Friends and His Faith (Canton, Michigan: The Christadelphian Tidings, 2003, ISBN 81-7887-012-6).
  • Andrew R. Wilson, The History of the Christadelphians 1864–1885 The Emergence of a Denomination (Shalom Publications, 1997, ISBN 0-646-22355-0).
  • Charles H. Lippy, The Christadelphians in North America, Studies in American Religion Volume 43 (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1989, ISBN 0-88946-647-5). 1-895605-32-6.
  • Lorri MacGregor, Christadelphians & Christianity (Nelson, B.C.: MacGregor Ministries, 1989, ISBN 1-895605-32-6).
  • Robert Roberts, Christendom Astray: Popular Christianity (Both in Faith and Practice) Shewn [sic] to Be Unscriptural, and the True Nature of the Ancient Apostolic Faith Exhibited: Eighteen Lectures [on Christadelphian doctrine], Originally Published as 'Twelve Lectures on the True Teaching of the Bible' (Birmingham, Eng.: C.C. Walker, 1932).
  • Harry Tennant, The Christadelphians: What they believe and preach (Birmingham, England: The Christadelphian, 1986, ISBN 0-85189-119-5). Also titled What the Bible Teaches (see 'CMPA Bookshop).
  • Bryan R. Wilson, Sects and Society: A Sociological Study of the Elim Tabernacle, Christian Science and Christadelphians (London: Heinemann, 1961; Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1961).
  • BBC article, "Religion & Ethics—Christianity: Subdivisions: Christadelphians". Available online.
  • Rachel Hocking, A Study of Christadelphian Hymnody: Singing with the Spirit and with the Understanding, 2000. Available

External links

 
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Christadelphians
 
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January 18, 2023
christadelphians, christadelphianism, restorationist, millenarian, christian, group, hold, view, biblical, unitarianism, there, approximately, around, countries, movement, developed, united, kingdom, north, america, 19th, century, around, teachings, john, thom. The Christadelphians ˌ k r ɪ s t e ˈ d ɛ l f i en z or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism There are approximately 50 000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries 1 The movement developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century around the teachings of John Thomas who coined the name Christadelphian 2 3 from the Greek words for Christ Christos and brothers adelphoi 4 5 6 Basing their beliefs solely on the Bible Christadelphians differ from mainstream Christianity in a number of doctrinal areas For example they reject the Trinity and the immortality of the soul believing these to be corruptions of original Christian teaching They were initially found predominantly in the developed English speaking world but expanded in developing countries after the Second World War Congregations are traditionally referred to as ecclesias Contents 1 History 1 1 19th century 1 2 20th century 1 3 Today 2 Beliefs 2 1 The Bible 2 2 God 2 3 Jesus 2 4 Devil 2 5 Salvation 2 6 Life in Christ 3 Organisation 3 1 General organisation 3 2 Adherents 3 3 Fellowships 3 4 Related groups 4 Similarities and differences with other Christians 4 1 Disagreement with some mainstream doctrines 4 2 Other historical groups and individuals with some shared doctrines 5 Practices and worship 5 1 Hymnody and music 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksHistory Edit19th century Edit Christadelphianism traces its origins to John Thomas 1805 1871 who emigrated from England to North America in 1832 7 Following a near shipwreck he vowed to find out the truth about life and God through personal Biblical study 7 Initially he sought to avoid the kind of sectarianism he had seen in England In this he found sympathy with the rapidly emerging Restoration Movement in the United States at the time This movement sought a reform based upon the Bible alone as a sufficient guide and rejected all creeds However this liberality eventually led to dissent as John Thomas developed his personal beliefs and began to question mainstream orthodox Christian beliefs While the Restoration Movement accepted Thomas s right to have his own beliefs when he started preaching that they were essential to salvation it led to a fierce series of debates with a notable leader of the movement Alexander Campbell John Thomas believed that scripture as God s word did not support a multiplicity of differing beliefs and challenged the leaders to continue with the process of restoring 1st century Christian beliefs and correct interpretation through a process of debate The history of this process appears in the book Dr Thomas His Life and Work 1873 by a Christadelphian Robert Roberts 8 During this period of formulating his ideas John Thomas was baptised twice the second time after renouncing the beliefs he previously held He based his new position on a new appreciation for the reign of Christ on David s throne 9 The abjuration of his former beliefs eventually led to the Restoration Movement disfellowshipping him when he toured England and they became aware of his abjuration in the United States of America Wikisource has original text related to this article Elpis Israel The Christadelphian community in the United Kingdom effectively dates from Thomas s first lecturing tour May 1848 October 1850 His message was particularly welcomed in Scotland and Campbellite Unitarian and Adventist friends separated to form groups of Baptised Believers Two thirds of ecclesias and members in Britain before 1864 were in Scotland 10 11 12 In 1849 during his tour of Britain he completed a decade and a half before the name Christadelphian was conceived Elpis Israel 13 in which he laid out his understanding of the main doctrines of the Bible Since his medium for bringing change was print and debate it was natural for the origins of the Christadelphian body to be associated with books and journals such as Thomas s Herald of the Kingdom John Thomas In his desire to seek to establish Biblical truth and test orthodox Christian beliefs through independent scriptural study he was not alone Among other churches he had links with the Adventist movement and with Benjamin Wilson who later set up the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith in the 1860s In terms of his rejection of the trinity Thomas s views had certain similarities with Unitarianism which had developed in a formal way in Europe in the 16th century although he formally described both Unitarianism and Socinianism as works of the devil for their failure to develop his doctrine of God manifestation 14 15 Although the Christadelphian movement originated through the activities of John Thomas he never saw himself as making his own disciples He believed rather that he had rediscovered 1st century beliefs from the Bible alone 16 and sought to prove that through a process of challenge and debate and writing journals Through that process a number of people became convinced and set up various fellowships that had sympathy with that position Groups associated with John Thomas met under various names including Believers Baptised Believers the Royal Association of Believers Baptised Believers in the Kingdom of God Nazarines or Nazarenes and The Antipas 17 until the time of the American Civil War 1861 1865 At that time church affiliation was required in the United States and in the Confederate States of America in order to register for conscientious objector status and in 1864 Thomas chose for registration purposes the name Christadelphian 2 3 4 5 Through the teaching of John Thomas and the need in the American Civil War for a name the Christadelphians emerged as a denomination but they were formed into a lasting structure through a passionate follower of Thomas s interpretation of the Bible Robert Roberts In 1864 he began to publish The Ambassador of the Coming Age magazine John Thomas out of concern that someone else might start a publication and call it The Christadelphian urged Robert Roberts to change the name of his magazine to The Christadelphian 18 19 which he did in 1869 His editorship of the magazine continued with some assistance until his death in 1898 In church matters Roberts was prominent in the period following the death of John Thomas in 1871 and helped craft the structures of the Christadelphian body 20 Initially the denomination grew in the English speaking world particularly in the English Midlands and in parts of North America which In the early days after the death of John Thomas the group could have moved in a number of directions Doctrinal issues arose debates took place and statements of faith were created and amended as other issues arose These attempts were felt necessary by many according to whom to both settle and define a doctrinal stance for the newly emerging denomination and to keep out error As a result of these debates several groups separated from the main body of Christadelphians most notably the Suffolk Street fellowship with members believing that the whole of the Bible wasn t inspired and the Unamended fellowship 20th century Edit The Christadelphian position on conscientious objection came to the fore with the introduction of conscription during the First World War Varying degrees of exemption from military service were granted to Christadelphians in the United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand and the United States In the Second World War this frequently required the person seeking exemption to undertake civilian work under the direction of the authorities During the Second World War the Christadelphians in Britain assisted in the Kindertransport helping to relocate several hundred Jewish children away from Nazi persecution by founding a hostel Elpis Lodge for that purpose 21 22 In Germany the small Christadelphian community founded by Albert Maier went underground from 1940 to 1945 and a leading brother Albert Merz was imprisoned as a conscientious objector and later executed 23 After the Second World War moves were taken to try to reunite various of the earlier divisions By the end of the 1950s most Christadelphians had united into one community but there are still a number of small groups of Christadelphians who remain separate Today Edit The post war and post reunions periods saw an increase in co operation and interaction between ecclesias resulting in the establishment of a number of week long Bible schools and the formation of national and international organisations such as the Christadelphian Bible Mission 24 for preaching and pastoral support overseas the Christadelphian Support Network 25 for counselling and the Christadelphian Meal A Day Fund for charity and humanitarian work The period following the reunions was accompanied by expansion in the developing world which now accounts for around 40 of Christadelphians 26 Beliefs EditDue to the way the Christadelphian body is organised there is no central authority to establish and maintain a standardised set of beliefs and it depends upon what statement of faith is adhered to and how liberal the ecclesia is but there are core doctrines most Christadelphians would accept In the formal statements of faith a more complete list is found for instance the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith has 30 doctrines to be accepted and 35 to be rejected The Bible Edit Christadelphians state that their beliefs 27 are based wholly on the Bible 28 and they do not see other works as inspired by God 29 They regard the Bible as inspired by God and therefore believe that in its original form it is error free apart from errors in later copies due to errors of transcription or translation 30 Based on this Christadelphians teach what they believe as true Bible teaching 31 32 God Edit Christadelphians believe that God Jehovah 33 is the creator of all things and the father of true believers 34 that he is a separate being from his son Jesus who is subordinate to him 35 36 and that the Holy Spirit is the power of God used in creation and for salvation 37 They also believe that the phrase Holy Spirit sometimes refers to God s character mind depending on the context in which the phrase appears 38 but reject the view that people need strength guidance and power from the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life 39 believing instead that the spirit a believer needs within themselves is the mind character of God which is developed in a believer by their reading of the Bible which they believe contains words God gave by his Spirit and trying to live by what it says during the events of their lives which God uses to help shape their character 40 41 Christadelphian Hall in Bath United Kingdom Jesus Edit Christadelphians believe that Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah in whom the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament find their fulfilment 36 42 43 They believe he is the Son of Man in that he inherited human nature with its inclination to sin from his mother and the Son of God by virtue of his miraculous conception by the power of God Christadelphians also reject the doctrine of Christ s pre existence They teach that he was part of God s plans from the beginning and was foreshadowed in the Old Testament but was no independent creature prior to his earthly birth 36 42 44 45 Although he was tempted Jesus committed no sin and was therefore a perfect representative sacrifice to bring salvation to sinful humankind 36 42 44 They believe that God raised Jesus from death and gave him immortality and he ascended to Heaven God s dwelling place 42 Christadelphians believe that he will return to the Earth in person to set up the Kingdom of God in fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham and David 46 47 This includes the belief that the coming Kingdom will be the restoration of God s first Kingdom of Israel which was under David and Solomon 48 49 50 For Christadelphians this is the focal point of the gospel taught by Jesus and the apostles Devil Edit Christadelphians believe that the Satan or Devil is not an independent spiritual being or fallen angel Devil is viewed as the general principle of evil and inclination to sin which resides in humankind They believe that dependent on the context the term HaSatan in Hebrew merely means opponent or adversary and is frequently applied to human beings Accordingly they do not define Hell as a place of eternal torment for sinners but as a State of Eternal Death respectively non existence due to annihilation of body and mind 51 Salvation Edit Christadelphians believe that people are separated from God because of their sins but that humankind can be reconciled to him by becoming disciples of Jesus Christ 52 53 This is by belief in the gospel through repentance and through baptism by total immersion in water 53 54 They reject assurance of salvation believing instead that salvation comes as a result of remaining in Christ After death believers are in a state of non existence knowing nothing until the Resurrection at the return of Christ 55 Following the judgement at that time the accepted receive the gift of immortality and live with Christ on a restored Earth assisting him to establish the Kingdom of God and to rule over the mortal population for a thousand years the Millennium 56 Christadelphians believe that the Kingdom will be centred upon Israel but Jesus Christ will also reign over all the other nations on the Earth 57 Some unorthodox Christadelphians believe that the Kingdom itself is not worldwide but limited to the land of Israel promised to Abraham and ruled over in the past by David with a worldwide empire 58 Life in Christ Edit Wikisource has original text related to this article The Commandments of Christ The Commandments of Christ demonstrates the community s recognition of the importance of biblical teaching on morality Marriage and family life are important Christadelphians believe that sexual relationships should be limited to heterosexual marriage ideally between baptised believers 59 60 Organisation EditGeneral organisation Edit In the absence of centralised organisation some differences exist amongst Christadelphians on matters of belief and practice This is because each congregation commonly styled ecclesias is organised autonomously typically following common practices which have altered little since the 19th century Many avoid the word church due to its association with mainstream Christianity and its focus on the building as opposed to the congregation Most ecclesias have a constitution 61 which includes a Statement of Faith a list of Doctrines to be Rejected and a formalised list of The Commandments of Christ 62 With no central authority individual congregations are responsible for maintaining orthodoxy in belief and practice and the statement of faith is seen by many as useful to this end The statement of faith acts as the official standard of most ecclesias to determine fellowship within and between ecclesias and as the basis for co operation between ecclesias Congregational discipline and conflict resolution are applied using various forms of consultation mediation and discussion with disfellowship similar to excommunication being the final response to those with unorthodox practices or beliefs 63 The relative uniformity of organisation and practice is undoubtedly due to the influence of a booklet written early in Christadelphian history by Robert Roberts called A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias 64 It recommends a basically democratic arrangement by which congregational members elect brothers to arranging and serving duties 65 and includes guidelines for the organisation of committees as well as conflict resolution between congregational members and between congregations 66 Christadelphians do not have paid ministers Male members and increasingly female in some places are assessed by the congregation for their eligibility to teach and perform other duties which are usually assigned on a rotation basis as opposed to having a permanently appointed preacher Congregational governance typically follows a democratic model with an elected arranging committee for each individual ecclesia This unpaid committee is responsible for the day to day running of the ecclesia and is answerable to the rest of the ecclesia s members Inter ecclesial organisations co ordinate the running of among other things Christadelphian schools 67 and elderly care homes the Christadelphian Isolation League which cares for those prevented by distance or infirmity from attending an ecclesia regularly and the publication of Christadelphian magazines Adherents Edit No official membership figures are published but the Columbia Encyclopaedia gives an estimated figure of 50 000 Christadelphians spread across approximately 120 countries 68 Estimates for the main centers of Christadelphian population are as follows Mozambique 10 000 69 Australia 9 734 70 the United Kingdom 8 200 71 Malawi 7 000 72 United States 6 500 73 Canada 3 000 74 Kenya 2 700 75 New Zealand 1 785 76 and India 1 790 77 Figures from Christadelphian mission organisations are as follows Africa 24 100 78 Asia 4 000 77 the Caribbean 400 79 Europe including Russia 700 80 Latin America 275 79 and the Pacific 200 77 Fellowships Edit The Christadelphian body consists of a number of fellowships groups of ecclesias which associate with one another often to the exclusion of ecclesias outside their group They are to some degree localised The Unamended Fellowship for example exists only in North America Christadelphian fellowships have often been named after ecclesias or magazines who took a lead in developing a particular stance The majority of Christadelphians today belong to what is commonly known as the Central Fellowship 81 The term Central came into use around 1933 to identify ecclesias worldwide who were in fellowship with the Birmingham Central Ecclesia These were previously known as the Temperance Hall Fellowship The Suffolk Street Fellowship arose in 1885 over disagreements surrounding the inspiration of the Bible Meanwhile in Australia division concerning the nature of Jesus Christ resulted in the formation of the Shield Fellowship Discussions in 1957 1958 resulted in a worldwide reunion between the majority Christadelphians of the Temperance Hall Fellowship and the minority Suffolk Street Fellowship closely followed in Australia by the minority Shield Fellowship The Unamended Fellowship consisting of around 1 850 members is found in the East Coast and Midwest USA and Ontario Canada 82 This group separated in 1898 as a result of differing views on who would be raised to judgement at the return of Christ The majority of Christadelphians believe that the judgement will include anyone who had sufficient knowledge of the gospel message and is not limited to baptised believers 83 The majority in England Australia and North America amended their statement of faith accordingly Those who opposed the amendment became known as the Unamended Fellowship and allowed the teaching that God either could not or would not raise those who had no covenant relationship with him Opinions vary as to what the established position was on this subject prior to the controversy 84 Prominent in the formation of the Unamended Fellowship was Thomas Williams editor of the Christadelphian Advocate magazine The majority of the Unamended Fellowship outside North America joined the Suffolk Street fellowship before its eventual incorporation into Central fellowship There is also some co operation between the Central Amended and Unamended Fellowships in North America most recently in the Great Lakes region where numerous Amended and Unamended ecclesias are working together to unify their ecclesias The Central Fellowship in North America is still often referred to today as the Amended Fellowship The Berean Fellowship was formed in 1923 as a result of varying views on military service in England and on the atonement in North America The majority of the North American Bereans re joined the main body of Christadelphians in 1952 A number continue as a separate community numbering around 200 in Texas 100 in Kenya and 30 in Wales 85 Most of the divisions still in existence within the Christadelphian community today stem from further divisions of the Berean Fellowship 86 Gate of the Christadelphian Cemetery near Hye Texas The Dawn Fellowship 87 are the result of an issue which arose in 1942 among the Berean Fellowship regarding divorce and remarriage The stricter party formed the Dawn Fellowship who following re union on the basis of unity of belief with the Lightstand Fellowship in Australia in 2007 increased in number 88 There are now thought to be around 800 members in England Australia Canada India Jamaica Poland the Philippines Russia and Kenya 89 The Old Paths Fellowship 90 was formed in 1957 in response to the reunion of the Temperance Hall Central and Suffolk Street fellowships A minority from the Temperance Hall Central fellowship held that the reasons for separation remained and that full unity of belief on all fundamental principles of Bible teaching was necessary thus reunion was only possible with the full agreement and understanding of all members rather than a decision by majority vote Ecclesias forming the Old Paths Fellowship arose in England Australia New Zealand and Canada numbering around 500 members in total They now number around 250 members in total They maintain that they hold to the original Central Fellowship position held prior to the 1957 Reunion Other fellowships ranging in numbers from as few as 10 to over 200 members include the Watchman Fellowship 91 the Companion Fellowship 92 and the Pioneer Fellowship 93 According to Bryan Wilson functionally the definition of a fellowship within Christadelphian history has been mutual or unilateral exclusion of groupings of ecclesias from the breaking of bread 94 This functional definition still holds true in North America where the Unamended Fellowship and the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith are not received by most North American Amended ecclesias But outside North America this functional definition no longer holds Many articles and books on the doctrine and practice of fellowship now reject the notion itself of separate fellowships among those who recognise the same baptism viewing such separations as schismatic 95 Many ecclesias in the Central fellowship would not refuse a baptised Christadelphian from a minority fellowship from breaking bread the exclusion is more usually the other way Wikisource has original text related to this article Birmingham Amended Statement of FaithThey tend to operate organisationally fairly similarly although there are different emphases Despite their differences the Central Old Paths Dawn 96 and Berean 97 fellowships generally subscribe to the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith BASF though the latter two have additional clauses or supporting documents to explain their position Most Unamended ecclesias use the Birmingham Unamended Statement of Faith BUSF 98 with one clause being different Within the Central fellowship individual ecclesias also may have their own statement of faith whilst still accepting the statement of faith of the larger community Some ecclesias have statements around their positions especially on divorce and re marriage making clear that offence would be caused by anyone in that position seeking to join them at the Breaking of Bread service Others tolerate a degree of divergence from commonly held Christadelphian views While some communities of Christadelphian origin have viewed previous statements of faith as set in stone others have felt it necessary to revise them in order to meet contemporary issues update language or add supporting Biblical quotations For each fellowship anyone who publicly assents to the doctrines described in the statement and is in good standing in their home ecclesia is generally welcome to participate in the activities of any other ecclesia Related groups Edit There are a number of groups who while sharing a common heritage and many Christadelphian teachings have adopted alternative names in order to dissociate themselves from what they believe to be false teachings and or practice within the main Christadelphian body Ranging in size from two or three members in size to around 50 each group restricts fellowship to its own members These include the Nazarene Fellowship 99 the Ecclesia of Christ the Remnant of Christ s Ecclesia 100 the Apostolic Fellowship of Christ 101 and the Apostolic Ecclesia 102 The Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith CGAF also has common origins with Christadelphians and shares Christadelphian beliefs 103 Numbering around 400 primarily Ohio and Florida USA 104 they are welcomed into fellowship by some Central Christadelphians and are currently involved in unity talks Similarities and differences with other Christians EditDisagreement with some mainstream doctrines Edit Christadelphians reject a number of doctrines held by many other Christians 105 notably the immortality of the soul see also mortalism conditionalism trinitarianism 35 38 the personal pre existence of Christ 36 38 the baptism of infants 54 the personhood of the Holy Spirit 35 36 37 38 the divinity of Jesus and the present day possession of the Holy Spirit both gift of and gifts of see cessationism 37 38 42 They believe that the word devil is a reference in the scriptures to sin and human nature in opposition to God while the word satan is merely a reference to an adversary be it good or bad According to Christadelphians these terms are used in reference to specific political systems or individuals in opposition or conflict Hell Hebrew Sheol Gehenna Greek Hades Tartarus is understood to refer exclusively to death and the grave rather than being a place of everlasting torment see also annihilationism 44 106 Christadelphians do not believe that anyone will go to Heaven upon death Instead they believe that only Jesus Christ went to Heaven and when he comes back to the Earth there will be a resurrection and God s Kingdom will be established on Earth starting in the land of Israel 49 50 Christadelphians believe the doctrines they reject were introduced into Christendom after the 1st century in large part through exposure to pagan Greek philosophy 107 and cannot be substantiated from the Biblical texts 35 36 38 Other historical groups and individuals with some shared doctrines Edit See also Baptist successionism One criticism of the Christadelphian movement has been over the claim of John Thomas and Robert Roberts to have re discovered scriptural truth 108 109 However one might argue that all Protestant groups make the same claims to some extent Although both men believed that they had recovered the true doctrines for themselves and contemporaries they also believed there had always existed a group of true believers throughout the ages albeit marred by the apostasy 110 111 112 The most notable Christadelphian attempts to find a continuity of those with doctrinal similarities since that point have been geographer Alan Eyre s two books The Protesters 113 1975 and Brethren in Christ 114 1982 in which he shows that many individual Christadelphian doctrines had been previously believed Eyre focused in particular on the Radical Reformation and also among the Socinians and other early Unitarians and the English Dissenters In this way Eyre was able to demonstrate substantial historical precedents for individual Christadelphian teachings and practices and believed that the Christadelphian community was the inheritor of a noble tradition by which elements of the Truth were from century to century hammered out on the anvil of controversy affliction and even anguish 115 Although noting in the introduction to The Protestors that Some recorded herein perhaps did not have all the truth so the writer has been reminded 115 Eyre nevertheless claimed that the purpose of the work was to tell how a number of little known individuals groups and religious communities strove to preserve or revive the original Christianity of apostolic times 116 and that In faith and outlook they were far closer to the early springing shoots of first century Christianity and the penetrating spiritual challenge of Jesus himself than much that has passed for the religion of the Nazarene in the last nineteen centuries 117 Eyre s research has been criticized by some of his Christadelphian peers 118 and as a result Christadelphian commentary on the subject has subsequently been more cautious and circumspect with caveats being issued concerning Eyre s claims 119 120 and the two books less used and publicised than in previous years Nevertheless even with most source writings of those later considered heretics destroyed evidence can be provided that since the first century BC there have been various groups and individuals who have held certain individual Christadelphian beliefs or similar ones For example all the distinctive Christadelphian doctrines with the exception of the non literal devil 121 down to interpretations of specific verses can be found particularly among sixteenth century Socinian writers e g the rejection of the doctrines of the trinity pre existence of Christ immortal souls a literal hell of fire original sin 122 123 Early English Unitarian writings also correspond closely to those of Christadelphians 124 Also recent discoveries and research have shown a large similarity between Christadelphian beliefs and those held by Isaac Newton who among other things rejected the doctrines of the trinity immortal souls a personal devil and literal demons 125 Further examples are as follows original research The typical Old Testament belief in unconsciousness until resurrection 126 instead of the immortality of the soul has been held marginally throughout the history of both Judaism and Christianity 127 such sources include certain Jewish pseudepigraphal works 128 rabbinical works 129 Clement of Rome 130 dubious discuss Arnobius in the third to fourth century 131 a succession of Arabic and Syrian Christians from the third to the eighth century 132 133 including Aphrahat 134 Ephrem 135 Narsai 136 Isaac of Nineveh d 700 137 and Jacob of Sarug 138 Jewish commentators such as Abraham Ibn Ezra 1092 1167 139 Maimonides 1135 1204 140 and Joseph Albo 1380 1444 141 and later Christians such as John Wycliffe 142 Michael Sattler 143 and many Anabaptists 144 long before Martin Luther challenged Roman Catholic views on heaven and hell with his teaching of soul sleep 145 The Christadelphian denial of the pre existence of Christ and interpretation of verses such as I came down from heaven John 6 38 as relating to the virgin birth and Christ s mission only are found in the teachings of the early Jewish Christians 146 dubious discuss the Ebionites 147 the Nazoreans or Nazarenes 148 dubious discuss the Theodotians of Theodotus the Cobbler who believed Jesus was supernaturally begotten but a man nonetheless 149 Artemon 150 Paul of Samosata 151 the Pseudo Clementines 146 and Photinus d 376 152 naturally however given that non Trinitarian beliefs were punishable with death from the fourth century to the seventeenth citation needed it would be foolish to expect to discover any consistent line of people or groups holding such beliefs Such attempts become possible only after the Protestant Reformation Christadelphian Christology is found from the publication of Lelio Sozzini s commentary on John 1561 153 through to the increasing resistance to the miraculous among English Unitarians after 1800 154 Affinities with the Christadelphian concept of the devil and or demons are found in a range of early Jewish and later Christian sources such as Jonathan ben Uzziel 100s AD citation needed Joshua Ben Karha 135 160 citation needed Levi ben Gershon d 1344 David Kimhi 1160 Saadia ben Joseph 892 942 Shimon ben Lakish 230 270 155 David Joris 1501 1556 Lelio Sozzini 1525 1562 Fausto Sozzini 1539 1604 Gerrard Winstanley 1609 1676 Joseph Mede 1640 Jacob Bauthumley 1650 Thomas Hobbes 1651 Lodowick Muggleton 1669 Dr Anthonie van Dale 1685 156 Emanuel Swedenborg 1688 1772 Balthasar Bekker 1695 Isaac Newton 157 Christian Thomasius 1704 Arthur Ashley Sykes 1737 Nathaniel Lardner 1742 The New Light Quakers of Lynn and New Bedford 1800s Elias Hicks 1748 1830 Dr Richard Mead 1755 Hugh Farmer at least in the account of Christ s temptation 1761 William Ashdowne 1791 158 John Simpson 1804 John Epps 1842 and Primitive Baptist Universalists also known No Hellers 1907 to present Organised worship in England for those whose beliefs anticipated those of Christadelphians only truly became possible in 1779 when the Act of Toleration 1689 was amended to permit denial of the Trinity and only fully when property penalties were removed in the Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813 This is only 35 years before John Thomas 1849 lecture tour in Britain which attracted significant support from an existing non Trinitarian Adventist base particularly initially in Scotland where Arian Socinian and unitarian with a small u as distinct from the Unitarian Church of Theophilus Lindsey views were prevalent Practices and worship Edit A sign showing the times of service for a Christadelphian ecclesia in Richmond Va Christadelphians are organised into local congregations that commonly call themselves ecclesias 159 which is taken from usage in the New Testament 160 and is Greek for gathering of those summoned 161 Congregational worship which usually takes place on Sunday centres on the remembrance of the death and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by the taking part in the memorial service Additional meetings are often organised for worship prayer preaching and Bible study Ecclesias are typically involved in preaching the gospel evangelism in the form of public lectures on Bible teaching 162 college style seminars on reading the Bible 163 and Bible Reading Groups Correspondence courses 164 are also used widely particularly in areas where there is no established Christadelphian presence Some ecclesias organisations or individuals also preach through other media like video Christadelphianvideo org has the largest collection of video material working in collaboration with central ecclesias from all over the world 165 and internet forums 166 There are also a number of Bible Education Learning Centres around the world 167 Only baptised by complete immersion in water believers are considered members of the ecclesia Ordinarily baptism follows someone making a good confession cf 1 Tim 6 12 of their faith before two or three nominated elders of the ecclesia they are seeking to join The good confession has to demonstrate a basic understanding of the main elements first principles of the faith of the community The children of members are encouraged to attend Christadelphian Sunday schools and youth groups Interaction between youth from different ecclesias is encouraged through regional and national youth gatherings conferences and camping holidays Christadelphians understand the Bible to teach that male and female believers are equal in God s sight and also that there is a distinction between the roles of male and female members 168 Women are typically not eligible to teach in formal gatherings of the ecclesia when male believers are present are expected to cover their heads using hat or scarf etc during formal services and do not sit on the main ecclesial arranging organising committees They do however participate in other ecclesial and inter ecclesial committees participate in discussions teach children in Sunday schools as well as at home teach other women and non members perform music discuss and vote on business matters and engage in the majority of other activities Generally at formal ecclesial and inter ecclesial meetings the women wear head coverings when there are acts of worship and prayer There are ecclesially accountable committees for co ordinated preaching youth and Sunday school work conscientious objection issues care of the elderly and humanitarian work These do not have any legislative authority and are wholly dependent upon ecclesial support Ecclesias in an area may regularly hold joint activities combining youth groups fellowship preaching and Bible study Christadelphians refuse to participate in any military and police forces because they are conscientious objectors 169 170 not to be confused with pacifists Most Christadelphians do not vote in political elections as they take direction from Romans 13 1 4 which they interpret as meaning that God puts into power those leaders He deems worthy To vote for a candidate that does not win an election would be considered to vote against God s will citation needed To avoid risk of such conflict most Christadelphians abstain from voting There is a strong emphasis on personal Bible reading and study 171 and many Christadelphians use the Bible Companion to help them systematically read the Bible each year 172 Hymnody and music Edit Main article Christadelphian hymnals The 2002 English language hymn book Christadelphian hymnody makes considerable use of the hymns of the Anglican and English Protestant traditions even in US ecclesias the hymnody is typically more English than American In many Christadelphian hymn books a sizeable proportion of hymns are drawn from the Scottish Psalter and non Christadelphian hymn writers including Isaac Watts Charles Wesley William Cowper and John Newton Despite incorporating non Christadelphian hymns however Christadelphian hymnody preserves the essential teachings of the community 173 The earliest hymn book published was the Sacred Melodist which was published by Benjamin Wilson in Geneva Illinois in 1860 174 The next was the hymn book published for the use of Baptised Believers in the Kingdom of God an early name for Christadelphians 17 by George Dowie in Edinburgh in 1864 175 In 1865 Robert Roberts published a collection of Scottish psalms and hymns called The Golden Harp which was subtitled Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs compiled for the use of Immersed Believers in The Things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ 176 This was replaced only five years later by the first Christadelphian Hymn Book 1869 compiled by J J and A Andrew 177 and this was revised and expanded in 1874 1932 and 1964 A thorough revision by the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association resulted in the latest 2002 edition 178 which is almost universally used by English speaking Christadelphian ecclesias In addition some Christadelphian fellowships have published their own hymn books Some ecclesias use the Praise the Lord songbook 179 It was produced with the aim of making contemporary songs which are consistent with Christadelphian theology more widely available Another publication the Worship book 180 is a compilation of songs and hymns that have been composed only by members of the Christadelphian community This book was produced with the aim of providing extra music for non congregational music items within services e g voluntaries meditations et cetera but has been adopted by congregations worldwide and is now used to supplement congregational repertoire In the English speaking world worship is typically accompanied by organ or piano though in recent years a few ecclesias have promoted the use of other instruments e g strings wind and brass as mentioned in the Psalms This trend has also seen the emergence of some Christadelphian bands 181 and the establishment of the Christadelphian Art Trust to support performing visual and dramatic arts within the Christadelphian community In other countries hymn books have been produced in local languages 182 sometimes resulting in styles of worship which reflect the local culture It has been noted that Christadelphian hymnody has historically been a consistent witness to Christadelphian beliefs and that hymnody occupies a significant role in the community 183 References EditConstructs such as ibid loc cit and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia s style guide for footnotes as they are easily broken Please improve this article by replacing them with named references quick guide or an abbreviated title December 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message BBC Religions Christianity Christadelphians Retrieved 22 January 2017 a b The Christadelphians or brethren in Christ The very name Christadelphian was coined by the founder of the movement John Thomas at the time of the American Civil War principally to provide a distinctive nomenclature for the use of the civil authorities At the time of the American Civil War Thomas coined a name for his followers Christadelphian brethren in Christ The exigencies of the situation in which the civil authorities had sought to impress men into the armed forces had accelerated the tendency for those religious bodies objecting to military service to become more definite in their teaching and conditions of membership Bryan R Wilson Sects and Society London William Heinemann 1961 p 219 238 a b Christadelphians or Brethren in Christ Congress had exempted from war service the members of any religious body which was conscientiously opposed to bearing arms In order to go upon record in a manner that would secure this exemption the name Christadelphian was adopted and certified to by Dr Thomas in August or September 1864 Christadelphians in John McClintock and James Strong Cyclopedia of Biblical theological and ecclesiastical literature Supplement Volume 1 New York Harper amp Brothers 1889 p 937 a b Thomas preferred the name Brethren in Christ but settled on Christadelphian He once wrote in a letter I did not know a better denomination that would be given to such a class of believers than Brethren in Christ This declares their true status and as officials prefer words to phrases the same fact expressed in another form by the word Christadelphians or Christou Adelphoi Christ s Brethren This matter settled to their i e the civil authorities satisfaction Carter John May 1955 Our Name The Christadelphian 92 181 a b conscientious objectors had to demonstrate membership in a recognized religious group that prohibited participation in war activity Hence in 1864 Thomas settled on the name Christadelphian from the Greek for Brethren in Christ in order that his adherents might provide the necessary credentials for exemption from military service Charles H Lippy The Christadelphians in North America Lewiston New York Edwin Mellen Press 1989 p 52 Vincent L Milner Hannah Adams Religious denominations of the world 1875 CHRISTADELPHIANS BRETHREN OF CHRIST The distinctive name Christadelphian is derived from two Greek words Christos Christ and Adelphos brother and has been chosen as a fit representation of the intimate spiritual connection 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ a b Dr Thomas His Life and Work Chapter 3 Emigration to America Angelfire com Retrieved 2012 08 01 Dr Thomas His Life and Work Angelfire com Retrieved 2012 08 01 Faith In The Last Days Antipas org 2011 08 05 Retrieved 2012 08 01 Wilson AB op cit Evans Christmas The Christadelphian 1956 63 Norrie William Early History of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in Britain Earlston 1904 Available online Archived 2015 10 15 at the Wayback Machine John Thomas Elpis Israel an exposition of the Kingdom of God with reference to the time of the end and the age to come London 1849 Available online Thomas J 1869 Phanerosis An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Old and New Testaments concerning the Manifestation of the Invisible Eternal God in Human Nature Birmingham published by Robert Roberts p 11 See History of Unitarianism The Lecturer John Thomas commenced by denying a statement which had appeared in many of the London and country newspapers and amongst them one made by a religious Editor in this town to the effect that he assumed to himself the true infallible prophetic character as one sent from God verbatim He would appeal to his writings and he had written a great deal in twelve years and to his speeches whether he had ever claimed to be such in the remotest degree whatever He believed truth as it was taught in the scriptures of truth The Destinies of the Cities Countries and Empires Nottingham Mercury Nottingham UK 13 July 1849 a b Peter Hemingray John Thomas His Friends and His Faith 2003 p 235 Bryan R Wilson Sects and Society London William Heinemann 1961 p 241 The Christadelphian is published by The Christadelphian Magazine amp Publishing Association Ltd Birmingham UK Andrew Wilson writes of Roberts that The organising ability of Robert Roberts was very important he gave the movement its rules institutions and much of its literature Andrew Wilson History of the Christadelphians 1864 1885 the emergence of a denomination 1997 p 399 Kinderball piano score Imperial War Museum Archived from the original on 27 January 2006 Retrieved 2008 02 08 Morrell Leslie The Christadelphian Response to the Holocaust PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2008 02 27 Retrieved 2008 02 08 April 1941 in Berlin Bogner Gustav Geschichte der Christadelphians in Deutschland 2 http www projekt glauben de p 205 permanent dead link History Christadelphian Bible Mission UK Retrieved 2020 01 22 About Christadelphian Support Network Retrieved 2020 01 22 Based on figures from CBM Worldwide Guide 2006 Christadelphian Bible Mission UK 2006 See e g the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith Archived 2007 06 09 at the Wayback Machine About us Bull Mike The Bible The Word of God Hyderabad Printland Publishers ISBN 81 87409 52 5 The Christadelphian Statement of Faith Christadelphia org Archived from the original on 2007 06 09 Retrieved 2013 06 26 True Bible Teaching Home Truebibleteaching com Archived from the original on 2012 07 11 Retrieved 2013 06 26 True Bible Teaching Teaching Truebibleteaching com Archived from the original on 2014 05 20 Retrieved 2013 06 26 Roberts Robert 1672 The Meaning of the Christadelphian Movement as Apparent in the Report by R Roberts of a Four Days gathering of Christadelphians in Birmingham Etc United Kingdom p 67 Drabbenstott Mark 2000 God Our Father Hyderabad Printland Publishers ISBN 81 87409 64 9 a b c d Flint James Deb Flint One God or a Trinity Hyderabad Printland Publishers ISBN 81 87409 61 4 a b c d e f g Jesus God the Son or Son of God Birmingham UK CMPA a b c Tennant Harry The Holy Spirit Bible Understanding of God s Power Birmingham UK CMPA a b c d e f Broughton James H Peter J Southgate The Trinity True or False UK The Dawn Book Supply Archived from the original on 18 November 2011 Whittaker Edward Carr Reg Spirit in the New Testament The Testimony p 117 132 145 Pearce Graham The Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit Gifts Logos p 27 29 Also see the collated quotations from various other Christadelphian authors in pp 71 83 of Pearce s book I believe that the Holy Spirit is the only Authoritative infallible efficient and sufficient teacher of the Christian religion in all its parts If I be asked what is the manner in which he teaches this religion I reply in the same way that all teachers convey instruction to their pupils by words either spoken or written Now Paul says that the sacred Scriptures are able to make us wise to salvation by the faith or gospel which is through Jesus Christ What more do we want than wisdom in relation to this matter If the sacred Scriptures are able to make us wise we need no other instrumentality The Holy Spirit by the word without infusing a single idea into it more than it actually and ordinarily contains and without any collateral influence teaches us all wisdom and knowledge that is necessary John Thomas The Apostasy Unveiled as quoted in G Pearce The Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit Gifts pp 71 2 a b c d e Zilmer Paul Who is Jesus Hyderabad Printland Publishers ISBN 81 87409 68 1 Tennant Harry Christ in the Old Testament Israel s True Messiah Birmingham UK CMPA a b c Do You Believe in a Devil Birmingham UK CMPA The Christadelphian Advocate Vol 8 No 2 Archived from the original on 2013 01 08 Retrieved 2018 02 26 Wilson Sheila The End of the World Horror Story or Bible Hope Birmingham UK CMPA Scott Malcolm Christ is Coming Again Hyderabad Printland Publishers ISBN 81 87409 34 7 Morgan Tecwyn Christ is Coming Bible teaching about his return Birmingham UK CMPA a b Hughes Stephen The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth Hyderabad Printland Publishers ISBN 81 87409 55 X a b Owen Stanley The Kingdom of God on Earth God s plan for the world Birmingham UK CMPA About the Christadelphians 1848 to now Archived from the original on 2011 05 20 Retrieved 2017 04 02 Watkins Peter The Cross of Christ Birmingham UK CMPA a b Flint James Deb Flint Salvation Hyderabad Printland Publishers a b Why Baptism Really Matters What must we do to be saved Birmingham UK CMPA After Death What Birmingham UK CMPA Resurrection amp Judgement Birmingham UK CMPA M Israel God s People God s Land Birmingham UK CMPA See What is the true Gospel available online The Christian Life Marriage Only in the Lord Archived from the original on 2008 04 27 Retrieved 2008 04 04 Homosexuality and the Church Bible Answers to Moral Questions Birmingham Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Available online Example Constitution of the Birmingham Christadelphian Ecclesia Midland Institute c 1932 onwards This list as published by The Christadelphian Magazine contains 53 paraphrases of Bible verses which were originally read weekly as part of the service at Temperance Hall ecclesia Other versions of unconfirmed origin exist with the list expanded to 100 including some verses justifying division Robert Roberts A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias Birmingham 1883 Sections 32 35 36 Robert Roberts A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias Birmingham 1883 Available online Robert Roberts A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias Birmingham 1883 Sections 17 27 Robert Roberts A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias Birmingham 1883 Sections 35 38 41 42 For example Christadelphian Heritage College Cooranbong and Christadelphian Heritage College Sydney Kemps Creek Christadelphians Archived July 28 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Columbia Encyclopedia Africa Christadelphian Bible Mission UK Retrieved 2020 01 24 Census of Population and Housing Census article Religious affiliation in Australia 2021 https www abs gov au statistics people people and communities cultural diversity census 2021 Census 20article 20 20Religious 20affiliation 20in 20Australia xlsx The Christadelphian Tidings October 2019 back cover https tidings org wp content uploads 2019 11 Tidings 2019 10 Oct 647973 pdf Archived 2020 01 24 at the Wayback Machine Malawi Christadelphian Bible Mission UK Retrieved 2020 01 21 Christadelphians The Columbia Encyclopedia Education yahoo com Archived from the original on 2011 07 28 2011 National Household Survey Data Tables Statistics Canada Retrieved January 23 2020 Kenya Christadelphian Bible Mission UK Retrieved 2020 01 21 2006 Census figures from Statistics New Zealand Archived 2013 11 15 at the Wayback Machine link opens Excel file a b c Asia Pacific Christadelphian Bible Mission Annual Report 2019 Archived from the original on 2020 01 24 Retrieved 2020 01 24 Christadelphian Bible Mission UK a b Christadelphian Bible Mission of the Americas Christadelphian Bible Mission UK Europe The first use of the term Birmingham Central fellowship in The Christadelphian magazine was in volume 70 1933 p 376 Verified figure Ecclesial Directory 2006 Parts of grouping currently involved in unity talks with Central The Sydney Ecclesia Australia had already disfellowshipped 10 members for denying this in 1883 The Christadelphian Magazine 1884 ecclesial news p 90 and editorial comment p 382 For example Website claiming views held by Amended community were original Christadelphian beliefs Versus Website Archived 2008 05 15 at the Wayback Machine claiming views held by Unamended community were original Christadelphian beliefs The Berean Ecclesial News Archived from the original on 10 June 2017 Retrieved 22 January 2017 Phillips Jim The Berean Christadelphians Why the Bereans From the Formation of the Bereans to the Restatement 1923 1960 Our last 30 Years Andrew Longman 2007 01 05 The Dawn Christadelphian Homepage Dawnchristadelphian co uk Retrieved 2010 03 15 A Dawn Christadelphian s Website Dawnchristadelphians org Archived from the original on 2010 09 18 Retrieved 2010 03 15 The Dawn Christadelphian Magazine January 2008 Estimate undergoing review Please see Talk pages on the Discussion tab at page head Old Paths Fellowship Australia Gospeltruth info Retrieved 2010 03 15 Old Paths Fellowship UK Christadelphians co uk Retrieved 2010 03 15 Christadelphian Watchman Fellowship Christadelphian watchman fellowship org Companion Christadelphians Companion Christadelphians Retrieved 2010 03 15 Pioneer Christadelphians Pioneer Christadelphians Retrieved 2013 09 22 See Wilson op cit Oates amp Pearce Fellowship and Withdrawal doc 1957 H A Whittaker Block Disfellowship doc articles from Testimony Magazine 1973 Biblical Fellowship Christadelphianbooks org Retrieved 2010 03 15 Perry Andrew Fellowship Matters Willow publications 2nd edition 1996 Dawn Christadelphians Dawn Christadelphians Archived from the original on 2010 09 18 Retrieved 2010 03 15 Bereans org BASF Archived 2013 06 19 at the Wayback Machine With some exceptions including the Lampasas Texas Berean Ecclesia Some have an amendment in the Doctrines to be Rejected which prohibits a person being a police constable Birmingham Unamended Statement of Faith Available online Archived 2013 12 19 at the Wayback Machine The Nazarene Fellowship permanent dead link The Remnant of Christ s Ecclesia Archived from the original on 2020 01 27 Retrieved 2021 12 29 The Apostolic Fellowship of Christ The Apostolic Ecclesia What Do We Believe amp Teach Church of the Blessed Hope Archived from the original on 6 September 2013 Retrieved 22 January 2017 From CGAF directory Doctrines to be Rejected retrieved August 29 2012 Doctrines to be Rejected an appendix to the Christadelphian Statement of Faith Answering Common Questions about the Christadelphians from Christadelphian Info Christendom Astray Robert Roberts written 1862 Lecture 1 Do you mean to say asks the incredulous enquirer that the Bible has been studied by men of learning for eighteen centuries without being understood and that the thousands of ministers set apart for the very purpose of ministering in its holy pages are all mistaken He then goes on to suggest that social conditioning self interest by the clergy and an incomplete reformation prevented its rediscovery In an article A Glance at The History and Mystery of Christadelphianism a contemporary of John Thomas David King from the Restoration Movement 1881 argues that a complete losing of truth would have been unlikely Available online An arrangement of this sort was absolutely necessary for the preservation and protection of the One Body witnessing for the truth against the worshipping of the daemonials and idols in the midst of the nations and before the God of the earth the weapons of whose warfare were civil disabilities and the infernal tortures of anti heretical crusaders and inquisitions John Thomas Eureka 1915 edition volume 2 chapter 11 section 2 1 Thus the history of the ages and the generations of the unmeasured Court is in strict harmony with this prophecy of the witnesses For a period considerably over a thousand years after Rome renounced its old gods for the ghosts dry bones and fables of the catholic superstition the Spirit had provided himself with Two Witnessing Classes to whose custody he providentially committed the truth and its judicial vindication by fire and sword John Thomas Eureka volume 2 chapter 11 section 2 2 Though the apostles died their work continued and the generation of believers that went to the grave with them were succeeded by other believers who maintained the integral structure of the temple of God founded in Europe True the work was marred and corrupted by the apostasy of the mass still a real work a real temple existed consisting of the remnant of true believers preserved by God as His witnesses in the midst of the prevailing corruption Robert Roberts Thirteen Lectures On The Apocalypse 4th edition 1921 page 98 The Protesters Contents Retrieved 22 January 2017 Brethren In Christ Contents Contents Antipas org 2012 10 07 Retrieved 2013 06 26 a b Alan Eyre The Protestors page 8 1975 Alan Eyre The Protestors page 11 1975 Alan Eyre The Protestors pages 11 12 1975 E g both of Eyre s works were criticized by Ruth McHaffie Finding Founders and Facing Facts 2001 in which evidence was presented suggesting that Eyre had misread a number of his sources and that some his claims could not be supported from and were often contradicted by the available historical evidence Also see James Andrews Ferenc David and the search for Bible truth in Transylvania But some though having neither time nor opportunity to search archives knew enough to realise that the claims were exaggerated however praiseworthy the intention Moreover misgivings increased as the years passed and when members examined the subject more closely for themselves As explained in the November 1993 issue of The Endeavour Magazine Brother Ron Coleman in 1986 when preparing an address for the Oxford ecclesia to commemorate the 450th anniversary of William Tyndale s death not only sought information from The Protesters but also from Tyndale s own writings He was surprised to find serious misrepresentations in our community s publication Ruth McHaffie Finding Founders And Facing Facts 2001 page 8 In 1989 when an article by Brother Alan appeared in The Christadelphian containing a number of inaccuracies on the hymn writer Isaac Watts editor of The Christadelphian and subsequently corresponded with Alan in the manner which becomes Brethren Scholarly evidence to disprove Ron s criticisms was not forthcoming with regard to either Tyndale or Watts and the editor was requested to publish a short note of amendment on both writers but there appears to have been no response Ruth McHaffie Finding Founders And Facing Facts 2001 page 8 Rees Thomas 1818 The Racovian Catechism With Notes and Illustrations Translated from the Latin to which is Prefixed a Sketch of the History of Unitarianism in Poland and the Adjacent Countries p 7 Pope Hugh 1912 Socinianism The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 14 New York Robert Appleton Company via New Advent Socinianism in Ologies amp Isms The Gale Group 2008 Available online See e g Joseph Cottle Essays on Socinianism London Longman Brown Green and Longmans 1850 p 10 Edward Hare The principal doctrines of Christianity defended against the errors of Socinianism New York T Mason and G Lane 1837 p 37 Snobelen Stephen D 1999 Isaac Newton heretic the strategies of a Nicodemite PDF British Journal for the History of Science 32 4 381 419 doi 10 1017 S0007087499003751 S2CID 145208136 Archived from the original PDF on 2013 10 07 The Christadelphian understanding of Daniel 12 2 etc Barr is surely right to stress that the Genesis story as it now stands indicates that humans were not created immortal but had and lost the chance to gain unending life Wright The Resurrection of the Son of God p 92 2003 Wright himself actually interprets some passages of Scripture as indicating alternative beliefs The Bible offers a spectrum of belief about life after death Wright The Resurrection of the Son of God p 129 2003 In contrast to the two enigmatic references to Enoch and Elijah there are ample references to the fact that death is the ultimate destiny for all human beings that God has no contact with or power over the dead and that the dead do not have any relationship with God see inter alia Ps 6 6 30 9 10 39 13 14 49 6 13 115 16 18 146 2 4 If there is a conceivable setting for the introduction of a doctrine of the afterlife it would be in Job since Job although righteous is harmed by God in the present life But Job 10 20 22 and 14 1 10 affirm the opposite Gillman Death and Afterlife Judaic Doctrines Of in Neusner The Encyclopedia of Judaism volume 1 p 176 2000 Who knows whether the breath of human beings rises up and the breath of an animal sinks down to the earth Eccles 3 21 In Qohelet s day there were perhaps people who were speculating that human beings would enjoy a positive afterlife as animals would not Qohelet points out that there is no evidence for this Goldingay Old Testament Theology volume 2 p 644 2006 The life of a human being came more directly from God and it is also evident that when someone dies the breath ruaḥ e g Ps 104 29 or the life nepes e g Gen 35 18 disappears and returns to the God who is ruaḥ And whereas the living may hope that the absence of God may give way again to God s presence the dead are forever cut off from God s presence 241 Death means an end to fellowship with God and to fellowship with other people It means an end to the activity of God and the activity of other people Even more obviously it means an end to my own activity It means an end to awareness ibid p 640 In the first place there have not been a few both in ancient and modern times who have maintained the truth of a Conditional Immortality McConnell The Evolution of Immortality p 84 1901 At the same time there have always been isolated voices raised in support of other views There are hints of a belief in repentance after death as well as conditional immortality and annihilationism Streeter et al Immortality An Essay in Discovery Co Ordinating Scientific Psychical and Biblical Research p 204 1917 Many biblical scholars down throughout history looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes have denied the teaching of innate immortality Knight A brief history of Seventh Day Adventists p 42 1999 Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier in Baptist history as well Several examples illustrate this claim General as well as particular Baptists developed versions of annihilationism or conditional immortality Pool Against returning to Egypt Exposing and Resisting Credalism in the Southern Baptist Convention p 133 1998 However Strack and Billerbeck noted authorities on Rabbinic literature suggest that the pseudepigraphal references to eternal punishment simply denote everlasting annihilation See Hermann L Strack and Paul Billerbeck Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch Munchen C H Beck sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Oskar Beck 1928 2 1096 Fudge The Old Testament in Fudge amp Peterson Two views of hell a biblical amp theological dialogue p 210 2000 Psalms of Solomon 3 11 12 Sybilline Oracles 4 175 85 4 Ezra 7 61 Pseudo Philo 16 3 Other presumed annihilation texts may be found in Fudge The Fire That Consumes 125 54 Walvoord The Metaphorical View in Crockett amp Hayes eds Four Views on Hell p 64 1997 Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish as well as his colleague Rabbi Yannai said that there is no such thing as the popular concept of a hell gehinnom lasting a long time but that at the time when G d passes out judgment the wicked will be burned Chananel et al Hut ha meshulash p 183 2003 Thus we have one Rabbi denying the very existence of hell There is no hell in the future world says R Simon ben Lakish Darmesteter The Talmud p 52 2007 Edward Fudge Robert A Peterson Two views of hell a biblical amp theological dialogue p184 Some have believed in the annihilation of the wicked after they should have undergone just punishment proportioned to their sins This supposition has had a considerable number of advocates It was maintained among others by Arnobius at the close of the 3rd century by the Socini by Dr Hammond and by some of the New England divines Alger The Destiny of the Soul A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life p 546 14th ed 1889 The theory of annihilationism in which the wicked pass into nonexistence either at death or the resurrection was first advanced by Arnobius a 4th century Christian apologist according to standard reference works such as Baker s Dictionary of Theology p 184 Morey Death and the Afterlife p 199 1984 Already in the fourth century Arnobius taught the annihilation of the wicked Hoekama The Bible and the Future p 266 1994 others arose in Arabia putting forward a doctrine foreign to the truth They said that during the present time the human soul dies and perishes with the body but that at the time of the resurrection they will be renewed together Eusebius a contemporary Ecclesiastical History 6 37 1 NPNF2 1 297 It is unclear if Arabian thnetopsychism soul death is related to the Syriac tradition of the soul s dormition sleep espoused by writers like Aphrahat d ca 345 Ephrem d 373 and Narsai d 502 according to whom the souls of the dead are largely inert having lapsed into a state of sleep in which they can only dream of their future reward or punishments Constas To Sleep Perchance to Dream The Middle State of Souls in Patristic and Byzantine Literature in Talbot ed Dunbarton Oaks Papers No 55 p 110 2001 Gouillard notes that variations of thnetopsychism soul death and hypnopsychism soul sleep existed alongside the views of the official church until the 6th century when they were resoundingly denounced by Eustratios ibid p 111 Thnetopsychism soul death continued to challenge the patience and ingenuity of church officials as evidenced by writers such as John the Deacon Niketas Stethatos Philip Monotropos Dioptra pp 210 220 and Michael Glykas all of whom are keenly interested in the survival of consciousness and memory among the souls of the departed saints John the Deacon for example attacks those who dare to say that praying to the saints is like shouting in the ears of the deaf as if they had drunk from the mythical waters of Oblivion line 174 Murray Symbols of church and kingdom a study in early Syriac tradition p 111 2006 The Syriac tradition of the soul s sleep in the dust Job 21 26 with its links to the Old Testament and Jewish apocalyptic stands as a corrective to overly Hellenized views of the afterlife and was canonized at a Nestorian synod in the 8th century 786 787 presided over by Timothy I d 823 who rejected anything else as blatant Origenism ibid p 111 In virtually every period of Byzantine history critical voices denied that the souls of the dead could involve themselves in the affairs of the living or intercede on their behalf in heaven Based on a more unitive materialist notion of the self as irreducibly embodied some thinkers argued that the souls of the dead sainted or otherwise were largely inert having lapsed into a state of cognitive oblivion and psychomotor lethargy a condition sometimes described as a state of sleep in which the soul could only dream of its future punishment or heavenly reward Still others argued for the outright death of the soul which they claimed was mortal and perished with the body and which would be recreated together with the body only on the day of resurrection Constas To Sleep Perchance to Dream The Middle State of Souls in Patristic and Byzantine Literature in Talbot ed Dunbarton Oaks Papers No 55 p 94 2001 Till the end of the sixth century and beyond Christians in Nisibis and Constantinople Syria and Arabia adduced Leviticus 17 11 which states that The soul of the whole flesh is the blood to argue that the soul after death sank into non existence that it lost its sensibility and stayed inert in the grave together with the body Samellas Death in the eastern Mediterranean 50 600 AD the Christianization of the East An Interpretation Studien Und Text Zu Antike Und Christentum pp 55 56 2002 The doctrine of the sleep of the soul after death a Syrian tradition held in common with Ephrem Narsai and others Murray Symbols of church and kingdom a study in early Syriac tradition p 279 2006 On the subject of the fate of souls after death Aphrahat insists as does Ephrem that as yet no one has received his reward For the righteous have not inherited the Kingdom nor have the wicked gone into torment 8 22 fc 20 At present the dead simply sleep in their graves which are collectively referred to as Sheol or the underworld Their capabilities for activity and experience are apparently almost non existent for when people die the animal spirit is buried with the body and sense is taken away from it but the heavenly spirit they receive i e the Holy Spirit given in baptism goes according to its nature to Christ 6 14 Aphrahat however seems to ascribe to the dead a kind of anticipatory consciousness of their own future which is akin to dreaming in earthly sleep Daley The hope of the early church a handbook of patristic eschatology p 73 1991 The wicked will be sent back to Sheol the real of Death under the world 22 17 24 cf 6 6 where they will be punished in the measure and the way that their sins deserve some in outer darkness others in unquenchable fire others by simple exclusion from the presence of God 22 18 22 ibid p 73 Ephrem too conceives of the time between our death and the second coming of Jesus as a sleep a period of inactivity in virtually every aspect of human existence Because his anthropology is more highly developed than Aphrahat s and because he is so insistent in contrast to Bardaisan and other earlier more dualistic Syriac writers that the human person needs both body and soul to be functional Ephrem seems to imagine that this sleep as sic deprived even of the dreaming Aphrahat mentions For Ephrem the soul without the body is bound paralyzed CN 476 6 it is like an embryo in its mother s womb or like a blind or deaf person living but deprived of word and thought HP 8 4 6 ibid p 74 Because of his insistence on the positive role of the body in human life and its necessity for a full human existence e g CN 47 4 Ephrem sees eschatological reward and punishment as delayed until the resurrection of the dead Resurrection will begin when souls are awakened from their sleep by the angel s trumpet and the commanding voice of God CN 49 16f ibid p 75 Ephrem s picture of Gehenna is less detailed and more traditional than his picture of heaven The damned there seem to suffer most from their awareness that they have lost all hope sharing in beauty and happiness HP 2 3f 7 29 ibid p 76 Following in the tradition of Ephrem and Aphrahat as well as that of Theodore of Mopsuestia Narsai assumes that the souls of the dead do not receive the reward or punishment for their deeds until they are reunited with their bodies in the resurrection until then they must all wait in Sheol the earthly place of the dead in a state of conscious but powerless inactivity that Narsai refers to as a sleep ibid p 174 The Nestorian Narsai described the soul and the body as a pair of inseparable lovers who could not live the one without the other From the moment that her lover deserted her he recounts nephesh lost her speech and fell into a deep slumber In spite of this even in this state of forced inertia she maintained her essential characteristics her galloping intellect her acute judgement the emotions that open up a view in the world The reason that all her faculties had ceased to function is that they had no more any purpose to serve since the body for the sake of which they operated was no longer there Nephesh recovered her sentience and her speech at the end of time when together with the body she rose to give an account for her deeds Till then she felt no pain or joy The vague knowledge she had of what was in store for her scarcely disturbed her peaceful sleep Samellas Death in the eastern Mediterranean 50 600 AD the Christianization of the East An Interpretation Studien Und Text Zu Antike Und Christentum pp 56 57 2002 Isaac too is convinced that the final reward and punishment for human deeds awaits the resurrection e g Bedjan 724 4 from bottom Then those who died in peace and quiet with the lord will find eternal peace Bedjan 276 15 while sinners will be banished to a darkness far away from God Bedjan 117f Gehenna the kingdom of the demons Bedjan 203 4 from bottom is a place of fire and on the day of judgment this fire will burst forth from the bodies of the damned Bedjan 73 4 118 3 7 Until the resurrection the dead must wait in Sheol which the author seems to imagine as a collective grave Bedjan 366 3 from bottom 368 5 369 4 Some passages in the corpus suggest that the dead continue to act in Sheol as they have during life e g Bedjan 90 13 366 10 18 Others declare that action for good or ill is no longer possible after death e g Bedjan 392 4 from bottom and even envisage Sheol before the judgment as a place of fire ruled over by Satan Bedjan 93 4f Daley The hope of the early church a handbook of patristic eschatology pp 174 175 1991 His eschatology remains within the Syriac tradition Thus he speaks often of death in personified terms as the captor of an enslaved human race or as an insatiable glutton although Sheol where the dead now exist is a dark place of sleep Jacob also describes the experience of death as a dangerous journey across a sea of fire Daley The hope of the early church a handbook of patristic eschatology p 175 1991 On the influence of hypnopsychism on the theology of Jacob of Sarug see M D Guinan Where are the dead Purgatory and Immediate Retribution in James of Sargu in Symposium Syriacum 1972 pp 546 549 Samellas Death in the eastern Mediterranean 50 600 AD the Christianization of the East An Interpretation Studien Und Text Zu Antike Und Christentum p 56 2002 But Ibn Ezra held that the souls of the wicked perish with their bodies Davidson The Doctrine of Last Things Contained in the New Testament Compared With Notions of the Jews and the Statements of Church Creeds p 139 1882 Maimonides claims that since the greatest punishment would be to lose one s immortal soul the souls of the wicked are destroyed along with their bodies Rudavsky Maimonides p 105 2010 Maimonides views are reasserted by Joseph Albo 1380 1444 in his Book of Principles ibid p 206 During the pre Reformation period there seems to be some indication that both Wycliffe and Tyndale taught the doctrine of soul sleep as the answer to the Catholic teachings of purgatory and masses for the dead Morey Death and the Afterlife p 200 1984 He has written at length on psychopannychism the doctrine of soul sleep widely held in the sixteenth century by such diverse figures as Camillo Renato Michael Sattler and for a while Martin Luther Williams Petersen amp Pater eds The contentious triangle church state and university a festschrift in Honor of Professor George Huntston Williams Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies volume 2 p 1999 It appears that Sattler came to hold the doctrine of psychopannychism or sleep of the soul Snyder The life and thought of Michael Sattler p 130 1984 Many who became Anabaptists also believed that the soul is not naturally immortal but sleeps between death and the final resurrection Some affirmed further that only the righteous would be resurrected while the unrighteous would simply remain dead Many denied hell The Venice Synod affirmed soul sleep and rejected hell ibid pp 871 72 Finger A contemporary Anabaptist theology biblical historical constructive p 42 2004 The belief that the soul goes to sleep at the death of the body to await eventual resurrection was held by both Martin Luther and William Tyndale Watts The Dissenters From the Reformation to the French Revolution p 119 1985 a b Hagner Jewish Christianity in Martin amp Davids eds Dictionary of the later New Testament and its developments 2000 Wright Ebionites in Martin amp Davids eds Dictionary of the later New Testament and its developments 2000 They called Jesus the Son of God Christological Titles 3 3 accepted his virgin birth but rejected his preexistence as God Merkel Nazarene in Fahlbusch amp Bromiley eds Encyclopedia of Christianity volume 3 p 714 1993 2003 He came from Byzantium to Rome under Pope Victor c 189 198 proclaiming that Jesus was a man who was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism and thus became Christ He was excommunicated by Victor His disciples who were known as Theodotians included his namesake Theodotus the Money changer early 3rd cent Cross amp Livingstone eds The Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church p 1614 3rd ed rev 2005 Adoptionist heretic He is mentioned twice by Eusebius who says that Paul of Samosata revived his heresy HE 5 28 and 7 30 16 f ibid p 113 It is clear that in his Christology Paul was an Adoptianist holding that in the Incarnation the Word descended on and dwelt in the man Jesus who thus became Son of God ibid p 1250 R P C Hanson 1916 1988 Lightfoot Professor of Divinity The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God The Arian Controversy 318 381 9780801031465 1973 Christ Photinus said did not exist before Adam but Adam before Christ The sayings about Christ s celestial origins do not refer to his person but to his teaching and his character Wulfert De Greef The writings of John Calvin an introductory guide 2008 p253 Lelio Sozzini s Brevis explicatio in primum Johannis caput appeared in 1561 which marked the beginning of the Socinian phase among the Italian R K Webb Miracles in English Unitarian Thought Essay chapter 6 in ed Mark S Micale Robert L Dietle Peter Gay Enlightenment passion modernity historical essays in European Thought and Culture 2007 p120 The Baptist theologian John Gill 1697 1771 acknowledged that early Jewish teachers interpreted satan as a reference to the natural inclination people have to sin the evil imagination they often say Satan he is the evil imagination or corruption of nature Gill on 12 Corinthians 12 7 in An Exposition of the New Testament Carus P History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil Snobelen Stephen 2004 Lust Pride and Ambition Isaac Newton and the Devil PDF In Force J E Hutton S eds Newton and Newtonianism Kluwer Academic Publishers Archived from the original PDF on 2010 01 07 An attempt to shew that the opinion concerning the devil or satan as a fallen angel and that he tempts men to sin hath no real foundation in scripture By William Ashdowne 1791 printed by J Grove and sold by Johnson in St Paul s Church yard Marsom bookseller Holborn Bristow Canterbury and Ledger Dover Canterbury Who are the Christadelphians e g see Greek of Acts 5 11 7 38 Ecclesia Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 3 February 2009 Examples of lecture titles on Handsworth Christadelphians Archived 2008 05 15 at the Wayback Machine website For example Learn to Read the Bible Effectively For example This is Your Bible For example https ChristadelphianVideo org videos and the Christadelphians of Southern California s videos Archived 2008 12 11 at the Wayback Machine Podcasts For example Bible Truth Feed 1000 s of bible related audio files Bible Truth FeedSearch for Hope podcasts For example Bible Truth Discussion Forum For example the Solihull Bible Learning Centre Archived 2012 01 13 at the Wayback Machine UK Castle Hill Bible Education Centre Sydney Aus Urbana Bible Education Center Champaign County Illinois USA Durban Bible Education Centre SA There are also other BECs in SA Cambodia and India Archived 2012 01 11 at the Wayback Machine Ashton Michael Women Priests The Bible Answer to the Current Debate Birmingham CMPA Norris Alfred The Gospel and Strife Birmingham UK Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Watkins Peter War and Politics The Christian s Duty Birmingham UK Christadelphian Auxiliary Lecturing Society They are characterized by holding a firm belief in the inspired status of the Bible and place enormous emphasis upon biblical study Evans John S The Prophecies of Daniel 2 page 251 USA Xulon Press 2008 Christadelphian devotion centers on daily Bible study and weekly meetings page 421 Fahlbusch Erwin and Bromiley Geoffrey W The Encyclopedia of Christianity USA Wm B Eerdmans Publishing 1999 Christadelphians are devoted students of the Bible which they believe to be the infallible and inerrant word of God Edwards Linda A Brief Guide to Beliefs page 421 USA Westminster John Knox Press 2001 Daily Bible study is enjoined Powles Lilian V The Faith and Practice of Heretical Sects page 23 Michigan Mothers Union 1962 The BBC Website Bbc co uk 2009 06 25 Retrieved 2010 03 15 Hymnody was an important part of Christadelphianism from its beginning and along with the journal The Christadelphian gave independent ecclesias a broader fellowship Hymns reflected the essential doctrines and principles of their faith These principles were anti Trinitarianism They also believed that God would establish his kingdom on Earth through the return of Jesus to reign a thousand years in Jerusalem Wesley Roberts Professor of Music Campbellsville University Kentucky in the magazine Hymn July 1997 Hocking Rachel 2000 A Study of Christadelphian Hymnody singing with the spirit and with the understanding Thesis The University of New South Wales Sydney Archived from the original on 2012 01 21 Retrieved 2011 10 09 Andrew Wilson History of the Christadelphians 1864 1885 the emergence of a denomination 1997 p 326 Peter Hemingray John Thomas His Friends and His Faith 2003 p 195 Ambassador of the Coming Age Vol 6 P 148 Hymn Books Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Retrieved 2020 01 22 Praise the Lord Hoddesdon Christadelphian Service 1993 2000 Worship Worship Book Committee NCC 2008 2010 Theworshipbook com An example is the Christadelphian folk rock band Fisher s Tale albeit this is a witness project as opposed to being for the purpose of church worship e g Liedboek van de Broeders in Christus Netherlands circa 1980 Considering the scope of hymnic literature by Christadelphians we might conclude that few branches of Christianity can claim such a close relationship between hymn writing and their own religious development and such a high percentage of hymnists in their membership As their hymns become better known this close relationship will reveal that the heritage and faith of Christadelphians has been enhanced through a strong emphasis on hymnody from their beginnings to the present day Wesley Roberts Professor of Music Campbellsville University Kentucky in the magazine Hymn July 1997Further reading EditBibliography of Christadelphians Fred Pearce Who are the Christadelphians Introducing a Bible Based Community Birmingham CMPA Available https www thechristadelphian com resources read booklets online who are the christadelphians online Stephen Hill The Life of Brother John Thomas 1805 to 1871 2006 Peter Hemingray John Thomas His Friends and His Faith Canton Michigan The Christadelphian Tidings 2003 ISBN 81 7887 012 6 Andrew R Wilson The History of the Christadelphians 1864 1885 The Emergence of a Denomination Shalom Publications 1997 ISBN 0 646 22355 0 Charles H Lippy The Christadelphians in North America Studies in American Religion Volume 43 Lewiston New York Edwin Mellen Press 1989 ISBN 0 88946 647 5 1 895605 32 6 Lorri MacGregor Christadelphians amp Christianity Nelson B C MacGregor Ministries 1989 ISBN 1 895605 32 6 Robert Roberts Christendom Astray Popular Christianity Both in Faith and Practice Shewn sic to Be Unscriptural and the True Nature of the Ancient Apostolic Faith Exhibited Eighteen Lectures on Christadelphian doctrine Originally Published as Twelve Lectures on the True Teaching of the Bible Birmingham Eng C C Walker 1932 Harry Tennant The Christadelphians What they believe and preach Birmingham England The Christadelphian 1986 ISBN 0 85189 119 5 Also titled What the Bible Teaches see CMPA Bookshop Bryan R Wilson Sects and Society A Sociological Study of the Elim Tabernacle Christian Science and Christadelphians London Heinemann 1961 Berkeley Los Angeles University of California Press 1961 BBC article Religion amp Ethics Christianity Subdivisions Christadelphians Available online Rachel Hocking A Study of Christadelphian Hymnody Singing with the Spirit and with the Understanding 2000 Available onlineExternal links Edit Look up Christadelphian in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wikisource has original text related to this article Christadelphians Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christadelphians Christadelphian Videos video based material highlighting the beliefs of Central Christadelphians worldwide The Christadelphian Office Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Australian Christadelphians The Christadelphians UK Christadelphia World Wide Christadelphian Bible Mission UK Asia Pacific Christadelphian Bible Mission Christadelphian Bible Mission of the Americas 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