Christadelphians

The Christadelphians are a Christian denomination, in the inclusivist sense. However, in some quarters it is denied that they are "Christian" due to their rejection of doctrines that are nearly universal among Christian denominations, including:

Immortality of the Soul (Christadelphians believe that death is the end of conscious existence and that the hope of a Christian lies in resurrection);
existence of a "Personal" devil (Christadelphians believe that when the Bible speaks of a devil it is talking about the human tendency to do wrong) , and
the Holy Trinity (they believe that Jesus is a manifestation of God the Father in human form, not the second person of a triune Godhead; the spirit is the means by which God works in his creation).

Christadelphians claim that none of these doctrines is legitimately to be found in the Bible, which is regarded as authoritative.

Christadelphians can be primarily found in the United States, England, and Australia. While congregations of more than one hundred members can be found in a few cities in England and Australia, individual congregations, called "Ecclesias", are often small compared to those of the major denominations. A more common size for Ecclesias would be in the range from a few dozen believers to a single family. Membership is growing in the non-English-speaking world, particularly Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, but remains centered in the former British Commonwealth. Proselytization is not very common; however, most children of Christadelphian parents are placed under extreme pressure to become Christadelphians themselves, and the retention rate from generation to generation is correspondingly high.

Most male members are eligible to teach and perform other duties, and these are usually assigned on a rotation, rather than having a designated preacher or minister. Governance is handled with a democratic model, typically with an elected committee for each individual church. This unpaid committee is responsible for the day to day running of the church and is answerable to the rest of the church members. Christadelphians have no hierarchy above the individual churches, all organisation between churches is co-operative. Typically the churches in a city will hold occasional combined youth-group, preaching and Bible-study activities.

History and Organisation

The Christadelphians were founded in the 19th century by a medical doctor from London, England named John Thomas. After emigration to the United States, Thomas became closely associated with Dr. Alexander Campbell, founder of the movement that later became the Churches of Christ. When Thomas later broke with Campbell, a group of students went with him. This group had no formal name until the time of the American Civil War, when a group affiliation was required to register for Conscientious Objector status. The name "Christadelphian" was then devised from Greek roots meaning "Brethren in Christ".

Dr. Thomas returned several times to Britain to lecture. Groups were formed there based on his ideas, called "Ecclesias", from the Greek for "church", as Thomas felt the word "church" had become debased. Among the Birmingham converts was Robert Roberts, who at the time of his conversion was the travelling-secretary for a group of phrenologists. (Perhaps his autobiography's most moving passages are those which describe how he dealt with the conviction that his former colleagues would have no part in the coming Kingdom of God.) After his conversion to the Christadelphian ideas, Roberts proved to be a powerful speaker and very efficient organiser. It was he who devised the system of Ecclesial governance that is still largely in use to this day and sustains a worldwide organization based almost entirely upon volunteer labor. Roberts also founded and became the first editor of the magazine which took, with Thomas' blessing, the name The Christadelphian. As a result of this magazine's influence Birmingham has long been regarded as the center of Christadelphianism and, despite the lack of any formal hierarchy, the editor of The Christadelphian is generally respected.

Central to Christadelphian Ecclesial organization is the "Statement of Faith", originally formulated by Robert Roberts. Anyone who publicly assents to the doctrines in this statement and is in good standing in their "home Ecclesia" (if they have one) is generally welcome to participate in the activities of any other Ecclesia. Christadelphians are conversely not permitted to take communion with any church which does not assent to the doctrines of the "Statement of Faith". The first major schism, dating to the 1920s, arose because the Statement of Faith is not clear on the question of who among the dead will be raised at the return of Christ. The majority opinion in response to this controversy was that all who had an opportunity to hear the Gospel will be raised for judgment on the question of how they responded to it; many individuals throughout history will never have heard the Gospel, however, and will not be raised. A minority opinion arose that only individuals who had been baptized as Christians by immersion would be raised. An "amendment" to the statement of faith was put into effect, making explicit the majority opinion. Those who accepted the amended statement of faith became the "Amended" fellowship. Those who did not becamse the "Unamended" fellowship. Members of the different groups were not welcome to take communion with one another and over the course of several generations began to function as almost entirely separate denominations. There have been several other schisms, but none quite so significant in numbers of those affected.

Beliefs

As mentioned above, after emigration to the United States, Dr. John Thomas became closely associated with Dr. Alexander Campbell, founder of the movement that later became the Churches of Christ. Though both men were greatly concerned with questions of eschatology, in time, Campbell became convinced that Thomas placed too great an emphasis upon it. Thomas in particular was convinced that biblical prophecy was "The Key To Understanding of the Scriptures": by demonstrating that biblical prophecy has accurately predicted the course of human history that followed, one could thereby prove that the Bible was the inspired message of the Supreme Being. Naturally, any such scheme of interpretation would also make predictions about the future, leading to the time when Jesus Christ would return to earth to establish the Kingdom of God that would bring an end to history. Christadelphians since 1948 have made much of the fact that John Thomas in the mid-19th century predicted the re-establishment of the nation of Israel, and claimed it would be a clear sign that the return of Christ to the earth was imminent. Prophecy is still an important element in today's community, though there are generally more varied and broader approaches to the specifics of interpretation.

This fundamental emphasis on the historical timeline of God's plan is closely associated with many of their distinctive beliefs. For example, the Christadelphians reject the Immortality of the Soul, claiming instead that the dead are in a state of non-existence awaiting the Resurrection, and their reward will be on the reconstituted Earth, rather than in Heaven. Similarly integral to this approach is a rejection of the doctrine that Satan is a powerful being; the Christadelphians have no place in their system for Hell as a place of torment in the afterlife, and without Hell to rule over, there is little use for Satan. The Christadelphians instead claim that wherever in the Bible the word "Devil" or "Satan" occurs it should be understood either poetically as a symbol of man's inherent impulse to conflict with God's plan or in reference to specific political systems or individuals in opposition or conflict. The Christadelphians do not hesitate to appeal to the original texts in the face of disputed passages, claiming that sometimes even the translators of the KJV were unduly influenced by many erroneous doctrines which accumulated over the centuries as a result of corrupt church councils.

Apart from the elements of their system directly touched by their analysis of Bible prophecy, in general the Christadelphians pursue a primitivist interpretation of Christianity. In fact, many claim a non-specific kinship with the historical Anabaptist movements. The Christadelphians reject paid ministers, and the Sunday service centres upon the bread and wine which is shared by all members who have undergone immersion baptism. Immersion baptism is offered only to individuals who have reached the age of reason. Christadelphian youth are generally expected to request baptism between the ages of 14 and 20. Many groups also append a statement of "The Commandments of Christ", composed entirely of direct quotations from the Gospels, to the Statement of Faith. Christadelphians are pacifists and emphasize personal morality. The Christadelphians commonly distance themselves from Evangelical Christianity's characteristic presentation of the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, rather pointing to a need for demonstration of faith through 'works', including baptism.

The importance of the Closed Communion is very large. In addition to the schisms between Ecclesias and groups of Ecclesias noted above in the history section, a common unresolved issue is whether to admit to Communion those members who have divorced and re-married. There is not widespread unanimity on this subject, and it is generally left up to individual Ecclesias to decide the matter internally.

Almost all Christadelphian Ecclesias have different roles for men and women, and this distinction is regarded as a matter of doctrine. Practice varies widely, but typically women are not eligible to hold elected offices or lead services. They are generally allowed to participate in discussions, teach children, perform music, vote on business matters, and engage in most other activities.

External links

Christadelphian Sites

Christadelphian Publications and Resources

Other Organisations on Christadelphians

History and Organisation

Beliefs

External links

See also