The Christadelphians are a millenarian Christian group who hold a view of Biblical Unitarianism. 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 from the Greek for "Brethren in Christ".
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. A significant difference from mainstream Christianity is that Christadelphians deem all Jews who descended from Abraham, regardless of belief and ideology, to be part of the Chosen People. All non-Jewish peoples (gentiles) are also believed to be able to become Chosen not by converting - as only those of Jewish ancestry are believed to be Chosen - but by believing in and following the teachings of Christ. It is further believed that the 3rd millennium will usher in a spiritual renewal among the Jews of Israel that will cause them to convert to Christianity and thus make way for the Second Coming.
They were initially found predominantly in the developed English-speaking world, but expanded in developing countries after the Second World War. There are estimated to be 60,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries worldwide. Congregations are usually referred to as ecclesias.
History
19th century
The Christadelphian religious group traces its origins to Dr John Thomas (1805â€"1871), who migrated to North America from England in 1832. Following a near shipwreck he vowed to find out the truth about life and God through personal Biblical study. 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 of America at the time. This movement sought for 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 in his personal beliefs and started to question mainstream orthodox Christian beliefs. Whilst 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.
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. 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.
The Christadelphian community in Britain effectively dates from Thomas's first lecturing tour (May 1848 â€" 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. In 1849, during his tour of Britain, he completed (a decade and a half before the name Christadelphian was conceived) Elpis Israel 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.
In his desire to seek to establish Biblical truth and test out orthodox Christian beliefs through independent scriptural study he was not alone and, amongst other churches, he also had links with 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' views had certain similarities with the 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). See History of Unitarianism
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, 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 until the time of the American Civil War (1861â€"1865). At that time, church affiliation was required in the United States and in the Confederacy in order to register for conscientious objector status, and in 1864 Thomas chose for registration purposes the name Christadelphian.
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. This was renamed The Christadelphian in 1869 and continues to be published under that name. Roberts was prominent in the period following the death of John Thomas in 1871, and helped craft the structures of the Christadelphian body.
Robert Roberts was certain that John Thomas had rediscovered the truth. Robert Robert's life was characterised by debates over issues that arose within the fledgling organisation; some of these debates can be found in the book Robert Robertsâ€"A study of his life and character by Islip Collyer.
Initially the denomination grew in the English-speaking world, particularly in the English Midlands and in parts of North America. 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 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 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 and founding a hostel Elpis Lodge. In Germany the small Christadelphian community founded by Albert Maier went underground from 1940â€"1945, and a leading brother, Albert Merz, was imprisoned as a conscientious objector and later executed.
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 who remain separate.
Today
The post-war, and post-reunions, period 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 (for preaching and pastoral support overseas), the Christadelphian Support Network (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.
Organisation
General organization
In the absence of centralised organization, some differences exist amongst Christadelphians on matters of belief and practice. This is because each congregation (commonly styled 'ecclesias') is organized autonomously, typically following common practices which have altered little since the 19th century. Most ecclesias have a constitution, which includes a 'Statement of Faith', a list of 'Doctrines to be Rejected' and a formalized list of 'The Commandments of Christ'. 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.
The relative uniformity of organization 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. It recommends a basically democratic arrangement by which congregational members elect 'brothers' to arranging and serving duties, and includes guidelines for the organization of committees, as well as conflict resolution between congregational members and between congregations. Christadelphians do not have paid ministers. Male members 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 organizations co-ordinate the running of, among other things, Christadelphian schools 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 Encyclopedia gives an estimated figure of 50,000 Christadelphians. They are spread across approximately 120 countries; there are established churches (often referred to as ecclesias) in many of those countries, along with isolated members. Estimates for the main centers of Christadelphian population are as follows: United Kingdom (18,000), Australia (10,653), Mozambique (7,500), Malawi (7,000), United States (6,500), Canada (3,375), New Zealand (1,785), India (1,750), Kenya (1,700), Tanzania (1,000). and Pakistan (900). Combining the estimates from the Christadelphian Bible Mission with the figures above, the numbers for each continent are as follows: Africa (21,400), Americas (10,500), Asia (4,150), Australasia (12,600), Europe (18,950). This puts the total figure at around 67,000.
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 (around 60,000) belong to Central fellowship, named after the Birmingham Central ecclesia. This was formed in 1957â€"1958 as a result of a reunion between the Temperance Hall and Suffolk Street fellowships in the UK. The Suffolk Street fellowship had formed in 1885 over the inspiration of the Bible. Robert Ashcroft, a leading member, wrote an article which challenged Christadelphian belief in plenary inspiration and which, although he himself left, led to a division in the main body. One group formed a new ecclesia which later met in Suffolk Street, Birmingham. Other ecclesias throughout the world which supported them became known as the "Suffolk Street fellowship" to distinguish them from the group they had separated from, which became known as the "Temperance Hall fellowship". The main magazine of this group from 1884â€"1957 was The Fraternal Visitor, whose editors included J.J. Bishop and J.J. Hadley (d. 1912), then Thomas Turner, and finally Cyril Cooper (till reunion in 1957). The Temperance Hall-Suffolk Street reunion was closely followed by union in 1958 with the Shield fellowship (allied to the Suffolk Street fellowship) through an understanding expressed in a document called the Cooper-Carter Addendum. The Central fellowship in North America is often referred to as the Amended fellowship.
The Unamended fellowship, consisting of around 1,850 members, is found in East Coast and Midwest USA and Ontario, Canada. This group separated in 1898 as a result of differing views on who would be raised to judgment at the return of Christ. The majority of Christadelphians believe that the judgment will include anyone who had sufficient knowledge of the gospel message, and is not limited to baptized believers. The majority in Britain, 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. 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 â€" most recently in the Great Lakes region, where numerous Amended and Unamended ecclesias have opened fellowship to one another despite the failure of wider attempts at re-union under the North American Statement of Understanding (NASU).
The Berean Fellowship was formed in 1923 as a result of varying views on military service in Britain, 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. Most of the divisions still in existence within the Christadelphian community today stem from further divisions of the Berean fellowship.
In 1942 the Berean fellowship divided over marriage and divorce with the stricter party forming the Dawn fellowship. Following union with the Lightstand fellowship in Australia in November 2007, there are now 800 members in the UK, Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Poland, the Philippines and Russia.
The Old Paths fellowship was formed in the 1957 by those in the Temperance Hall fellowship who held that the reasons for separation from the Suffolk Street fellowship remained and opposed the re-union. There are around 250 members in the UK, and 150 in Australasia.
Other small groups, numbering no more than 300 members in total, include the Watchman fellowship, the Companion fellowship and the Pioneer Fellowship.
The Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith (CGAF) has common origins with Christadelphians and shares Christadelphian beliefs. Numbering around 400 (primarily Ohio and Florida, USA), they are welcomed into fellowship by some Christadelphians and are currently involved in unity talks.
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. 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. 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.
They tend to operate organisationally fairly similarly, although there are different emphases. Despite their differences, the Central, Old Paths, Dawn and Berean 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) 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.
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.
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 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 in the Central fellowship, the BASF, the standard statement of faith, has 30 doctrines to be accepted and 35 to be rejected.
The Bible
Christadelphians state that their beliefs are based wholly on the Bible, and they do not see other works as inspired by God. They regard the Bible as inspired by God and, therefore, believe that, in its original form, it was error free (errors in later copies are thought to be due to 'errors of transcription or translation'). Based on this, Christadelphians teach what they believe to be true Bible teaching.
God
Christadelphians believe that God is the creator of all things and the father of true believers, that he is a separate being from his son, Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is the power of God used in creation and for salvation. They also believe that the phrase Holy Spirit sometimes refers to God's character/mind, depending on the context in which the phrase appears, but reject the orthodox Christian view that we need strength, guidance and power from the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life, 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.
Jesus
Christadelphians believe that Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah, in whom the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament find their fulfilment. 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. Although he was tempted, Jesus committed no sin, and was therefore a perfect representative sacrifice to bring salvation to sinful humankind. They believe that God raised Jesus from death and gave him immortality, and he ascended to Heaven, God's dwelling place. 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. 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. For Christadelphians, this is the focal point of the gospel taught by Jesus and the apostles.
Salvation
Christadelphians believe that people are separated from God because of their sins but that mankind can be reconciled to him by becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. This is by belief in the gospel, through repentance, and through baptism by total immersion in water. They do not believe we can be sure of being saved, believing instead that salvation comes as a result of a life of obedience to the commands of Christ After death, believers are in a state of non-existence, knowing nothing until the Resurrection at the return of Christ. 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). Christadelphians believe that the Kingdom will be centred upon Israel, but Jesus Christ will also reign over all the other nations on the earth. Some 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.
Life in Christ
The historic 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 are limited to heterosexual marriage, ideally between baptised believers.
Similarities and differences with other Christians
Disagreement with some mainstream doctrines
Christadelphians reject a number of doctrines held by many other Christians, notably the immortality of the soul (see also mortalism; conditionalism), trinitarianism, the personal pre-existence of Christ, the baptism of infants, the personhood of the Holy Spirit the divinity of Jesus and the present-day possession of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (see cessationism). 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; Greek: Hades, Gehenna) is understood to refer exclusively to death and the grave, rather than being a place of everlasting torment (see also annihilationism). Christadelphians do not believe that anyone will "go to Heaven" upon death. Instead, they believe that only Christ Jesus 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. Christadelphians believe the doctrines they reject were introduced into Christendom after the 1st century in large part through exposure to pagan Greek philosophy, and cannot be substantiated from the Biblical texts.
One criticism of the Christadelphian movement has been over the claim of John Thomas and Robert Roberts to have "rediscovered" scriptural truth. However, 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.
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 (1975) and Brethren in Christ (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'. Although noting in the introduction to 'The Protestors' that 'Some recorded herein perhaps did not have "all the truth" â€" so the writer has been reminded', 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', and that 'In faith and outlook they were far closer to the early springing shoots of 1st-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'.
Eyre's research has been criticized by some of his Christadelphian peers, and as a result Christadelphian commentary on the subject has subsequently been more cautious and circumspect, with caveats being issued concerning Eyre's claims, and the two books less used and publicized than in previous years.
Nevertheless, even with most source writings of those later considered "heretics" destroyed, evidence can be provided that since the 1st century CE 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), down to interpretations of specific verses, can be found particularly among 16th 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). Early English Unitarian writings also correspond closely to those of Christadelphians. 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. Further examples are as follows:
- The typical Old Testament belief in unconsciousness till resurrection, instead of the immortality of the soul, has been held marginally throughout the history of both Judaism and Christianity; such sources include certain Jewish pseudepigraphal works, rabbinical works, Clement of Rome, Arnobius in the 3rd to 4th century, a succession of Arabic and Syrian Christians from the 3rd to the 8th century including Aphrahat, Ephrem, Narsai, Isaac of Nineveh (d.700), and Jacob of Sarug, Jewish commentators such as Abraham Ibn Ezra (1092â€"1167), Maimonides (1135â€"1204), and Joseph Albo (1380â€"1444), and later Christians such as John Wycliffe, Michael Sattler, and many Anabaptists, long before Martin Luther challenged Roman Catholic views on heaven and hell with his teaching of "soul sleep".
- 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, the Ebionites, the Nazoreans (or Nazarenes), the Theodotians of Theodotus the Cobbler (who believed Jesus was supernaturally begotten but a man nonetheless), Artemon, Paul of Samosata, the Pseudo-Clementines, and Photinus (d.376); naturally however, given that non-Trinitarian beliefs were punishable with death from the 4th century to the 17th, 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) through to the increasing resistance to the miraculous among English Unitarians after 1800.
- 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); Joshua Ben Karha (135-160); Levi ben Gershon (d. 1344); David Kimchi (1160); Saadia ben Joseph (892-942); Shimon ben Lakish (230-270), Joseph Mede (1640), Jacob Bauthumley (1650), Thomas Hobbes (1651), Lodowick Muggleton (1669), Dr. Anthonie van Dale (1685), Balthasar Bekker (1695), Isaac Newton; Christian Thomasius (1704), Arthur Ashley Sykes (1737), Nathaniel Lardner (1742), Dr. Richard Mead (1755), Hugh Farmer (at least in the account of Christ's temptation; 1761), William Ashdowne (1791), John Simpson (1804) and John Epps (1842)
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.
Modern mainstream theology developing similar beliefs
While Christadelphians have beliefs that are different from the majority of other Christian denominations, over the last 100 years some mainstream Christian theologians and Biblical scholars have gradually been developing beliefs which the Christadelphian community has historically held. Example areas are the atonement; justification; heaven and hell; the state of the dead.
- The state of the dead: The majority of standard scholarly sources today describe the biblical view of the dead in terms closer to the Christadelphian view than popular Christian belief.
- The future hope for humankind and the world: An increasing number of scholars are also affirming resurrection and a renewed and transformed earth (not going to heaven) as the ultimate hope for humankind and the world.
- The final state of the wicked: Scholars who have questioned the traditional idea of hell, and some reject it in favour of annihilationism The majority of these hold similar beliefs to Christadelphians regarding the final state of the wicked.
- The atonement: The majority Christian interpretation of the Anselmian-Calvinist doctrine of the atonement as penal substitution has been criticized in mainstream Christianity since the 19th century, resulting in increasing rejection of traditional penal substitution. The Christadelphian distinction between representation and substitution has been noted in the relevant scholarly literature, and representative participation (an interpretation long held by Christadelphians) is widely considered the original Biblical teaching on the atonement.
- The deity and pre-existence of Christ: Some New Testament scholars agree with Christadelphians in doubting that much of the New Testament overtly teaches the deity and pre-existence of Christ. James Dunn is one prominent scholar who argued that a well-developed doctrine of the deity and eternal existence of Christ is found only in the Gospel of John. John Macquarrie and others have expressed broad agreement with Dunn's evolutionary model of New Testament Christology culminating in the Gospel of John. Meanwhile, Anglican bishop and New Testament scholar John A.T. Robinson claimed that the Gospel of John itself does not teach the deity or pre-existence of Christ.
- The devil and demons: Some Christian theologians, including some liberal and Neo-orthodox, share a belief with Christadelphians that there is no literal, personal devil or demons (sometimes, however, they arrive at this view via a different route to Christadelphians, perhaps 'demythologize' these biblical concepts) and/or that various Biblical authors did not believe in these things. Some of these scholars include Bultmann (the best-known proponent of the demythologizing approach), G. B. Caird (who argued that Paul held a demythologized view of Satan and demons), Elaine Pagels (who argues similar for the Biblical writer John) and William E. Phipps (who argued for a psychologized interpretation of the wilderness temptation accounts).
Practices and worship
Christadelphians are organised into local congregations, that commonly call themselves ecclesias, which is taken from usage in the New Testament and is Greek for gathering of those summoned. 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, college-style seminars on reading the Bible, and Bible Reading Groups. Correspondence courses 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, podcasts and internet forums. There are also a number of Bible Education/Learning Centres around the world.
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. Many ecclesias organise holidays for young people, the most popular form in the UK being camping holidays and Youth Weekends such as Swanwick and others locally organised by different ecclesias.
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. 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.
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. To avoid the risk of such conflict, Christadelphians abstain from voting.
There is a strong emphasis on personal Bible reading and study and many Christadelphians use the Bible Companion to help them systematically read the Bible each year.
Hymnody and music
Christadelphians are a non-liturgical denomination. Christadelphian ecclesias are autonomous and free to adopt whatever pattern of worship they choose. However, in the English-speaking world, there tends to be a great deal of uniformity in order of service and hymnody.
Christadelphian hymnody makes considerable use of the hymns of the Anglican and British Protestant traditions (even in US ecclesias the hymnody is typically more British 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.
The earliest hymn book published was the "Sacred Melodist" which was published by Benjamin Wilson in Geneva, Illinois in 1860. The next was the hymn book published for the use of Baptised Believers in the Kingdom of God (an early name for Christadelphians) by George Dowie in Edinburgh in 1864. 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'"). This was replaced only five years later by the first "Christadelphian Hymn Book" (1869), compiled by J. J. and A. Andrew, 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 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. It was produced with the aim of making contemporary songs which are consistent with Christadelphian theology more widely available. Another publication, the "Worship" book 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, etc) 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 and the establishment of the Christadelphian Art Trust to support performing, visual and dramatic arts within the Christadelphian community.
In other countries, hymnbooks have been produced in local languages, 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.
References
Further reading
External links
- Christadelphia World Wide
- This Is Your Bible
