Who we are

The Christadelphians - Brethren in Christ

Christadelphians or, as the name implies, the Brethren of Christ (Hebrews 2:11), are a body of people associated together by a belief in the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12); and by immersion into Christ (Gal. 3:27) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) and identification with his resurrection (Rom. 6:5).

We do not profess to have received any new revelation, but hold that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are able to make one wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15-17). Believing in the Divine Authorship of the Bible, we think it only reasonable to eschew any interpretation thereof which fails to harmonise all the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures; and finding that the creeds of the various existing sects are, in a great variety of ways, opposed to the direct teaching of the Bible, we feel compelled to stand apart, making appeal in all such matters to the statements of Scripture, and testing all teachings thereby.

We believe in the personal, visible return of Christ to the earth,(Acts 1:11) to set up his power and reign thereon, and we seek to share this knowledge with others. We offer our services in expounding the message of the Bible without cost of any kind.

The name Christadelphians means "Brethren in Christ" and is composed of two Greek words, "Christos" (Christ) and "adelphoi" (brothers and sisters), which are found together in Colossians 1:2. The name is also linked to Hebrews 2:11"He is not ashamed to call them brethren" and Matthew 12:49. As the name implies, Christadelphians are primarily a family, a community of brothers and sisters who sincerely try, in both creed and practice, to be true to that 1st Century community of believers. Unlike many denominations Christadelphians do not have pastors or other formal church hierarchy. In fact the brotherhood worldwide has no central council or other form of leadership - each local "ecclesia", or "meeting", is independent. The only authority is the Bible.

The modern name was not taken until 1861 at the start of the American Civil War when it became necessary for believers to be registered as a religious body in order for their conscientious objection to military service to be recognized, but the characteristic beliefs of Christadelphians can be traced back to much earlier believers from the time of the 16th Century Reformation. A notable group of these early "Brethren in Christ" were the so-called "Polish Brethren" or "Socinians", of the 17th and 18th Centuries, whose writings contain the same teachings as those of the early Christadelphians a century later. However for most of this period from the Reformation to the mid-19th Century, the characteristic beliefs of Christadelphians were held either in secret, because of Catholic and Protestant persecution, or solely by individuals, such as Sir Isaac Newton, without forming congregations. It was in the freer, and more fertile, ground of early 19th Century America that the modern Christadelphian body was to begin to take shape.

The period from 1830s to the 1850s was one of great religious revival and upheaval in the then barely 50 years old United States. The frontier spirit of the new republic and the atmosphere of religious freedom allowed immigrants from the Old World to shake off the traditions of their home countries, and many took this opportunity to study the Bible for themselves. Most of the modern denominations in today's America date in one way or another from the formative events of this period.

The central character in this story was an English medical doctor by the name of John Thomas. What follows is a short biography of his life and a bibliography of his works. It is worth noting that Christadelphians respect brother Thomas, along with other "pioneer brethren", for having given modern believers a better opportunity to hear and understand the Gospel of the Kingdom. Christadelphians do not regard John Thomas as a 'founder', for the only Founder is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In the words of Paul; "for no other foundation can any man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1Corinthians 3:11). Least of all would John Thomas himself have wanted anyone to regard him as such; he never claimed to be anything more than a conscientious Bible student, and when he was proved wrong he was able to acknowledge it and change his views accordingly - a process without which he would never have been able to help others with the same open mind and inquiring spirit.

Today, at the commencement of the 21st Century, there are Christadelphians in over 130 nations worldwide doing their best to maintain the beliefs and practice of the church of the apostles, and to preach the Good News concerning the Son of God and his coming Kingdom.

John Thomas (1805-1871)

John Thomas was born in Hoxton Square, London, on April 12th, 1805, son of a Dissenting minister who was himself a second generation descendant of French Huguenot refugees. He studied medicine, graduating as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1830, the year of his first written articles - in the medical journal "The Lancet". He continued to earn his living from medicine till his death.

In 1832 the 27 year old Thomas emigrated to America, making the passage as ship's surgeon on the Marquis of Wellesley. In a ferocious storm the vessel ran aground off Sable Island, and it appeared she would be lost with all hands. Thomas prayed, resolving that, if his life should be spared, he would devote his energies to finding out the truths of the Bible.

He was spared, and for the next 15 years busily threw himself into the "Reformation Movement" which was sweeping America. He also married and became father to two daughters. During this period he associated with Alexander Campbell's church but gradually became disillusioned with the secondary importance that the movement seemed to place on teaching scriptural doctrine. From 1844 while living in Virginia he began to publish the magazine "The Herald of the Future Age".

In 1848, having received a second, American, medical degree, he briefly returned to England where he wrote what was to become the rallying point for fellow-minded believers: "Elpis Israel" (meaning "the hope of Israel" - a reference to the Greek text of Acts 28:20 ). The beginnings of what was to become the Christadelphians started to form informally around Thomas and his book.

The situation crystallized when the American Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861. It was not just that to register as conscientious objectors required the loosely organized congregations to choose a name, the war itself required believers to make a stand for what they believed. The name "Christadelphian" was first registered by Bro. Sam Coffman and six others at the County Courthouse in Ogle, Illinois, but then quickly spread to be used by most of the other congregations in North America, and across the Atlantic to their fellow believers in the British Isles.

In the following year, 1862, with the Civil War still raging, Thomas returned to England again. In that same year one of his most fervent supporters, a young Aberdeen journalist by the name of Robert Roberts, published a book "Christendom Astray" which set out to present Bible teachings in contrast to the current beliefs. From this point onwards Roberts became the principal energy driving the Christadelphian body forward, and the number of Christadelphians in the UK and Australia soon surpassed the numbers in the US.

Thomas returned to America to concentrate his studies first on Revelation ("Eureka") and later on the name and manifestation of God ("Phanerosis"). He was warmly received on a final visit to England in 1869, but, on March 5 1871, Bro.John Thomas fell asleep in New York aged 65 and was buried in Brooklyn. He sleeps in the hope of the resurrection.

Statement Concerning those who call John Thomas a false prophet.

...as I have said before, no interpretation of prophecy in relation to the past, or present, is worth any thing which is not in harmony with facts. My interpretation must be tried by the same rule, and if it will not stand the test, then let it fade away into everlasting forgetfulness; but if it prove to be correct, I have no apprehension that it will be lost. Facts, then, I remark, are in strict accordance with the exposition given, as I shall briefly point out. (Thomas, John. Elpis Israel)