Attracted by the Nazarene Jesus

The apostles were the first disciples of Jesus, chosen by himself. Soon other people started following the man who could tell so many stories and do such incredible wonders or miracles. By those followers there were also people who were really interested in what this Nazarene man could teach.

They were interested in his teachings and here eager to follow them up, even when this entailed changing their way of life.

When in the early days of the 19th century people who went to the New World, came in contact with people from all over Europe, discovered how their religious upbringing was very different of each others religious teaching, they started sharing their thoughts and by their discussions formed new ideas.

Several preachers went from settlement to settlement with the Bible in hand preaching what was to be done and what was yet to be done.

An English doctor, John Thomas, after some bad experience at sea, had promised God to tell people about the Divine Creator and His Plan with mankind.

Dr. Thomas struggled through many thought patterns before he came to a solid understanding of the teachings of Jesus which he wished to take as the basis for the formation of the churches to be built. He was not looking for a personal cult, but wished the people would take Jesus as their rock. Here and there where he went, he was able to find people interested in his teachings who also wanted to keep community in their area.

When the Civil War broke out, many Bible Students faced the dilemma of whether or not to take up arms against others. The Bible forbids the killing of others. In order not to go under arms, they had to be able to prove that they belonged to a church community where armour was prohibited. Dr. Thomas therefore decided to protect his students and followers by safeguarding them from militia service. To this end, he had to prove that his members belonged to a church community.

In the 19th century, for example, the members discovered that they had to give themselves a name to maintain their identity.

The name "Christadelphians" was chosen because it means "brothers (and of course also sisters) in Christ". This name has been used for several decades to distinguish the community.

One of the students of John Thomas, Charles Taze Russell, did gain more followers in that New World and formed a different group from the Thomasites and Christadelphians, and from his group of Biblestudents later came a separation with Joseph Franklin Rutherford, which became even more known and as Jehovah's Witnesses rapidly expanded around the world.

Since 1864 The Christadelphian Magazine has appeared monthly, issued from Birmingham, U.K. It provides informative articles and contains items of news from the ecclesias worldwide. Pamphlets and books are also produced for the use of members and their friends. Other organizations throughout the world promote the preaching of the Gospel in areas where the ecclesia is small or non-existent, and there are special committees responsible for preaching the Gospel in other countries. Still another organization circulates typed exhortations and Bible studies to those members who live some distance from an ecclesia.

The care of the infirm and the elderly has been seen as a pressing need: there are several Homes in various countries. Voluntary contributions are made to help individual members in need.

But why should the Christadelphians deserve any more attention than other groups of "believers", many claiming to be based on the Bible?

The brief answer is this:

Their understanding of the teachings of the Bible is quite different from that of other denominations.
The difference arose from the conviction of John Thomas, that the teachings he was encountering in "Christendom" 150 years ago did not truly represent the faith of Christ and his apostles. Persuaded that the truth must be sought only in the Bible, he embarked upon a conscientious study of the Scriptures. He made no claim to any vision or personal revelation.

He eventually came to an understanding of "the gospel of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12) which was different in a number of important points from that of the churches and other religious sects. His labours attracted the support of others who were convinced of the validity of his conclusions. This understanding of Bible truths has been rigorously tested by free enquiry for 150 years. The distinctive views of the Christadelphians today are the result of this process.