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108-640: Christadelphians believe in the inspiration of the Bible , the Virgin Birth , the status of Jesus Christ as the son of God, believer's baptism , the resurrection of the dead , the second coming of Christ , and the future kingdom of God on earth . However, they reject a number of mainstream Christian doctrines, for example the Trinity and the immortality of the soul , believing these to be corruptions of original Christian teaching. The movement developed in

216-578: 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 and elderly care homes, the Christadelphian Isolation League (which cares for those prevented by distance or infirmity from attending an ecclesia regularly) and

324-516: A phonograph record you are told that you will hear the Master Caruso . Is that true? Of course! But really his voice? Certainly! And yet—there are some noises made by the machine which are not the Master's voice". Brunner adds: "[T]he Bible[...] makes the real Master's voice audible,—really his voice, his words, what he wants to say". Brunner ultimately concludes: "Only a fool listens to

432-633: 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

540-576: A consensus with Lutheranism is apparent, namely, that Scripture is conceived of as being the 'Word of God' by virtue of its principal author, the Holy Spirit, which used human authors as instruments to write Scripture without superseding their humanity. According to Frederic Farrar , Martin Luther did not understand inspiration to mean that the scriptures were dictated in a purely mechanical manner. Instead, Luther "held that they were not dictated by

648-643: 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, with members in Australia, England, Mexico and New Zealand. 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

756-594: A formalised 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

864-475: 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: 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

972-553: A lead in developing a particular stance. The majority of Christadelphians today belong to what is commonly known as the Central Fellowship . 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

1080-547: 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 of Christadelphians who remain separate. The post-war and post-reunions periods saw an increase in co-operation and interaction between ecclesias, resulting in

1188-525: 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 in 1885 (with members believing that

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1296-605: 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 (1861–1865). At that time, church affiliation

1404-540: 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 , which he did in 1869. His editorship of the magazine continued with some assistance until his death in 1898. In church matters, Roberts

1512-482: A place of eternal torment for sinners, but as a state of eternal death and non-existence due to annihilation of body and mind. 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. This is by belief in the gospel, through repentance , and through baptism by total immersion in water. They reject assurance of salvation , believing instead that salvation comes as

1620-409: 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. The majority in England, Australia and North America amended their statement of faith accordingly. Those who opposed the amendment became known as

1728-661: 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. 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 deny

1836-519: A symbol of Mercia as early as the reign of Offa . By the 13th century, the saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia. The arms are blazoned Azure, a saltire Or , meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle , the ancient seat of the Mercian kings . The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth ,

1944-513: Is subordinate to him). They reject the doctrine of the Trinity . 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

2052-538: Is "probably to be rendered" as: "Every inspired Scripture is also useful". Daniel B. Wallace states that numerous scholars believe that the proper translation should be: "Every inspired scripture is also profitable". Wallace, however, criticises this translation; he proposes the translation "every scripture is inspired and profitable". Evangelicals view the Bible as superintended by the Holy Spirit , preserving

2160-599: 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. 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

2268-434: 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, which includes a 'Statement of Faith', a list of 'Doctrines to be Rejected' and

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2376-767: Is furthest away from the coast than anywhere else in England, it typically receives mostly light winds, with warm days and cold nights. Sometimes the Midlands can have very cold nights such as a minimum of −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) in Pershore on 20 December 2010. The previous day had a maximum of only −8.2 °C (17.2 °F), also in Pershore. Hot days are also possible, such as a maximum of 34 °C (93 °F) in Pershore on 19 July 2006. There can also be very mild winters nights, such as in Bidford-on-Avon when

2484-422: Is no single definition for the Midlands. If defined as being made up of the statistical regions of East Midlands and West Midlands , it includes the counties of Derbyshire , Herefordshire , Leicestershire , most of Lincolnshire (with the exception of North and North East Lincolnshire ), Northamptonshire , Nottinghamshire , Rutland , Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire , Worcestershire and

2592-615: Is often labelled as "Central England", typically used interchangeably with "the Midlands". Additionally, there are two informal regions known as the South Midlands and North Midlands , which are not NUTS statistical regions of the United Kingdom and their definition varies by using organisation. The former includes the southern parts of the East Midlands and northern parts of Southern England . The latter covers

2700-542: Is roughly covered by the metropolitan county of the West Midlands (which also includes the city of Coventry ); with the related City Region extending into neighbouring areas of Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire and Worcestershire . Various parts of the Midlands, particularly Warwickshire and Leicestershire, are on occasion referred to as the Heart of England, especially in tourist literature given that

2808-486: 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

2916-480: Is the focal point of the gospel taught by Jesus and the apostles . They believe that the Kingdom will be centred upon Israel, but Jesus Christ will also reign over all the other nations on the Earth. Old Paths Christadelphians continue to believe that the Kingdom of God is to be restored to the land of Israel promised to Abraham and ruled over in the past by David, with a worldwide empire. Christadelphians believe that

3024-783: 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. Most of the divisions still in existence within

3132-752: The Adventist movement and with Benjamin Wilson (who later set up the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith in the 1860s). 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

3240-468: The Bible were led by God with the result that their writings may be designated in some sense the word of God . This belief is traditionally associated with concepts of the biblical infallibility and the internal consistency of the Bible . At 2 Tim 3:16 (NRSV), it is written: "All scripture is inspired by God [ theopneustos ] and is useful for teaching". When Jerome translated the Greek text of

3348-522: 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

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3456-630: The Gospel of Matthew was intended to communicate the Gospel to Jews , the Gospel of Luke to Greeks, and the Gospel of Mark to Romans. Evangelical apologists such as John W. Haley in his book Alleged Discrepancies in the Bible and Norman Geisler in When Critics Ask have proposed answers to hundreds of claimed contradictions. Some discrepancies are accounted for by changes from the master manuscripts (which are alleged to contain very nearly

3564-552: The Long Mynd , Clee Hills and Stiperstones ridge. Wenlock Edge , running through the middle of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is a long, low ridge, which extends for over 15 miles (24 km). The Peak District reaches heights of between 300 m (1,000 ft) and 600 m (2,000 ft); Kinder Scout is the highest point at 636 m (2,086 ft). Further south,

3672-743: The North Sea . The Midlands correspond broadly to the early-medieval kingdom of Mercia , and later became important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are now split into two official regions, the West Midlands and East Midlands . The Midlands' biggest city, Birmingham , is the second-largest in the United Kingdom . Other important cities include Coventry , Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham , Stoke-on-Trent , Wolverhampton , and Worcester . A saltire (diagonal cross) may have been used as

3780-535: 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. Biblical inspiration Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology that the human writers and canonizers of

3888-622: 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

3996-590: The United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century around the teachings of John Thomas and they were initially found predominantly in the developed English-speaking world , expanding in developing countries after the Second World War . There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. Congregations are traditionally referred to as "ecclesias". The Christadelphian movement traces its origins to John Thomas (1805–1871). He initially associated with emerging Restoration Movement in

4104-737: The Watchman Fellowship , the Companion Fellowship and the Pioneer Fellowship . 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

4212-520: The southwest . The highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 m (1,394 ft) above sea level (OS Grid reference SO768452). The Cotswolds – designated an AONB in 1966. – extend for over 90 miles (140 km) through Oxfordshire , Gloucestershire , Wiltshire , Somerset , Warwickshire , and Worcestershire . They reach a highest point of 330 m (1,082 ft) at Cleeve Hill . Areas of lower hills, in

4320-515: 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

4428-720: The "ancient capital of Mercia". It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Midlands towns, including Tamworth , Leek and Blaby . It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the Flag Institute in 2014. There

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4536-524: The "people of God," [...] the deeper "author" of the Scriptures. [...] [L]ikewise, this people [...] knows that it is led, and spoken to, by God himself, who — through men and their humanity — is at the deepest level the one speaking. The Catholic view of biblical inspiration stems from the belief in the historical authenticity of the foundation of an infallible Church , and Jesus' grant of teaching authority to that church through his Apostles . Because

4644-412: 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

4752-414: 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

4860-402: The Bible as purely a product of human invention. However, most form critics , such as Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976) and Walter Brueggemann (1933– ), still regard the Bible as a sacred text , just not a text that communicates the unaltered word of God. Emil Brunner (1889–1966) was one of the primary advocates of Neo-orthodoxy . He wrote: "[T]he Christian Church believes the Bible to be

4968-519: The Bible into the language of the Vulgate , he translated the Greek theopneustos (θεόπνευστος ) of 2 Timothy 3:16 as divinitus inspirata ("divinely breathed into"). Some modern English translations opt for "God-breathed" ( NIV ) or "breathed out by God" ( ESV ). The -tos ending in the Greek theopneustos also designates a passive construct whereby the subject God is breathing out the object ( scripture ). Theologian C. H. Dodd suggests that it

5076-418: 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 is error-free apart from errors in later copies due to errors of transcription or translation. Christadelphians believe that God, Jehovah , is the creator of all things and the father of true believers, that he is a separate being from his son, Jesus (who

5184-403: The Bible, in the sense that he does not put a 'ready-made' book in the mind of the inspired person. Pope Benedict XVI gave the following explanation in 2007: The Scripture emerged from within the heart of a living subject — the pilgrim people of God — and lives within this same subject. [...] [T]he individual author or group of authors [...] are not autonomous [...] they form part of [...]

5292-810: The Black Country conurbation at 271 m (889 ft) and the Wrekin just south of Wellington in Telford at 407 m (1,335 ft). Upland areas lie in the west and north of the region with the Shropshire Hills to the west, close to the England–Wales border and the Peak District area of the southern Pennines in the north of the region. The Shropshire Hills reach a height of 540 m (1,771 ft) at Brown Clee Hill and includes

5400-634: The Caribbean (400), Europe (including Russia) (700), Latin America (275), and the Pacific (200). 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

5508-547: The Catholic Church alleges that the Bible's human writers were "consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more". The Catechism also claims that the Bible "without error teach that truth which God , for the sake of our salvation , wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures". The Catholic Church holds the Bible as inspired by God, but that it does not view God as the direct author of

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5616-508: The Catholic Church designated the biblical canon through its tradition, its authority to identify the inspired books is accepted, rather than any self-contained or inherent claims of the Scriptures themselves. The typical view within Liberal Christianity and Progressive Christianity rejects the idea that the Bible is divinely inspired . Some advocates of higher criticism who espouse this view even go so far as to regard

5724-504: The Christadelphian body to be associated with books and journals, such as Thomas's Herald of the Kingdom . His message was particularly welcomed in Scotland , and Campbellite , Unitarian and Adventist friends separated to form groups of "Baptised Believers". 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

5832-776: The Christadelphian community today stem from further divisions of the Berean Fellowship . The Dawn Fellowship 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. There are now thought to be around 800 members in England, Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Poland,

5940-408: The Christadelphian movement has been over the claim of John Thomas and Robert Roberts to have "re-discovered" scriptural truth. 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

6048-408: The Holy Spirit (both "gift of" and "gifts of") (see cessationism ). Christadelphians believe that Jesus Christ 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

6156-473: The Holy Spirit, but that His illumination produced in the minds of their writers the knowledge of salvation, so that divine truth had been expressed in human form, and the knowledge of God had become a personal possession of man. The actual writing was a human not a supernatural act". John Calvin also rejected the verbal dictation theory. Luther asserted that "He [the pious Christian] should not doubt that however simple they [the Scriptures] may seem, these are

6264-418: The Kingdom of God on earth. Christadelphians believe 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 view that people need strength, guidance and power from the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life, believing instead that

6372-574: The Midlands as the region is bordered by Wales to the west. It is also where the Midlands' lowest points can be found as some places fall below sea level, with the lowest points being near Thorpe Tilney in North Kesteven and Stickford in East Lindsey . The Midlands has a temperate maritime climate , with cold, cloudy, wet winters and comfortable, mostly dry, mostly sunny summers. The temperature usually ranges from −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) during winter nights to 24.1 °C (75.4 °F) during summer days. Due to its geographical location, which

6480-434: The Philippines, Russia and Kenya. The Old Paths Fellowship was formed in 1957 in response to the reunion of the Central and Suffolk Street Fellowships. A minority from the 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

6588-406: 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

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6696-556: 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. Christadelphians are organised into local congregations, that commonly call themselves ecclesias , which

6804-407: The United States but later separated from them. The Christadelphian community in the United Kingdom effectively dates from Thomas's first lecturing tour of Britain (May 1848 – October 1850). During this period, he wrote 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

6912-487: The Welsh border reaches over 700 m (2,000 ft) high, at Twyn Llech (Black Mountain), which at 703 m (2,306 ft) is thus the highest point in Herefordshire . The Precambrian Malverns are formed of some of the oldest rock in England (dating from the Cryogenian period, at around 680 million years old) and extend for 8 miles (13 km) through two West Midlands counties ( Worcestershire and Herefordshire ) as well as northern Gloucestershire in

7020-535: The West Midlands metropolitan boroughs. Other definitions include a slightly larger area and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes Gloucestershire as "West Midland", Bedfordshire as "South Midland", and Huntingdonshire as "East Midland" counties respectively. Cheshire is also occasionally recognised as being in the Midlands, while a lot of what was historically part of southern Mercia ( Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Hertfordshire , Huntingdonshire , and Cambridgeshire )

7128-431: The Word of God", and that "Christian faith is Bible faith". He also wrote: "Yes, God has made known the secret of His will through the Prophets and Apostles in the Holy Scriptures". Brunner rhetorically asked, "Is the whole Bible God's Word then?"; Brunner answered, "Yes, insofar as it speaks of that which is 'here' in Christ". Brunner's illustration, relying on the name of the label His Master's Voice , was: "If you buy

7236-427: 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

7344-429: The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, actually come under the Yorkshire and the Humber region and are therefore not in the officially recognised East Midlands region. The two regions of the Midlands have a combined population of 10,350,697 (2014 mid-year estimate), and an area of 11,053 sq mi (28,630 km ). The largest Midlands conurbation , which includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton ,

7452-413: 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

7560-519: The developing world, which now accounts for around 40% of Christadelphians. The Christadelphian body has no central authority or co-ordinating organisation to establish and maintain a standardised set of beliefs, but there are core doctrines accepted by most Christadelphians. 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. Christadelphians state that their beliefs are based wholly on

7668-418: The doctrine, though they placed some restrictions on the evidences that could be considered. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with the Word of God and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible. Article 3 (entitled 'Of the Written Word of God') of the Belgic Confession , a Reformed confession of faith, states "We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by

7776-403: 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. 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

7884-504: 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'. 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

7992-666: 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

8100-525: The final response to those with unorthodox practices or beliefs. 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 . It recommends a basically democratic arrangement by which congregational members elect 'brothers' to do arranging and serving duties, and includes guidelines for

8208-623: The geographic centre of England is generally considered to lie within this arc. Different areas of the Midlands have their own distinctive character, giving rise to many local history and industrial heritage groups. Nottingham played a notable part in the English Civil War , which is commemorated in a number of place names (Parliament Terrace, Parliament Street, Standard Hill). Areas such as Derbyshire's Amber Valley and Erewash combine attractive countryside with industrial heritage and are home to historic canals and sites associated with

8316-447: 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, and internet forums. There are also a number of Bible Education/Learning Centres around

8424-462: The immortality of the soul. The Commandments of Christ demonstrates the community's recognition of the importance of biblical teaching on morality. Marriage and family life are important. Most Christadelphians believe that sexual relationships should be limited to heterosexual marriage, ideally between baptised believers. In the absence of centralised organisation, some differences exist amongst Christadelphians on matters of belief and practice. This

8532-505: The incidental noises when he might listen to his Master's voice!". A 2011 Gallup survey reports, "A 49% plurality of Americans say the Bible is the inspired word of God but that it should not be taken literally , consistently the most common view in Gallup's nearly 40-year history of this question". English Midlands The Midlands is the central part of England , bordered by Wales , Northern England , Southern England and

8640-501: 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 Central, Suffolk Street and Shield Fellowships. The Unamended Fellowship , consisting of around 1,850 members, is found in the East Coast and Midwest USA and Ontario, Canada. This group separated in 1898 as

8748-410: The introduction to 'The Protestors' that 'Some recorded herein perhaps did not have "all the truth" — 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

8856-535: The latter on 10 January 1982 around Newport in Shropshire where it dropped to a minimum of −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F). Due to being neither Northern England or Southern England , the Midlands have had cultural elements from both sides in the North–South divide , such as dialect (see also West Midlands English and East Midlands English ). A study has shown that some Midlands areas have traditionally had

8964-951: 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, the Ecclesia of Christ, the Remnant of Christ's Ecclesia, the Apostolic Fellowship of Christ and the Apostolic Ecclesia. The Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith (CGAF) also has common origins with Christadelphians and shares Christadelphian beliefs. Numbering around 400 (primarily Ohio and Florida, USA), they are welcomed into fellowship by some "Central" Christadelphians and are currently involved in unity talks. One criticism of

9072-729: 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 or police force because they are conscientious objectors (not to be confused with pacifists ). There

9180-427: The mining industry. The Black Country , broadly the boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Wolverhampton and Walsall , played an important part in the Industrial Revolution . The historic counties ceased to be used for any administrative purpose in 1899 but remain important to some people, notably for county cricket . The area is predominantly low-lying and flat apart from isolated hills such as Turners Hill within

9288-407: The non-literal devil), 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). Early English Unitarian writings also correspond closely to those of Christadelphians. Also, recent discoveries and research have shown

9396-541: The northern parts of the West and East Midlands, along with some southern parts of Northern England . The West Midlands and East Midlands regions are NUTS 1 statistical regions and were formerly constituencies of the European Parliament . Local government in the Midlands is as follows: The unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire (not shown), while classed as part of

9504-454: The organisation of committees, as well as conflict resolution between congregational members and between congregations. 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 polity typically follows

9612-433: The original manuscripts ", by which they mean that each word (not just the overarching ideas or concepts) was meaningfully chosen under the superintendence of God. Evangelicals acknowledge the existence of textual variations between biblical accounts of apparently identical events and speeches. They see these as complementary, not contradictory, and explain them as the differing viewpoints of different writers. For instance,

9720-401: The original text and) that these alterations were introduced as copies were made (maybe of copies themselves), either deliberately or accidentally. Three basic approaches to inspiration are often described when the evangelical approach to scripture is discussed: Theories seeing only parts of the Bible as inspired ("partial inspiration") meet with insistent emphasis on plenary inspiration on

9828-436: The part of its proponents. The New American Commentary by T.D. Lea and H.P. Griffen says "[n]o respected Evangelicals maintain that God dictated the words of Scripture". By this, Lea & Griffen were referring to the entirety of the Scriptures, i.e. every single word in the Bible. Lea & Griffen meant that they advocated verbal plenary inspiration as fact, instead of the verbal dictation theory. The Evangelical position

9936-629: 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. In Germany, the small Christadelphian community founded by Albert Maier went underground from 1940 to 1945, and

10044-609: The power of God. Christadelphians 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. 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 has ascended to Heaven , God's dwelling place, until he returns to set up

10152-653: The publication of Christadelphian magazines . No official membership figures are published, but the Columbia Encyclopaedia gives an estimated figure of 50,000 Christadelphians, spread across approximately 120 countries. Estimates for the main centers of Christadelphian population are as follows: Mozambique (17,800), Australia (9,734), the United Kingdom (8,200), Malawi (7,000), United States (6,500), Canada (3,000), Kenya (2,700), India (2,300) and New Zealand (1,785),. Figures from Christadelphian mission organisations are as follows: Africa (32,500), Asia (4,000),

10260-618: The range 200 m (600 ft) - 300 m (1000 ft), include Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire , Cannock Chase in Staffordshire , and the Lincolnshire Wolds (100 m (300 ft) - 200 m (600 ft)); the latter having some prominence despite their modest altitude given their location in typically low-lying Lincolnshire near to the east coast. Lincolnshire is the only coastal county in

10368-626: 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

10476-404: 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. Christadelphians deny the personhood of the Holy Spirit, and the present-day possession of

10584-461: The temperature at 6 pm was as high as 15.2 °C (59.4 °F) on 9 January 2015. At 8 am the following morning the temperature was still at 13 °C (55 °F). Both the highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in England were in the Midlands, the former on 19 July 2022 around Coningsby in Lincolnshire where it reached a maximum temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), and

10692-415: 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

10800-645: The very words, deeds, judgments, and history of the high majesty and wisdom of God; for this is the Scripture which makes fools out of all the wise". The doctrine of sola scriptura was one of the central teachings during the Protestant Reformation . It teaches that the Bible is the final authority for moral, spiritual, and for some, civil matters. As Luther said, "The true rule is this: God's Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so". The Catechism of

10908-610: The whole of the Bible was not inspired), and the Unamended fellowship. 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

11016-501: The will of man, but that holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost , as the apostle Peter saith ( 2 Peter 1:21 ). And that afterwards God, from a special care which He has for us and our salvation, commanded His servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit His revealed Word to writing; and He Himself wrote with His own finger the two tables of the law. Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures." Here

11124-474: 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 or opponent (be it good or bad) and is frequently applied to human beings. According to Christadelphians, these terms are used in reference to specific political systems or individuals in opposition or conflict and not to an independent spiritual being or fallen angel . Accordingly, they do not define Hell as

11232-407: 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

11340-402: The writers' works from error without eliminating their specific concerns, situation, or style. This divine involvement, they say, allowed the biblical writers to communicate without corrupting God 's own message both to the immediate recipients of the writings and to those who would come after. Some Evangelicals have labelled the conservative or traditional view as "verbal, plenary inspiration of

11448-415: Was criticized as being circular by Catholic Answers . They claimed that the Bible can only be used to prove doctrines of biblical inspiration if the doctrine is assumed to begin with. Some defenders of the evangelical doctrine such as B. B. Warfield and Charles Hodge , however, moved away from a circular argument and "committed themselves to the legitimacy of external verification" to inductively prove

11556-617: Was prominent in the period following the death of John Thomas in 1871, and helped craft the structures of the Christadelphian body. Initially, the denomination grew in the English-speaking world, particularly in the English Midlands and in parts of North America. Two thirds of ecclesias, and members, in Britain before 1864 were in Scotland. In the early days after the death of John Thomas, the group could have moved in

11664-541: 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 . 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

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