Dear Name
 
Hi, my name is Name and I am going to do my best to give you a feel for who the Christadelphians are.

In the message below I have copied a small part of an explanation of who the Christdelphians are from the following site

CHECK THIS LINK IS STILL THERE BEFORE YOU TELL SOMEONE ABOUT IT!

http://www.christadelphian.org.au/literature/who.html

I would also like tell you a bit about the site www.exploringthebible.net

The philosphy we have as Christadelphians is that when someone examines the Bible, they need to learn and understand what is being said for themselves. Some point after that they may begin to believe and understand God's purpose with man. Like relationships, its hard to love someone you have never met.

I hope you can see the value in this, because if anyone had belief forced upon them or believed on impulse, it wouldn't allow a sincere and heartfelt relationship with the God of the Bible.

This course is designed to help people like yourself, as a 'guide on the side'. A cannot emphasis enough that we will not be pushing you into a community where you don't want to be. In fact this is rather like one of the first lesson - man was created with freewill. He could reason and choose to serve God. So what am I saying? If you want to give up at anytime then we will respect your choice.

I think that is enough for now. Please e-mail me direct or through the webmaster at www.exploringthebible.net

Kind regards

 

Name Surname

 

About the Community:

The community has no paid ministry, no robes or elaborate ceremonies, nor has it any "head of church" or legislative council. Their ecclesias (the New Testament word for `church') organise their own affairs, though the pattern is similar everywhere. Like the "elders" of New Testament times, members are appointed to manage the affairs of the ecclesia and to preside at its meetings. 

At the meeting for the "breaking of bread" on "the first day of the week" there are hymns, prayers, readings from the Scriptures and an exhortation. The bread and the wine circulate among all the "brothers and sisters"present. Voluntary collections are taken to meet all the expenses. If some of the early followers of the apostles in the first century could attend such meetings, it is believed that they would immediately recognise what was going on, for it is patterned on New Testament worship. 

Like Jesus' early disciples, they also proclaim his message of life to all willing to hear; they instruct their children and young people in Sunday Schools and Youth Groups, and promote the life of faith and prayer, and obedience to Christ's commands, among their members. 

The Name "Christadelphians"
In the early days, members found that to preserve their identity they had to give themselves a name. "Christadelphians" was chosen because it means "brothers (and of course sisters) in Christ". It has been used to distinguish the community for more than 120 years. 

Since 1864 The Christadelphian Magazine has appeared monthly, issued from Birmingham, U.K. It provides informative articles and contains items of news from ecclesias worldwide. Pamphlets and books are also produced for the use of members and their friends. Other organisations 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 organisation circulated typed exhortations and Bible studies to those members who live some distance form an ecclesia. 

The care of the infirm and 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. 

A Distinctive Foundation
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 one, J. 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 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. 

The Whole Bible
What is the message of the Bible, and why is it different from popular "Christian" ideas? 

It arises from the important principle that the Bible must be understood as a whole. It is easy to uphold certain teachings by accepting some parts of the Scriptures and neglecting others. For instance it is popular today to dismiss much of the Old Testament. Yet these documents - the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets - were accepted by Jesus and his apostles as "the word of the Lord". The Bible is a unity: the revelation of God for mankind begins in the pages of the Old Testament and is continued and expanded in the New. The "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) is to be derived from the whole book. 

Christadelphians accept that all of the Bible is the wholly inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). They therefore read it carefully and regularly. A reading plan, called the Bible Companion, enables them to read the Old Testament once in a year, and the New Testament twice. 

There is another point of great importance: if man is truly to understand the Bible, he must be prepared for the fact that it is absolutely frank about all issues, and primarily about ourselves. It id the most realistic book in the world, confronting the stark issues of life without wishful thinking. Human problems, both of the race and of individuals, are frankly assessed. The origin of the problems is explained and so is the solution to them. The Bible is that only source in the world to do this in harmony with the facts of history and of human life.