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THE DISTINCTIVE BELIEFS OF THE CHRISTADELPHIANS

TONY BENSON

BEFORE saying what the purpose of this Special Issue is, it might be as well to say first what it is not. It is not intended as a comprehensive survey of all that Christadelphians hold to be first principles—that requires a book, not a magazine. It is not primarily an attack on what others around us believe, although of necessity the differences between Christadelphian beliefs and those of the various churches and denominations of Christendom will come out time and time again. It is not primarily an attempt to pick out doctrinal issues which are troubling the Brotherhood, with the intention of reinforcing the truth of what Christadelphians traditionally believe, although it is our desire that this Special Issue will help towards that end. And, finally, it is not intended that this Special Issue should cover the ground covered by the October 1985 Special Issue, “A Living Faith—First Principles in the Life of the Believer which particularly concentrated on the effect our first principles ought to have on our way of life.

What then is its purpose? We live in an age when it is fashionable in Christianity to stress similarities rather than differences to aim for unity amongst all who profess belief in Jesus Christ, whatever that belief might entail. This has not been without its effect upon the Brotherhood. There is now a tendency amongst some to blur the distinctions between Christadelphian beliefs and those of other denominations, and to seek involvement in their activities and worship. As a result there is a danger that we might lose our distinctive identity as a community.

To our early brethren of the nineteenth century the issue was clear. They claimed no supernatural guidance for the establishing of another sect. From their study of the Word of God they identified certain things as being fundamental doctrines which were nevertheless not believed in any of the churches of Christendom. They therefore broke away from these churches, and met together on the basis of a common belief in a set of doctrines identified as being items of saving truth.

The purpose of this Special Issue is then to identify and expound the distinctive beliefs of Christadelphians. It does not cover the entire Statement of Faith, but only those items which have been identified as being the most distinctive: those which are especially characteristic of Christadelphians and which necessitate our separation from all other churches. The absence of any particular Christadelphian first principle from this Issue does not mean that there is any doubt that it is essential to salvation. It merely signifies that it is perhaps less distinctive than those which have been included—that is to say, there are other bodies which also hold the same belief. On the other hand, there is no claim that every item included is totally unique to Christadelphians. There may be matters of doctrine dealt with here which are held by others, but if so, then certainly not by many.

There are nevertheless some significant aspects of our beliefs which at first sight may seem to have been neglected in this Special Issue despite what has been said above. Examples which may well come to mind are the inspiration of the Scriptures, the unity of God, the return of Christ and baptism. A careful reading of what follows in this magazine will show that these subjects have by no means been neglected, but some word of explanation as to why they are not specifically covered may be found useful.

Belief in a totally inspired Bible is not limited to Christadelphians. and does not therefore warrant separate treatment. What is distinctive about our faith is that we accept the Scriptures as our sole authority. Using the intellect which God has given us, and comparing Scripture with Scripture, we arrive at an understanding of what God would have us know. We do not have a supposed Spirit-guided authority, whether an individual or a committee, to tell us what to believe, nor do we believe in an individual guidance by the Spirit to tell us what the Scriptures mean. These matters are covered in the material which follows, and the result of our beliefs on this matter is a set of doctrines quite distinctive from that of other churches who also claim to believe in an inspired Bible but in practice exalt supposed Spirit-guided human reasoning above the Word itself.

Although there is no specific article on the unity of God, this fundamental theme is the basis for an article which deals with the subject of God-manifestation. The corollary of believing in the unity of God is clearly that we reject the doctrine of the Trinity, but various other sects also do this. What is distinctive in Christadelphian teaching is our beliefs about the nature of Christ, and this is well covered in what follows.

The return of Christ is accepted in theory by most churches. For Christadelphians, however, the return of Christ is a key element in two other important doctrines which are distinctively Christadelphian: the fact that he comes to reign over a worldwide Kingdom based on Israel in fulfilment of the promises made to the fathers of old; and the fact that what believers look for is everlasting life on earth in bodily form in that Kingdom, having been raised from the dead. Again, these are matters which are given detailed treatment in what follows.

Baptism in the true Scriptural sense of the total immersion in water of a believing adult is practised by other sects. These other sects generally believe in a supposed Holy Spirit experience which assumes a greater importance than baptism, and the falsity of that doctrine is demonstrated in this magazine. Even if other sects place as much emphasis on baptism as we do it is fundamental to the Christadelphians’ existence as a separate community that baptism without prior belief in what we hold to be the first principles of the Truth is not true Scriptural baptism.

There is no particular order in the articles that follow, except for the first two and the last. The first article deals with God-manifestation, because this subject puts the rest in its right perspective; the plan and purpose of God is based on His desire to manifest Himself in created beings who will ultimately reflect His perfect character and His immortal nature. The second article deals with the Hope of Israel because Christadelphians have always identified themselves with this, believing that God’s purpose is centred in Israel, in particular in the promises made to the fathers of the nation, and in the promised seed in whom they are fulfilled. The final article (apart from the Appendix) follows logically on from the rest in showing that, as a consequence of our distinctive beliefs, we must remain separate from the churches of Christendom and separate in our way of life. Sandwiched between are articles dealing with the remaining topics—all matters of great significance and all matters concerning which we have clear and distinct beliefs which separate us from others.

The main emphasis in this Special Issue is on the positive statement of what we do believe rather than what we do not, although the various authors have not hesitated to refer in unequivocal terms to the latter where appropriate. It should not be forgotten, however, that the logical consequence of holding and believing in certain doctrines, which in fact are a connected series of doctrines which depend on each other, is that other doctrines must be rejected. It should be evident from what follows in this Special Issue that Christadelphians hold to a system of truth, belief in which precludes the acceptance of other beliefs and precludes association with those who hold such beliefs.

The Scriptures themselves require us to take such an attitude. There is such a thing as the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude v.3, RV), “the pattern of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13, RV). There is such a thing as the gospel of Christ”, and if even an apostle or an angel were to preach another gospel he would be accursed (Gal. 1:7,8). To be ignorant of that gospel, or to reject it, is to be “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).

There is a consequence to this, however. As well as holding fast to the Truth ourselves we also have the duty to proclaim it to others, since no one else is in a position to do so. We certainly need to strengthen our hold as a body on these fundamental truths, but we should not be entirely inward looking. Instead we should be actively looking to attract others to come to the Scriptures and share with us that same basic understanding of God’s purpose. It is our desire that this Special Issue may not only serve as a useful reminder of the things which we stand for as Christadelphians so that we might strengthen ourselves in our distinctive faith, but may also encourage the proclamation of these truths to others.

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