Christadelphian History
Christadelphians would in general present the claim that they are a modern day restoration of the first century faith and that every person individually has come to their beliefs through independent searching of the Bible. The suggestion is that if only other Christians would read the Bible more carefully and put aside their preconceived ideas they would see Christadelphians have “the Truth.” The assumption here is that they do not suffer from this problem and that history, social conditioning and environment play at best a minor role in the operation of the Christadelphian community. By looking at their history we can understand some of the forces that have influenced the development of the movement.
CHAPTER 1: Changing Explanations for Christadelphian History
A brief consideration of the traditional claim that the founder of the Christadelphians “rediscovered the Truth,” how that has shifted and the significance and necessity in theological terms of having an explanation for a new movement.
CHAPTER 2: Formative Influences Behind the Emergence of the Christadelphians
An examination of possible formative influences behind the start of the movement in America in the nineteenth century.
CHAPTER 3: The Restoration Movement and John Thomas
A look at the life of the founder of the Christadelphians, John Thomas, and how he came to believe he had recovered the long lost faith of the Apostles. This is important in understanding the spirit of the community today.
CHAPTER 4: Formation into an Established Denomination
The story of how a movement centred around the beliefs of one man became set into a denominational form through a schismatic process and the establishment of a defined creedal system.
CHAPTER 5: Wrestling with the Need for Change
An examination of where the Christadelphians are today, the difficulties that lie ahead and what options are open to them.