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There are Christadelphians in many countries of the
world. We are people who read the whole Bible and accept it as a
message from God. Christadelphians read the Bible carefully. They
believe in the Bible’s promises about Jesus Christ. They believe what
the Bible says about the future of the world. They are waiting for the
return of Jesus from heaven to set up God's kingdom on the earth. The
name “Christadelphian” combines the name “Christ” with the Greek word "adelphi"
meaning "brother". So it means "brothers and sisters in Christ".
If you wish to know more about the Christadelphians please click the
relevant question below.
Frequently asked questions
Where do Christadelphians live?
What do Christadelphians believe?
How did the Christadelphians begin?
How do Christadelphians organise themselves?
Do Christadelphians have the same beliefs all over the world?
What kind of people are Christadelphians?
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Answers to Frequently
Asked Questions
Where do Christadelphians live?
There are Christadelphians in over 50 countries: United Kingdom, Africa,
USA, Canada, the Caribbean, parts of South America, Malaysia, Singapore,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Korea, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
India, Pakistan, Germany and Eastern Europe; and in the Pacific Islands,
New Zealand and Australia. There are even some Christadelphians in
Israel.
What do Christadelphians believe?
Christadelphians believe the things that Jesus and his disciples taught
nearly 2000 years ago.
Unfortunately, some Christians do not closely follow the Bible today.
They have changed things to how they want them to be.
Since the times of Jesus, there have been small groups of people who
believed what the Bible said. Many of these people were cruelly treated
in times past as a result of their beliefs.
If you wish to see a summary of our beliefs please click
here.
How did the Christadelphians begin?
In 1832, an English doctor named John Thomas was sailing from London to
New York. He was going to America to see if it was a good place to live.
As the ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean, a violent storm came. It looked
as if the ship would sink and everyone aboard would die. John Thomas
suddenly found that he knew nothing about what would happen after he
died. He vowed that he would find out if he lived through the storm.
Dr. Thomas lived through the storm, and came to America. As he had
promised, he started to read and study the Bible. For the next 15 years,
he visited many of the churches in America. John
Thomas saw that they did not teach everything he read in the Bible. He
wrote many books and started a magazine telling others what he had found
in the Bible.
He returned to England to tell people there what he had found in the
Bible. Another Englishman, Robert Roberts, helped Dr. Thomas. Soon there
were people worshipping together in England. In the Christadelphians,
each group of believers is called an "ecclesia" rather than "church".
This is because it is the people that are important, not the building.
When most people think of churches, they think of the building before
they think of the people.
1864 brought the Civil War in the USA. The believers there needed a name
to call themselves, so that they could get permission from the
Government not to fight in the War. Dr. Thomas thought up the word "Christadelphian".
The name combines the name “Christ” with the Greek word "adelphi"
meaning "brother". So the name "Christadelphian" means "brothers and
sisters in Christ".
Christadelphians are grateful to John Thomas for his efforts in
searching out the message of the Bible. John Thomas was not a prophet or
someone special. He read the Bible, just as we try to do.
Christadelphians follow Jesus Christ, not John Thomas.
How do Christadelphians organise themselves?
There are groups of Christadelphians who look after preaching work, the
sick, the old, and children. There are Offices in a few countries that
print books and magazines. Christadelphians generally have no paid ministers
or priests. There is no central group who decides what is done or what
is believed. The members of each group give their money to pay for
things that must be done. Access to the English Course on this web-site
is free to you, the student, because the message of the Bible is free.
How do Christadelphians work together if there is no central group? We
are joined together by our common faith in the Bible, and the way we
live.
Each "ecclesia" looks after its own affairs, and choose members who
determine arrangements and organise activities on behalf of the members.
Members are called "Brother" and "Sister".
Jesus Christ is the head of each ecclesia. Christadelphians do not build
enormous grand buildings. Some ecclesias have their own halls, but some
meet in schoolrooms, halls or homes.
Do Christadelphians have the same beliefs all
over the world ?
In whatever part of the world they live, Christadelphians have read and
studied the Bible, and have come to the same basic beliefs. These
beliefs are summarised in a "Statement of Faith", which forms the basis
of our community. As the Bible teaches adult baptism, before anyone is
baptised and becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ, he or she must
understand the important teachings of the Bible.
Christadelphians can travel throughout the world and find other
Christadelphians. They are friends because they all believe in Jesus.
They are in "fellowship".
What kind of people are Christadelphians?
We all need God’s help. So we believe that it is important to pray.
Every day, we try to read some of the Bible. On Sunday mornings, we meet
to remember what Jesus has done by dying for us. You will find that
Christadelphians are very happy people because they have a sure and
practical faith. We are very serious about the way we live, because we
are waiting for Jesus Christ to return to the earth and set-up God’s
kingdom.
We
must be ready for the coming of Jesus.
Christadelphians lead clean and honest lives. We do not drink heavily,
and we do not gamble. We try to be generous, as God has been generous to
us. Christadelphians obey the law. We try to do the right thing. We do
not take part in politics or government; we do not fight or go to war;
we do not take people to court. Following Jesus means being true to your
wife or husband. We do not have sex outside marriage. The family unit is
very important; God wants us to live in families.
Christadelphians want to share the message of Jesus with you.
Christadelphians believe that the message of Jesus is important. We want
you to know what the Bible says. We hope that you will read the Bible
for yourself, and see that it has a message for everyone. All you have
to do is read the Bible carefully, and ask God to help you. Perhaps one
day soon, you might like to join us.
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
John 17:3
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