B A C K G R O U N D   T O   B E L I E F S 

The First Century

During the centuries that followed the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church that claimed to be Christian, but which had changed the teachings of Jesus' apostles into their own form of religion (as the Bible prophesied would occur), there continued years of persecution and apostasy. A rigorous censorship was imposed on all doctrine, and the Roman army was used to suppress conscientious citizens whose only crime was their determination to worship God according to their understanding of the Bible.

Although everyone that the Roman Catholic Church persecuted did not hold the Truth taught by Jesus' apostles, there have always been those "few" (Luke 12v32) who have kept the light of Truth shining brightly. These groups included the Donatists, the Waldenses, the Paulicians, the Huguenots, and others of succeeding times, who suffered terribly from Catholicism through the Inquisition. Each little group through the ages, like links in a chain, connects the testimony of the apostles with the same doctrines held today by the Christadelphians.

Revival of First Century Teaching

The early 1800's witnessed a dramatic revival in personal study of the Bible. This was stimulated by the formation in 1804 of The British and Foreign Bible Society which resulted in widespread renewal of Bible reading. A revivalist movement headed by Mr Alexander Campbell attracted thousands of people. They were organised in churches under the name Campbellites, later changed to the Churches of Christ.

Among those so drawn was an English medical man, Dr John Thomas. A person of considerable ability, he was induced by Mr Campbell to take a leading part in the movement. This forced Dr Thomas to a close, personal study of the Bible. He began to publicly teach what he found expressed therein, but this brought him into conflict with the leaders of the sect. The opposition from the Campbellite leaders forced Dr Thomas to study the Bible even more closely to make certain that his teaching was sound. This strengthened him in his beliefs, for he found overwhelming support for his teachings from the pages of the Bible. Public debates made this even more apparent and those who once sought his aid refused him permission to teach.

Nevertheless, though the door was closed against him as far as the churches were concerned, Dr Thomas continued to proclaim Bible truths by pen and voice, and gradually others were attracted to these teachings, recognising their truth. However, the gospel is an appeal to a person's intellect and not merely to the emotions, so the number of converts was comparatively small. Still the movement grew, and communities, often small, but fervent, became established in all parts of the world.

Christadelphians do not believe that Dr John Thomas was divinely inspired to reveal a new teaching or to make prophecies. He was simply a medical man, whose attention was drawn to the Bible, and who, by systematically studying it, was able to set before men the clear, simple principles of its teachings. The doctrines he taught had been proclaimed for centuries before him. All he did was to revive the Truth of the gospel from the accumulation of false teaching that had submerged it since the days of Jesus' apostles.

The name 'Christadelphian', meaning 'brethren in Christ' was adopted by believers during the American Civil War.