Berean Christadelphians

The Berean Christadelphians are a Christian denomination that separated from the main Christadelphian denomination in the 1920s, withdrawing congregational fellowship in the process. They are not to be confused with the Christian denomination known as the 'Berean Fellowship', whose beliefs are radically different [ [http://www.thebereanfellowship.org/WhatWeBelieve.dsp Articles Of Faith] ] and who have no historical connection to the Berean Christadelphians. [ [http://www.thebereanfellowship.org/WhoWeAre.dsp Who We Are] ] [ [http://www.bereanfellowship.org/believe.php?shortcut=faith_christian_fellowship What We Believe] ]

History

The schism resulting in the formation of the Berean Christadelphian Fellowship took place in 1923 over the nature of Christ and the atonement. [cite web | last =Phillips | first =Jim | title =The Berean Christadelphians: Why the Bereans? | url =http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/Bereans/wbp2.html#Bereans/Central| accessdate =2008-01-19 ] As a result of disagreement with the standard Christadelphian position, a large group of Christadelphians withdrew from the main body and identified themselves as the Berean Fellowship. This schism held to the formation of a doctrine of congregational fellowship which required entire ecclesias (congregations), to withdraw from any other ecclesia in fellowship with individuals or ecclesias in error. [Julio Scaramastro and Jim Phillips, "The Doctrine of Fellowship" 1982] This position radicalised the Berean fellowship, and has contributed to a number of other schisms from the Berean fellowship itself (including the Family Journal schism, [cite web | last =Phillips | first =Jim | title =The Berean Christadelphians: Why the Bereans? | url =http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/Bereans/wbp3.html#Family | accessdate =2008-01-19 ] the Dawn schism, [cite web | last =Phillips | first =Jim | title =The Berean Christadelphians: Why the Bereans? | url =http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/Bereans/wbp3.html#Dawn | accessdate =2008-01-19 ] the Four Point schism, and the Antipas schism [cite web | last =Phillips | first =Jim | title =The Southern California Division | url =http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/Bereans/Myfiles/davis.html | accessdate =2008-01-19 ] [cite web | last =Phillips | first =Jim | title =The Berean Christadelphians: Why the Bereans? | url =http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/Bereans/wbp4.html#Another | accessdate =2008-01-19 ] ).

In the early 1950s the majority of the Berean Fellowship re-joined the Temperance Hall Fellowship (which later, after other reunions, became known as the "Central Fellowship", the main body of Christadelphians), [See "" section in Wikipedia's "Christadelphians" article.] with the remainder continuing as a separate community. In doing so this large group of Bereans abandoned their insistence on the Berean understanding of the atonement and fellowship. This reunion, together with the attrition resulting from schisms within the Berean Fellowship (mentioned above), has caused Berean numbers to decline to around 400 individuals.Fact|date=February 2008

Distinguishing Berean characteristics

Over time the Bereans have developed a culture which differentiates them radically from mainstream Christadelphians. For example, Berean Christadelphians believe that true Christadelphians are defined as those who follow the teachings of John Thomas and Robert Roberts (two early Christadelphians whose writings were influential in the formative years of the movement), ['If they do not agree with the exposition of the glorious Gospel of Salvation he has given us in Elpis Israel and Eureka, faithfully followed by bro. Roberts in his lifelong labors, then they should be honest and cease using the name Christadelphian: for they have no right to it, any more than the various religious denominations have the right to call themselves Christians, not believing and teaching what Jesus and the apostles taught in the first century', George Gibson, ' [http://rightlydividedtruth.bravehost.com/name.html The Right To A Name] '] and also believe that true Christadelphians are those who learn the gospel from the writings of these men rather than personal study of the Bible. ['Why cannot all who call themselves Christadelphians realize that, without any effort on our part, bro. John Thomas gave us the Truth concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Anointed?', George Gibson, ' [http://rightlydividedtruth.bravehost.com/name.html The Right To A Name] '] They are also differentiated radically by a number of doctrinal differences (listed after this paragraph). Some of these doctrines are shared with the "Unamended Fellowship" (but not the majority Christadelphian group known as the ), particularly beliefs on the atonement and what the Bible teaches about human nature (referred to commonly as 'the flesh'). Some of these doctrines constitute beliefs which the original Bereans held, whilst others are the development of original beliefs. ['The Evolving Berean Fellowship Position', Steven Genusa, September 2007] A number of these beliefs are not held by any other Christadelphian fellowship, which the Bereans take as indicative that their group alone holds the correct understanding of the gospel. ['The term "Berean" identifies us as a separate group from other Christadelphians' [http://www.bereans.info The Berean Christadelphians] ] ['The Berean Christadelphians hold fast to the foundation principles upon which the Christadelphian movement was started in the middle 1800s. Sadly, throughout our history, we have found it necessary to withdraw from some Christadelphian groups who would not defend the foundation principles. Equally sad, other Christadelphian groups have decided to add to the original sound foundation laid down by the early brethren, demanding others to join in their additions and have refused those who would not [...] Our movement is today--and by the grace of God will continue to be until Christ returns--an accurate reflection of those divine principles brought to light by the dedicated work of our pioneer brethren' [http://www.bereans.info The Berean Christadelphians] ] ['On our part, both careful research and personal contact has revealed that on the whole, as a fellowship, Berean brethren are more oriented toward original Christadelphian beliefs than are the other respective groups on the whole, as a fellowship: Even on their worst day, Bereans appear to be better off doctrinally than virtually anything else that we have been able to find, on its best day' [http://rightlydividedtruth.bravehost.com/page2.html Christadelphian History and The Biblical Fellowship] ] ['In 1923, those remaining in The Fellowship were brethren and sisters comprising over 100 Ecclesias in the British Commonwealth and the Americas who would become known as The Berean Christadelphians. These held to the original Christadelphian doctrines' [http://rightlydividedtruth.bravehost.com/page2.html Christadelphian History and The Biblical Fellowship] As can be seen in the full article cited, Bereans use the term 'The Fellowship' to refer to the group of individuals who hold the true gospel. This statement is a declaration that the Berean group are those who are 'remaining in The Fellowship', as opposed to non-Berean Christadelphian groups, who are not.]

The following is a list of the beliefs which differentiate the Bereans radically from mainstream Christadelphians:

* The Berean position on congregational fellowship (described above) ['This page will contain a history of the Christadelphians as it pertains to the Berean fellowship, along with specific doctrines which separate us from other Christadelphian groups' [http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/Bereans/whybereans.html Why the Bereans?] ]
* That sin is a physical substance which is the cause of moral transgression, disease and death ['Sin's Flesh, the flesh in which the Diabolos, SIN, resided in every cell and fibre', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] ['As a race, we ARE Sin. Everything we do naturally is Sin. Sin is the very fiber of our being', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] ['The term "sin" is scripturally extended by the process called "metonymy" (extending a name to include a related thing) to include the evil, corrupt, death-bringing principle in every cell and particle of human flesh - the diabolos - that causes all diseases and death and disharmony with God', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978]
* That babies die because they are made of this physical substance which is sin (and so inherit the wages of sin) [GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978]
* That although the Bible uses the word 'sin' in two different senses, it always refers to only one thing and not two separate things since sin and the cause of sin are one and the same ['Let us not be squeamishly afraid to give the name SIN to the very root of sin', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] ['We are told by some that we must not link transgressions and sin-in-the-flesh in the same "category," as two "aspects" of the same basic sin constitution. That is, we must not link "the Devil" (Diabolos) "and his works." But the Scriptures do', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978]
* That God treats both sin and the cause of sin in the same way ['When God condemned Sin by condemning the Diabolos in the sinless Christ, He inseparably linked all aspects of sin together - or active sin was not condemned', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978]
* That Jesus, through his miraculous birth and divine parentage, was enabled to resist sin to an extent normal human beings are incapable ['While possessing this nature that overwhelms us at times how was Christ able to overcome it perfectly? Certainly God being his father by begettal was the key' [http://adamic.bravehost.com/father.html What Did Christ Inherit from his Father?] ] ['Because his father was God he was born with the ABILITY or POTENTIAL to live a sinless life' [http://adamic.bravehost.com/father.html What Did Christ Inherit from his Father?] ]
* That Jesus earned the wages of sin ['And seeing that the wages of sin is death—whether it be physical or moral sin—all must die', "Simplified Atonement", adapted from "God’s Way Of Atonement", by Frank Jannaway]
* That John Thomas (founder of the Christadelphian movement), was raised up by God to restore the Truth to the earth, and was chosen by God because of his unique fitness to the task ['brother Thomas was providentially selected as the best instrument for the work at hand, namely, the recovery of the Truth within the Divinely foreordained limits of the non-inspirational era in which he lived. For the accomplishment of this task, we wholeheartedly believe that the Lord chose one who possessed great spiritual capacity, and was totally meet for the challenge', Bob Widding, "Contending for the Faith: A Command for 21st Century Saints" from the Berean Bible Journal, January 2008] ['Many years ago I came to the firm conviction, daily strengthened ever since, that bre. Thomas and Roberts were divinely and providentially raised up to revive the Truth of God and the Body of Christ in these last days, and that they laid a sound foundation of Truth - all the Truth - as regards fellowship and salvation', GV Growcott, article 'What does the Scripture Teach about Divorce and Remarriage?', July 1971]

* That God requires a sacrifice for 'sinful nature', and that Christ therefore had to make a sacrifice both for his sinful nature and for the sinful nature of humanity ['It was necessary that Jesus should offer for himself for the purging of his own nature, first, from the uncleanness of death', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978]
* That human nature is physically defiled by sin even before personal transgression has taken place ['God ordained sacrificial blood-shedding for the cleansing of mankind from the defilement brought on the race through Adam', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978]
* That even without personal transgression, man is an abomination unto His Creator and has need for redemption through the shedding of blood [GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978]
* That those who do not value the writings of the 'Pioneers' (John Thomas and Robert Roberts, early Christadelphians who were influential in the formative years of the movement), are on their way back to the apostasy ['There are two kinds of Christadelphians: those who recognize and appreciate the value and soundness and stability afforded by the writings and labours of brethren Thomas and Roberts-and those who do not. Not much can be done to help the latter kind. They are on their way back to the old Apostasy', GV Growcott, ' [http://www.west.net/~antipas/books/search_me/esteem.html Search Me, O God] ']
* That the true body of believers is to be identified by how closely the adhere to the teachings of the 'Pioneers' ['The best representative of the Christadelphian faith today is determined by the likeness of doctrine and practice to the original model - you are invited to our site to view original Christadelphian teaching', scrolling banner on Berean website [http://www.rightlydividedtruth.bravehost.com/pio.html A Proactive Conservative Christadelphian Site] ]
* That the 'Pioneers' should be the first reference for any interpretation of Scripture, and are authoritative in their interpretation of Scripture ['We urge all to deeply study the sound writings of our pioneers on this subject, in their faithful expounding of Scripture', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] ['Given brother Thomas' place in the revival of God's Truth, it is only logical that we thoughtfully consider his works when contending for the faith becomes necessary', Bob Widding, "Contending for the Faith: A Command for 21st Century Saints" from the Berean Bible Journal, January 2008] ['A careful study of their works reveals a depth in understanding that is scarcely found in this age', Bob Widding, "Contending for the Faith: A Command for 21st Century Saints" from the Berean Bible Journal, January 2008]

The Berean attitude to the writings of John Thomas and Robert Roberts is almost unique, though shared by some in the Unamended fellowship, and a very few in the Central fellowship. They believe that the Bible should be interpreted according to the writings of these two early Christadelphians (to whom they refer as 'the Pioneers'), and that all Scripture must be harmonized with the interpretations in these writings. Whilst denying that they believe either man was inspired, they do profess the belief that both men were raised up by God, and that John Thomas in particular was specifically chosen by God as being unique among men on the earth in his day. ['brother Thomas was providentially selected as the best instrument for the work at hand, namely, the recovery of the Truth within the Divinely foreordained limits of the non-inspirational era in which he lived. For the accomplishment of this task, we wholeheartedly believe that the Lord chose one who possessed great spiritual capacity, and was totally meet for the challenge', Bob Widding, "Contending for the Faith: A Command for 21st Century Saints" from the Berean Bible Journal, January 2008] ['The man was not infallible, but providentially chosen for this work of re-establishing the Truth in these latter days', Stephen Male, article 'Esteem Them Very Highly In Love For Their Works Sake', Berean Christadelphian Ecclesial News, December, 2003] ['There is not a current brother that I know, or whose writings I have read, that has a tenth of the Scriptural knowledge that these pioneer brethren had, and I freely and happily include myself in this comparison. The comparison is so lop-sided it is pitiful. There is no comparison', GV Growcott, article 'What does the Scripture Teach about Divorce and Remarriage?', July 1971]

Other Berean characteristics

For reasons which are unclear, many Bereans refer to John Thomas as 'Doctor Thomas' rather than 'Brother Thomas' (as male members of the Christadephians usually are). Bereans doubt that the Bible alone is sufficient to teach the gospel, believing that the writings of either John Thomas or Robert Roberts are not only necessary but vital for a correct understanding of the Scriptures (considering the writings of John Thomas and Robert Roberts authoritative expositions of the Bible), and it is taught that neglect of the regular reading of these writings is 'to put our own salvation at risk!'. ['Let us make sure we make up part of that small number of Christ s beloved friends and brethren, who will be found studying the Scriptures with the aids that Yahweh has mercifully provided for us, in the writings of the Pioneers. Let us read and re-read and re-read them. To fall short in this study and reading is to put our own salvation at risk!', Stephen Male, article 'Esteem Them Very Highly In Love For Their Works Sake', Berean Christadelphian Ecclesial News, December, 2003] ['"Give us Only the Bible" This has a noble sound doesn't it? One of truth and righteousness. Honesty. Integrity. Freedom from the traditions of men. A safe harbor for men and women of faith. Unfortunately, this claim is more specious than true.' [http://pub36.bravenet.com/forum/3007400815/show/798232 Give us Only the Bible] article by Bob Widdings, 23 January, 2008] ['This lack of reading and respect for the pioneer's knowledge and values has lead to the near collapse of the brotherhood today', Stephen Male, article 'Esteem Them Very Highly In Love For Their Works Sake', Berean Christadelphian Ecclesial News, December, 2003] ['There are two kinds of Christadelphians: those who recognize and appreciate the value and soundness and stability afforded by the writings and labours of brethren Thomas and Roberts-and those who do not. Not much can be done to help the latter kind. They are on their way back to the old Apostasy', GV Growcott, ' [http://www.west.net/~antipas/books/search_me/esteem.html Search Me, O God] '] ['I have personally witnessed some Christadelphians who have rejected the pioneers and as a result have completely fallen away from the Truth', Stephen Male, article 'Esteem Them Very Highly In Love For Their Works Sake', Berean Christadelphian Ecclesial News, December, 2003] Bereans are typically suspicious of interpreting the Bible without the aid of the writings of John Thomas and Robert Roberts. ['Those who disagree with brethren Thomas and Roberts are often very coy about revealing this openly. They very much prefer to make a big show of "going right back to Scripture," brushing aside brethren Thomas and Roberts without openly repudiating them', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] ['This cry we hear so much today in defense of this new theory, raised against the teachings of bre. Thomas and Roberts, "We want the Scriptures, not the teachings of men!" this has been the battle-cry of error right from the beginning. When you hear that piously proclaimed, be well on guard!', GV Growcott, article 'What does the Scripture Teach about Divorce and Remarriage?', July 1971] The writings of John Thomas and Robert Roberts are considered authoritative expositions in the Berean fellowship, and Bereans will often quote them in discussion of Biblical issues instead of quoting the Bible. ['We quote brethren Thomas and Roberts profusely and unashamedly because the Christadelphian Body has had this elementary first principle matter firmly settled in its mind for over 100 years, based on the providential labors of these two brethren', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] ['If we did not have the brilliant, stable, providentially-provided light of the works of these brethren - if we had to depend for help on the poor little flickering candles in the earth today - what pitiful straits we would be in!', GV Growcott, article 'What does the Scripture Teach about Divorce and Remarriage?', July 1971]

Bereans often use a method of Biblical interpretation which is highly anagogical, with a heavy emphasis on typology and conjectural exposition. This is the method used commonly by early Christian expositors such as Origen and Augustine, and Berean exposition often resembles that of Origen in its appeal to anagogue and typology. [A typical example is GV Growcott's, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] Whilst this method of exposition is also found in the main Christadelphian community, it does not predominate there as it does among the Bereans. Again, whilst in the main Christadelphian community it is used as a method of illustrating existing doctrines taught explicitly by the Bible, in the Berean community it is frequently used as the foundation of doctrines not revealed explicitly in the Bible but which the Bereans view as 'first principles', foundation doctrines which are necessary for salvation. ['A sacrifice must be offered at his birth. Why? What did it mean? They were very poor. It was just two common little birds. But what tremendous import! He was one of us, and we are one with him. What was the fulfilled REALITY of that typical, shadowly, forward-pointing offering that Mary made because HE was born of Adam's race? He fulfilled on Calvary the offering made at his birth', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] ['The pre-eminent antitype of the Nazarite is Christ, and every sacrifice of the Law is a type of his sacrifice, and has no meaning apart from that sacrifice. Do you get the picture? You will, and will rejoice in its beauty and fittingness, if you understand the Truth that sound Christadelphians have always believed and insisted on, that Christ, though personally sinless, was redeemed and cleansed by his own sacrifice, in the God-appointed way, from the defilement of his physical relationship to the Sin-and-Death constitution - and that THIS was the essential link between him and us that makes his death a testimony to God's righteousness, and effectual for our salvation', GV Growcott, "The Purifying of the Heavenly" 1978] Literal events described in the Bible are commonly declared to be typological of later events, and there is much speculation over the identity of the 'anti-type'. Discussions of this kind of exposition sometimes take place on online forums in a 'Mars Hill' format, in which conjectural exposition is proposed and encouraged. Conclusions are generally accepted without challenge, and rarely disputed. It is considered unnecessary to provide evidence for such conjectures, since this method of exposition is itself considered 'Scriptural', and is assumed to produce accurate results. [ [http://pub36.bravenet.com/forum/3007400815 Christadelphian Forum] , a Berean forum for typical 'Mars Hill' format discussions of exposition, doctrine, and practice.]

References and footnotes