Posted on 09/05/2025 9:34:43 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
While on a 6 mile walk between villages in the Cotswolds, England today, I spotted this sign on a back street in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England.
”Christadelphians”? What in the world? So I looked it up when we got back to our cottage and this is what I learned.
The Christadelphians, a non-Trinitarian Christian denomination, were founded in the mid-19th century by John Thomas, a British doctor who emigrated to the United States. The name means "brothers and sisters in Christ," derived from Greek. They base their beliefs solely on the Bible, rejecting the Trinity and the immortality of the soul, and aim to replicate the practices of the first-century Christian church. Key practices include believer’s baptism, anticipation of Jesus' second coming, and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. Ecclesias, their autonomous congregations, lack central leadership or paid clergy, with worship centered on simple services like the memorial service commemorating Jesus’ death and resurrection.
By the late 19th century, Christadelphians had grown in England, including the Cotswolds, a rural region in South West England known for its limestone villages. Influenced by John Thomas’ 1849 lecture tours, the movement found traction among non-Trinitarian groups. Around 1900, small ecclesias likely existed in towns like Cirencester or Chipping Campden, meeting in modest venues for Bible study and prayer. The 1898 schism led to the Central Fellowship (Amended Christadelphians) becoming dominant in England, a group that included those with sufficient gospel knowledge in their resurrection beliefs. With an estimated 20,000 members and 300 ecclesias UK-wide by the early 20th century, their presence in the Cotswolds reflected a minority committed to biblical literalism and pacifism, distinct from the region’s Anglican traditions.
A Christadelphian Meeting Room in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, bears a stone sign dated 1904, indicating a dedicated space for the local ecclesia. Located 50 miles south of Birmingham, a hub of Christadelphian activity, this modest stone building reflects the movement’s growth and the Central Fellowship’s influence post-1898 schism. It likely served for Bible study, prayer, and the memorial service, supported possibly by nearby ecclesias. The structure’s simplicity aligns with their avoidance of ornate architecture, marking a significant community effort in a small market town.
As of September 5, 2025, the Christadelphians have not died out. With approximately 50,000 members across 120 countries, and around 20,000 in the UK historically, they remain active. In the UK, they maintain about 300 ecclesias, including potential continued use or legacy of sites like the Bourton-on-the-Water meeting room. Their online presence, including publications like The Christadelphian magazine, and focus on autonomous community activities sustain their small but enduring global presence.
I've always been bothered by Christ crying out "Why hast thou forsaken me?" when He was supposed to be down with the plan all along. I write it off to the excruciating torture that is crucifixion overwhelming the physical brain He was subject to and how humans who write things from old memories tend to be fudgy.
But still...
Beyond that, any organic org which claims to uniquely be the one true church is a cult. The Biblical body of Christ (Colossians 1:18) is the one true church to which He is married, (Ephesians 5:25) the "household of faith," (Galatians 6:10) for it uniquely only and always consists 100% of true believers, and which spiritual body of Christ is what the Spirit baptizes every believer into, (1Co. 12:13) while organic fellowships in which they express their faith inevitably become admixtures of wheat and tares, with Catholicism and liberal Protestantism being mostly the latter.
No, the question was rhetorical, as the Lord was purposely stating the prophecy that He was fulfilling. For since He bore our sins in His own body, being made sin for us,(1 Pt. :24; 3:18; 2 Co. 5:21) then in a real sense the Father turned away from His Divine Son, signified by darkness:
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:33-34)
This meaning flows from holding to what sola scriptura is to be part of (and which cults do not practice since Scripture is not the sure, supreme substantive standard for faith and practice, but their org is effectively the supreme sure authority, though such supreme interpreters can be variously interpreted), which means studying, including reading some conservative commentaries (SS is not opposed to use of such Scriptural "due us of ordinary means"), thereby understanding principles of sound exegesis, esp. context, speech forms, etc., and avoiding isolationist exegesis.
Thus those who most strongly esteem Scripture as the accurate and wholly inspired word of God, with its basic literal hermeneutic, have long testified to being far more conservative and unified in polled core beliefs and values than other large groups.
What I have heard, which makes a TON of sense, is that since the Jews didn't have the reference system we do for Scripture passages, Jesus couldn't have said *Psalm 22*, so what He did was quoted the first verse of the Psalm which they would have been very familiar with, to draw their attention to the fact that what He was suffering was very specifically prophesied in that psalm and thy could see it being fulfilled before their very eyes: the bones out of joint, His hands and feet pierced, the casting lots for His clothes.....
In particular, it would be verses 6-18.
I agree sir. If they deny the Trinity, they are already behind the 8 ball.
Yes, Psalm 22:12-13. Who were the strong bulls of Bashan? Demons? Were they present at the crucifixion?
Also the religious leaders.
Most likely both.
Not many can relate in such dense verbiage as to make me read something multiple times but you, Daniel, did just that. I did overlook the God-made eclipse and what it illustrated for those slow on the uptake (Romans, pharisees, etc.). You can take up the finer points with other seminarians, as I’m just a yokel who whittles it down to John 3:16. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
From Psalm 22:
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
Really though, I cannot believe that only one system of worship is “right” and everyone following others are eternally damned because they chose wrong or weren’t exposed to the correct one. Perhaps God looks at the Christadelphians and decides two out of three is close enough. It would be a terrible waste of good souls if we were shut out on technicalities like that.
But I’m a simpleton who thinks God most likely takes aborted babies, wipes off the ordeal and sends them back to more deserving mothers. It’s what I would do.
It don’t note.
Rome thought it wise to include it in a Book she assembled.
(There are many OTHER things Rome now believes that did NOT get written into that very same Book.)
Lady Jane my butt!
To the Iron Maiden with ye!
Dear Mike,
I completely understand how Jesus’ cry on the cross—”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)—can feel troubling, especially when we know He willingly embraced His mission.
I was also heavily bothered by that and then, when reading early Christian writers I realized that Christians right from the first century have been pondering that very same question.
Your concern on this is not only what I’ve felt, but what deeply religious men and women have pondered for nearly 2 millennia. So we’re in a good club!!
It’s a raw moment that highlights His full humanity, and it’s okay to wrestle with it; many of us do. The Catholic Church teaches that these words aren’t a sign of doubt or abandonment by the Father but a profound prayer quoting Psalm 22:1.
One of the Christians from the 200s, Origen in his Commentary on Matthew (27.46), Origen interprets the cry as Jesus taking on the persona of forsaken sinners, quoting Psalm 22 to teach that God doesn’t abandon the righteous. He sees it as a fulfillment of prophecy, where Jesus voices humanity’s cry to draw us to trust in God’s deliverance (Psalm 22 ends in triumph).
Jesus, in His agony, identifies with our deepest suffering and fulfills the Scriptures, turning to the Psalm’s message of ultimate trust and victory (Psalm 22 ends in hope and praise). It’s His way of showing solidarity with us in our pain, while remaining perfectly united to the Father.
Your thought about the physical torment overwhelming Him touches on His true human nature—He felt every bit of it, just as we would. Here is a helpful article in case you are interested: https://www.catholic.com/qa/why-did-jesus-cry-out-my-god-my-god-why-have-you-forsaken-me. Why Did Jesus Cry Out?
You’re asking great questions—keep seeking, and may God bless your journey!
In Christ,
Cronos
About the missing socks.
I think the centripetal force of the spin dryer creates a transdimensional vortex that whisks the socks off to a pocket universe. Inside that pocket universe you have sentient socks.
The first sentient sock, let’s call him Van Vanderbilt, discovered the portal when the Impossibility drive in Zaphod Beebelbrox’s ship created it (it was impossible you know).
As you can guess I love the whimsical wackadoodleness of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy (a trilogy in 5 parts!). Have you read it?
” They base their beliefs solely on the Bible, rejecting the Trinity and the immortality of the soul,”
THAT makes no sense at all.
That’s interesting — and kinda funny.
“there was quite a diversity in opinion before Martin Luther. Just suppressed.”
Even before guys invented RC that was true.
I just see it as the incarnate part of Jesus rearing its head. He had feelings as humans do.
Christadelphians base their beliefs solely on the Bible, rejecting the Trinity and the immortality of the soul.
Here are some links for their belief systems
Christadelphians reject the Trinity doctrine, which posits one God in three co-equal, co-eternal persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), because they believe it is not taught in the Bible and they are strict sola scriptura
Christadelphians note that terms like “Trinity,” “God the Son,” or “God the Holy Spirit” are absent from Scripture,
Christadelphians argue Jesus was born of Mary (Galatians 4:4), making him a created being, not eternal in the same sense as God.
Christadelphians link to the historical adoption of the Trinity under influences like Platonic philosophy and pagan triads (e.g., Egyptian Osiris-Isis-Horus)
Christadelphians deny the inherent immortality of the soul, viewing it as a pagan-derived doctrine (influenced by Egyptian and Greek ideas, such as Plato’s) rather than biblical truth. They teach that humans are mortal, the soul refers to the whole living being (body and breath), death is a state of unconsciousness, and immortality is a future gift granted to the faithful at resurrection.
One Christadelphian freeper, nearly 15 years ago wrote
The biblical arguments of Christadelphians include:
Death as Unconsciousness: The Bible describes the dead as knowing nothing, contradicting an immortal soul surviving death. Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 states, “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing... Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 adds, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Psalms reinforce this: Psalm 146:4 (”His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish”) and Psalm 6:5 (”For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?”).
The Soul is Mortal: The Hebrew “nephesh” (soul) and Greek “psuche” mean a breathing creature or life, applicable to humans and animals, and it can die. Genesis 2:7 describes creation: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Souls die: Ezekiel 18:20 (”The soul that sinneth, it shall die”); James 5:20 (”He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death”); Acts 3:23 (”And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed”). Animals are also called souls (Genesis 1:20-24; Revelation 16:3: “Every living soul died in the sea”). The Bible never calls the soul “immortal”; words like “immortal” or “immortality” appear sparingly and refer to God (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16) or a future state for believers (Romans 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:53-54)
Immortality as a Gift: If souls were inherently immortal, concepts like perishing (Psalm 49:12-20), eternal life as a reward (Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”), and resurrection would be unnecessary. Immortality depends on faith in Christ (John 6:40; 11:25) and is conferred at his return (1 Corinthians 15:16-18, 51-54; Romans 2:6-8). Resurrection passages emphasize a future bodily awakening, not an immediate afterlife (Daniel 12:2-3; Job 19:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Timothy 4:8).
This is where sola scriptura takes folks...
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