Pardon the provocative headline. In this article I will show why I believe the Christadelphian religion is founded on falsehood, using several distinct lines of evidence.
"What you may see as an amazing promise of eternal life ...could just as well be a poisonous lie that robs you of the only life you had...and yet most Christadelphians never take the time to seriously investigate it"Click here to read the rest of the article
None of this is new, but since I am occasionally asked why I don't believe, I decided to put it all together in one (long) article. For many Christadelphians it will no doubt be instantly dismissed as they do not accept my sources nor the foundations of my epistemology. For those that are interested in (just a few of) the reasons why people leave, this article may be informative. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteChristadelphians are following the Holy Scriptures and naturally if you do not believe in God nor in the Bible as the Word of God you can claim that Christadelphians are wrong, which is your full right to say so, but that does not make them to be wrong or to be a sect or cult.
ReplyDeleteAt the rest of the article could not be responded, but it is made clear over there thta you do not seem to have a clear picture of what is a Biblical prophecy and what are thoughts of certain people and which should never be accounted for as prophecies or as true predictions but just as human thoughts (a big difference). If you felt in the trap of being carried away by certain people their thoughts or guesses, that says more about you than about the denomination.
I completely agree with your first point, which is why the title contains the words "I think". I don't expect anyone to believe anything merely because I said so - and you should definitely check out everything I said for yourself. I've tried to be as factual as possible but I am human and may make mistakes. If you find any, please let me know so I can update the article.
DeleteI found your second paragraph rather confusing. The prophecies I mentioned in the article are:
1. The return of Israel
2. The destruction of Tyre (Ezek 26), and
3. The desolation of Egypt (Ezek 29)
Which of these do you claim is not a prophecy?
Also, in which of these did I misrepresent the views of Christadelphians?
Marcus, there are two separate questions here:
Delete1. Is the Bible a reliable source of truth?
2. If so, is Christadelphian teaching an accurate representation of the Bible?
It seems to me that Thom has made valid points about both of those questions, though probably focusing more on point 1 (which is fair - if the Bible is not a reliable source of truth, arguing about the correct interpretation of the Bible is shifting deck chairs on the Titanic).
Thom's interpretation of the various areas seems consistent with the views of the majority of Christadelphians I interacted with (in a different area from him). Christadelphians are already a small enough group - do you conclude that a large percentage of that small group are also astray from truth? Where does it end?
As for prophecy, Thom is correct in saying that many Christadelphians present their particular interpretations of prophecy (especially Israel) as one of the best evidences for their belief, possibly even outstripping the resurrection (in my experience the most common apologetic from many other denominations). If you wish to say those Christadelphians have overreached or misinterpreted the prophecy, you are welcome to. But to be convincing you then need to replace that proferred evidence with other evidence, otherwise we will have no reason to believe the Bible.
Marcus, what you believe does not make you a cult. CDs are not a cult because they are not fully trinitarian, or because they are pre-millenialists etc etc. Its is how the institution treats its members that makes something a cult. What is expected, how it is enforced, etc. Did you read Navigator's post on the 'Why John Bedson..' thread? He said this :
Delete'John B. on this site has spent lots of time and effort rubbishing, ridiculing and arguing against the people he disagrees with, and encouraging others to do the same. This is so Christadelphian!'
Yes its almost as if John B was brought up in some sort of cult!
The first part of Marcus' comment is fine, but it applies to all Christian denominations, they all think they are following the Bible. So what?
DeleteJacobus makes a good point. It is how you behave with that knowledge that make you a cult. Never mind John Bedson, John Thomas and Robert Roberts, followed by all other Christadeplhians to this day spend huge amounts of time rubbishing every other denomination, and crucially, cutting themselves off, and cutting their offspring off from any non-compliant piece of thinking, couple that with disfellowshipping and shunning, and yes you have a cult.
I've read Marcus' second paragraph about 20 times. I still cant decide if it is as bad as it reads, or just looks that way to a native English speaker, and the real meaning has been lost in the translation. I hope the latter, because to me it reads that the "prophecy" part of the article is beyond comment because the author doesn't understand what is prophecy and what is not. This "you don't understand because you haven't read your Bible enough" line is very typical Christadelphians though, I used to get it all the time when as a member I challenged anything at all, and usually from the least well educated sister in the meeting!
The other part looks like a case of victim blaming. You believed a speaker? He was wrong but if you knew your Bible well enough, you would have known that, so your fault!
Marcus, please clarify your meaning.
"many Christadelphians present their particular interpretations of prophecy..." and if you want confirmation of that, read the differing interpretations of the various prophecies discussed, and which become disagreements between brethren (and sisters), on the letters pages in the CD mag.
ReplyDeleteYou would be lucky to even be able to order it, such is the turmoil that has engulfed their website for months now. Crazy "clever" graphics that don't work, and whole sections effectively 404. No means of even looking at the current article listing, and it has been like it for months.
ReplyDeleteThe Christadelphian Archaeologist would that be Leen Ritmeyer?
ReplyDeleteLook at the christadelphians treated me I was there biggest supporter online with my own money I paid for dvds and uploaded them on YouTube to preach what they believed I was disallowshipped from Stockport meeting for not agreeing with their u christadelphian views on the atonement my YouTube channel was closed down by the rugby meeting because my channel was more popular then the one Mr courtonel was running and I've been told that if I want to be back in fellowship I've got to sort things out with stockport according to the Ecclesia guide which is a book that controls christadelphian thinking on fellowship this is what makes them a cult they can not forgive people according to the Scriptures it has to be done according to the Ecclesial guide so the christadelphians are a cult and I don't want to be ba k in fellowship with them
ReplyDeleteThere were many reasons why Peter Forster was Disfellowshipped, including harassment, defamation, threats and violence, not to mention false teachings.
DeleteWe have continued to receive anonymous responses to this comment. We will not be publishing any more, since we don't see the benefit of posting allegations publicly when we don't know the facts of the case.
DeleteJust a reminder that where possible we'd like the discussion here to be about ideas, not about the actions of particular individuals or ecclesias. Though that can of course include the teachings of specific Christadelphians, past and present, particularly where they are posted publicly online.
Pete,
ReplyDeleteI don`t know the details and your personal circumstances with the Stockport ecclesia, but you are clearly upset by the outcome. I would suggest you take time to let "the dust settle" and think about what your feelings are about being "out" from them, and start to examine the reasons for your once being "in". It is evidently quite true that the Cd`s don`t like their established beliefs being criticised, and discussion within their ranks seems to be discouraged when it veers towards views which they don`t accept. We, those of us who were once deeply "in" with them, and have had the good fortune to examine those reasons for being "in", and have decided that the Cd`s are in a bubble of belief, from which they are unable to see out, are well satisfied with that view. It is only when a CD starts to question those beliefs which have been keeping them in the bubble, that the light of reason starts to illuminate the fault lines of the cult, if that`s how you want to label them. You are contacting here very many who have both experienced resistance from within the Cd`s to rational thought, and those who have applied reason in their thinking into what the hell they were into, and glad that they are now out. The blog contains much which may help you in your thinking.
Are CD's or Christian's right in interpreting the Bible. Are CD's a cult. Well in my opinion CD's are cult minded sect, strong in rubbishing other's outside of their beliefs, was Jesus God in a human form or just a messiah, well both sides do have strong valid points, but for CD's to call other denominations as "unbelievers" is below the belt, they have got nothing from God to prove their point as Christians also cannot 100% be accurate in their interpretation, it is believed that their version is correct. Even today the theologians have not changed their mind. The problem with CD's is any of their member who believes little differently or doesn't do by their ecclesia's rules is kicked out from the sect, in Peter Forster's case I don't see why he should rejoin the sect, why put up with bullies, just move on, CD's have been wrong in the past interpreting prophesy, and most likely will be wrong again, they are just hyped up on trying to work out everything worldly and attached it to the Bible, that's what they do all the time, like a preaching brother said once " we are privileged to hold the key of knowledge to unlock the hidden secrets of the Bible " what a load of rubbish...
ReplyDeleteFrankly, there's a lot more to life. Life is so much more than the tiny enclosure that is Christadelphianism. Growing up in that religion is like growing up inside a small box. When all you know is the box, you don't even realise there are other ways to live.
ReplyDeleteIt's a small pond, with many big fish (and many more aspiring to be!). But outside that pond all those big fish are nobodies. They'll tell you how you should live, putting on a pious show, but they're all just people (some of them hypocrites). You don't need to follow them. No one does.
When you embrace who you are, and follow your own road through life, one day at a time, one adventure at a time, that is freedom. If there is any reason to live, it is to live on your own terms.
Christadelphians are all just people, and the Bible is just an ancient book written by people in the iron age. The only god you'll ever know is the one you invent in your head. Every "word of God" you'll ever read came from the pen or from the mouth of another human. Think about it.
In two sentences: We must not waste our lives pursuing drivel. We have a limited shelf life.
ReplyDeleteThey are a toxic cult. They have no "Truth" of any kind. Flee them, and don't look back. If they put you out, be grateful. Don't live a deferred life; this is all we get, and there's no evidence to the contrary.
ReplyDeleteI would add just one comment: Marcus Ampe is a well known apologist for Christadelphianism, an individual who floats around in cyberspace like a ghost, advocating for it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've seen him commenting on other sites too. But then, so have I.
DeleteTo me the important thing isn't how frequently someone comments, or how much they are pro- or anti- anything, but are their statements correct.
That is indeed the correct approach.
DeleteJon, never mind being correct, most of what Marcus writes is incomprehensible. Initially I thought it was because English is not his first language, and made the usual allowances, but the more I read, the more I doubted this. It seemed that even stuff written in English in the first place, got mangled and adjusted in ways that left both it, and his meaning incomprehensible. Nowadays I wouldn't waster my time even attempting to understand it.
DeleteHe did however used to publish his take on stuff that you might not see outside of Christadelphian circles, one example being the (UK) "big conversation" of 2015. Marcus reported, with his usual mangling, what was written in "The Christadelphian" at the time, I saw the original article, look now for the "big conversation" and you will find nothing at all apart from his take on it. Not that I care anyway.