One should not fear returning to the ecclesia. before. I wouldnt have minded, The best I feel we canultimatelyhope for is that those that exercise their God-given free will not to be a Christadelphian, as I did, can do so unscarred,with dignity and the continued unconditional love and support of family and friends. And he who does not work shall not eat, Doing the Daily Readings The Meeting, as we called it, didnt impact a great deal on my toddler world, and it was only when we moved area when I was about 5 that I started to notice it more. As a kid, I loved the weekends and Bible schools and the friends and thought it was like candyland every day I spent at one. Salvation is not when you try to be saved by following Christadelphian traditions. For me, escaping was a relief. What about the countless millions who had lived in other parts of the world before the spread of Christianity? I asked. However, the very fact that one has these questions shows that there is something lacking in typical Christadelphian thinking and practice. And if you want to know anything Sundays were horrid. If you take away the spirit, doesnt that mean its dead? Campaign, Bible mission Yes, God made them he confidently confirmed. The whole narcissistic nature of the family unit, created by the system, is another topic on its own. There is life outside of Christadelphia. In sure and certain As a sweet-smelling savour Out of Fellowship Christadelphian Support Group. Perhaps you have found it since you left Christadelphia! Have things changed? Sunday School, proofs learnt JT called his group Brethren in Christ under pressure to avoid conscription to the military, but if I had been given the job of finding a name for the community, I would not have called it Christa anything. Only now have I started to feel a sense of belonging and find a sense of purpose. Why were we drilled with doctrine, while references to spirit were dismissed or played down? One afternoon, a little while later, I was sat at home watching TV whilst my mother worked on something at the dining table. The Creation and Flood narratives made no sense and that one verse from Isaiah kept coming back to me. Good people act on their own accord, not driven by the promise of a gift in the afterlife. The worst I can remember was an event so grim that my brother and I resorted to calling home from a phonebox in an attempt to get picked up early..unfortunately my parents had gone out for the day and the mobile phone had yet to become anything more than a brick being shown off on Tomorrows World. Hes unconventional, and liberal, and my best friend. Why was it that so many others had a faith and love of God and I didnt? and how to De-frag the fragments of your faulty theology I believe it's because we put too much importance on the ecclesia, and not enough importance on the Person of Jesus Christ. is just unfortunate collateral damage. But I will never know, so best not to dwell on it or go there. Another fantastic video by TheraminTrees about Tribalism, what it is, why it's sometimes useful, and sometimes harmful, and how we can all do better. One Sunday, after another rendition of All Things Bright and Beautiful, one adult declared that God had made everything, then challenged us to name something. At the end, it felt as if I had been held hostage by a ghost; in truth, I was holding myself hostage in much the same way that I retained for years a fear of the plant bindweed after my mother, watching the young me twist a piece round my toe, told me that it would take root and grow up my leg. I was brought up in a Christadelphian household, my father converting my obedient and unthinking mother before marriage. I was so impressed by the prophecy stand that I signed up for Christadelphian Bible classes. One can enjoy a level of fellowship and encouragement online. Still, I tried to make the best of it, and endeavoured to make friends with the other children at Sunday School and the Meeting, whilst making excuses to my school friends when they asked me to come out on a Sunday. Around 17, I had a second chance to see the Truth truly. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Even though they never cared when I really was and they never make any attempts to know me now. She snapped so where do you think the animals came from? Every Sunday evening, the young people would go back to someones home for further bible study and the chance to consume quantities of crisps and cake afterwards. I was now sent on Youth Weekends with my brother, often being dumped for an entire Saturday in some strange town with a bunch of overly enthusiastic twenty-somethings. As I got older more evenings were taken up. My dad told me to try harder to fit in, they are good kids, and your family. I always wanted to be accepted, but Ive just never been interested in apparently what was cool. Strangers and pilgrims And worse, the joy he feels when disasters happen around the world. It was during one of these session that the group leader explained that people who had never heard of Jesus, or the Bible, would not be able to enter the [future] Kingdom of God. I was in a bad situation back in 2003 where I ended up being raped by a roommate, and when I confessed to my parents they told me that I should have expected that, because God did not intend women to have male roommates as a casual thing. And if you are still in any doubt, hear this: The Son of Man will return at a time when people are eating, drinking and getting married. With all this as evidence that the apocalypse is nigh, who would think of leaving the Truth? There was nothing untoward or sinful in this relationship, but I found it very difficult to navigate this role which was emotionally draining, and in many ways I found it quite damaging. In this way all of Christadelphian culture is saturated with machismo. For me, this was probably the primary reason I rejected Christadelphia. Salvation is a fact only when you have a relationship with God through His Son. If Can they change it? My Search Engine was faulty

on It Felt As If I Had Been Held Hostage By aGhost, on Its not About Theological Correctness, on Im Not an Angry Atheist, Merely a DisappointedOne, It Felt As If I Had Been Held Hostage By aGhost, described as Christianity at the autistic end of the spectrum., Im Not an Angry Atheist, Merely a DisappointedOne, 'From Christadelphianism to Christianity' article, Facebook Group for Christadelphians Out of Fellowship, Out of Fellowship Christadelphian Support Guide. It seeks only to engage the mind. Leaving Christadelphia was doubtless a part in your life story which God's grace is eager to use. Seriously. With time I am less angry with the community, and although, sadly, an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Bible has not yet proved to be a huge asset to me in adult life, thats not to say that I havent gained anything from my time in the Delphs.

My father was giving a talk at an ecclesia in another town resulting in my brother and I having to attend their Sunday School during the afternoon. Spirit cannot easily be defined, and what cannot easily be defined cannot easily be controlled. Recently it has frequently come up in discussion here, particularly with relation to a Brexit post. The Lord cometh quickly Leaving, or being excluded from the Christadelphians can be a traumatic experience. There were other concealments tooperhaps things that a small child shouldnt have seen and experienced, yet lacking understanding of adult concepts, remained sources of conflict and confusion well into adulthood. My teenage years were a mix of rebellion and trying to find my place in Christadelphia. Although in some ways re-baptism is a questionable practice, for me it was a personal choice and I desired it due to having been back-slidden; a fresh start and fresh commitment to God was just what I needed. I didnt realise that your Plug-in We hope that you have. I recall hippy-like images of sunshine, long hair, and flowers, and the beautiful sparkling blue sea and quartz-veined cliff rock seen from our Morris Traveller. Its only further confirmation for me that Ive made a better choice than all the confusion Ive been living with my whole life up to now. We would go on holiday with other Christadelphians, and for a while my parents arranged camping trips where up to 10 families would meet up in France, Germany or Switzerland and spend a week together. She eateth not the bread of idleness, Arranging brethren, special effort To hear my mum say: we are sorry we were legalists and that we were wrong and you were right when you said at 17 years old that religion should not be all rules and regulations and judgement and doom and gloom it should be a joyful celebration of life and living and humanity and compassion and empathy was more than I could ever have hoped for. It is not easy for parents toacknowledgethey were wrong towards their child. to establish a simple, rational, authentic religion. Admittedly they might not be located just where you are geographically- but that's where the internet is a great blessing! Not only did this seem wrong, it seemed almost evil. So I had to leave you prematurely, It is no surprise that ultra-Christadelphians unite around the word logos, meaning knowledge, order, and reason. These emblems The guilt and heartbreak I felt for breaking my parents heart was enormous and lasted for years, and so was the feeling that there was something wrong with me and mythinking. Hear our prayer, Table duty, flower rota I am therefore left as an atheist by default. So there you go. My retort remains the same, no, you dont think enough. Because men, who are the only ones allowed to interpret the Bible with authority, say so. My position as the occupant of the lowest rung was officially ratified. Hed definitely be angry at this dangerous act of mine. How a dangerous pandemic works for (God's) good, UK Christadelphian charities referred to Charity Commission: some thoughts, NSS refers Christadelphian charities to regulator, Christadelphians and independent thinking, No, The Bible Does Not Predict A Russian Invasion. through the tangle of religious ideas that had accumulated over the centuries This is not to say I am not grateful for my Christadelphian background and the knowledge and truths which it has imparted to me, and it is not to say that I will never go back into fellowship (only God knows or could lead that way). Suffer not a woman to teach A few years later, new pictures appear clouded, chilled, tarnished a shabby community hall on Sundays that smelt of last nights stale beer; paraffin heaters in frosty air; the heavy expectations of others; a lack of freedom, and a growing, non-specific worrying. I was in denial about this for a long time. The more I opened up to these things, the less psychological grip the religion exerted. Are Christadelphians bad and evil individuals? Some people will no doubt say I was never a true Christian, others may see parallels in their own upbringings, either way, thats my story, and thats why I am where I am today. Was God really confessing that nothing could happen without it being his will? I remember this man working himself into a sweat of passion, raging, spittle flying, assuring us that unbaptised young people would see their parents safe in the Kingdom whilst their own sinful flesh melted from their irradiated skeletons in a storm of consequences. My parents still believe I will return to the fold, and still try to pressure me into coming back, but I have no intention of it. The feeling that I should be reckless and just live life because I am going to die anyhow still exists within my psyche to a certain extent and certainly influenced many decisions and non-optimal behaviours. My minds eye produced wings and haloes, and most surprisingly, a Celtic-type Mary standing by no, this wasnt right at all, certainly not according to the Sunday School Auntie. Thats the short of it..if you can believe that. It now makes me wonder how many others I was a fan of dinosaurs and happily calculated that there was not enough room on Noahs ark (the measurements are in scripture) to accommodate them. salvation, Vain, sinful man! It was during one of these Sunday School lessons that I was told something I remembered for years, something that when faced with the truth of the matter, started my journey into atheism. Spirit is lightness, pleasure, mystery, free will. Young peoples study group speakers advised on special bible-marking systems, and I dutifully defaced my calf-bound, wide-margin india-paper King James Version with the approved brand of fine-line ink pen and fluorescent marker. So what is the pull, for its adherents, of this serious-minded and isolated group? As it turned out, I didnt become a Christadelphian at that time. What about that one? I asked. The end times are For some, its family and community most are born into Christadelphianism and cannot envisage life outside it. The problem was that as part of the traditional Christadelphian initiation ritual, I was required to be re-baptised, and at that time I was not prepared to do this. Redemptive love sees beauty in the disregarded, it gives value to what is not valued, embraces the imperfect, validates the inadequate, and gives restoration to that which incomplete because true agape love hopes all things, believes all things and never fails. Be always ready with an answer 1) you can attempt to reconcile with your ecclesia. Where had the wings, haloes, and the Irish Mary come from? I resigned my membership in order that we could go elsewhere to a fellowship which practised open table and would welcome us both. For a religion that prides itself on the soundness of its reasoning, I cant say Im impressed. Being a member of an ecclesia is much like a marriage. Bible in the News is a Christadelphian podcast which aims to "provide a weekly analysis of world politics and events in the light of Bible prophecy". Perhaps you have already found spiritual peace. We probably can't change Christadelphia, but we can change ourselves, and we can still function as part of the body of Christ by reaching out to those other arms, legs, fingers and toes who are in the same position as yourself. There are also some independent ecclesias out there that teach basic truth, but do so in an open, non-traditional way. Evolution is a lie Because the Bible clearly states that only men may interpret the Bible with authority or speak from platforms. And spent the next ten years in speechless, powerless, pointless, and needless torment, until I had a breakdown. However, during the Gulf War at the age of 30, I decided I should really get my life back on track, so I went to my local Christadelphian ecclesia and requested baptism (15 years after my first baptism). rather belatedly, With love in Jesus' grace and the hope of His Kingdom. and I truly felt I belonged to something special. Your Domain Name was exclusive, My younger brother and I would be taken along in the morning to sit through the service (still made bearable at this point by us being allowed to take books to read), be encouraged to stay in our Sunday clothes over lunch (often shared with a visiting speaker the Christadelphians dont have a main vicar or leader, their sermons are given by members of their, or other, ecclesias), then taken back to the hall to be instructed in the stories of the Bible. The system still exists. In the main hall the chairs were a kind of khaki green and tubular in construction no doubt there are community centres all over the world with chairs almost exactly the same as these. One of the Christadelphians favourite techniques for spreading their message is leafleting, or Billing as they call it. Salvation is when you reach out and accept God's gift of grace, which is a free gift! It was the parable of the sower which spoke to me; I so wanted to be the good ground and to have the ears that hear. I joined the Christian Union, then a charismatic Methodist church, on the recommendation of my religious education teacher who was a born-again Christian. My mother was clearly listening and decided to clarify something, Of course, theyve never found a fossil that shows a half lizard half bird. I saw him bought to his knees many a time emotionally, which I blamed the church and AB for. At this time, my formal social life was entirely based around the Christadelphian religion. Why couldnt I be a sheep and make my parents happy instead of a cow? To do this I had to spend several evenings discussing my feelings with two brethren who tried everything they could think of to change my mind. So find yourself a spare 2 hrs and a comfy chair, and watch it. Relishing the Old Testament, with its war-like, god of absolutes, the Brotherhood thunders with self-certainty. Even now I cant stand to listen to hymn singing. Well, Julia has recently announced that the whole video is now available on YouTube! that I actually walked through a Bad Gateway. At this time my parents were members of a hardline ecclesia that promoted rigorous study of pioneer writings alongside the bible. In reality, of course, ideas form part of an evolutionary, interactive process, and his ownwere, like everyone elses, a product of the time and place in which he lived. And if not then, it will probably definitely be when they talk of peace. But it will be at a time when no-one expects it. I have now achieved closure on this sad episode, and in his pain and suffering this elderly brother desperately needed someone to share some very personal issues with before he fell asleep, so I have come to a place of accepting what happened. Sodom and Gomorrah It was built of dark stone, and had a large grassy area between it and the large carpark. Like other posts on this site, we had the weekly ordeal of putting on Sunday best when friends were out playing. Maybe theyre already thinking of How could a supposedly benevolent God deny so many people? Click here to read the rest of this article. Teenaged me was terribly shy and desperately unhappy. We are here to listen to you and to fellowship with you. This stark contrast made me more confused, especially when I found that I enjoyed illicit after-work pub visits (not the one where I narrowly missed detection by a passing Number 11 bus-travelling Sister though). They still act as if I am a member. (Trinitarians actually believe in one god manifested in three persons something quite different) ..and many other such things I discovered as I began to educate myself about Christadelphian history and mainstream Christian beliefs. I believe in science, and people making of their lives what they will. They will open their hearts and minds and learn from what we share and find their unconditional love and compassion for all humanity, despite who they are or what they believe. Rather than a square peg in a round hole I became a round peg in a square hole, still not comfortable in my own skin but happier than enduring the alternative. Absolutely not! I am sickened by his attitudes towards gay people and towards women, all inspired by his Bible. It was a mix of being superficial and hypocritically spiritual in my book, and I couldnt get behind either mentality. But the fact remains: whether in Christadelphia or out of Christadelphia, you need God's grace. And if anyone To share my experience and to be heard. Then, in all my distress and shame, a thought seared my mind with real live clarity I could walk out of there: open the front door, go down the stairs, cross the car park, and start to walk homeand nobody could stop me. These were frowned upon by some of the older members of the church, as they took various Bible verses about woman dressing like men a little too literally (they conveniently ignored the fact that men in the time of Christ would have worn long smocks or gowns, very similar to the ones worn by the women). The issue of women comes up only occasionally, as a problem for men to solve. Fear not! A round peg in a square hole where do I belong and what is my purpose for being? Battles that the Old Testament had claimed as glorious victories for the Hebrews had in fact been humiliating defeats and many didnt seem to have happened at all. I stood on the station platform on the way home from the meeting, one grey English summer afternoon, and knew for certain that I wanted nothing more to do with the Christadelphians. I want to talk about prophecy that really does come true. We know that this may not be an option for you. Different people following this site will have different views of Christmas. That means we might have hope It does not insist that Genesis provides a factual account of how the world came into being, or demand to be the centre of anyones life. Maybe theyre already facing doubts, or maybe they How do we know? I believe they are. Salvation is not a fact simply because you are a good Christadlephian, because the Bible says, "While we were yet SINNERS, Christ died for us." the Wi-Fi of Freedom It wasnt all bad though. There were times that were thoroughly enjoyable, tellingly often the ones that had nothing whatsoever to do with religion. Maybe God is lonely, but Our stories are different but the commonalities are clear for all to see. I personally understand how difficult it is to go back to your ecclesia. A must-read for all Christadelphians who are serious about their beliefs. Doubts begin to form. One of my peers shouted out I know, H can do it! The room echoed in mockery of me; the Sister of the house roared, her head back, teeth exposed; the boys laughed immoderately; the girls sniggered; even my one friend had to find it funny. Writing has always been my outlet of choice, so heres an offering perhaps it might resonate with you, whoever you are, and for whatever reason youve landed on this webpage. A wonderful truth is that you can have a relationship with God through faith, and by grace, outside of Christadelphia. I didnt feel as if I belonged in Christadelphia because we werent one of the in families. Leaving the Christadelphians actually ended up as less of a catastrophic event than a gradual tailing off, and little resistance was put up by the meeting I was a member of at the time.