Who We Are

Christadelphians are basically just Christians; however there are some unique and important differences that set us apart from the everyday Christian. Before we talk about these unique differences, it is important to state that we believe the Bible is fact, and that God really does exist – and not because we are brainwashed, deluded or believe in fairy tales! We are everyday people just like you; have good times and hard times, are educated (including scientists, doctors, musicians etc) and non-educated – in fact many different people from many different backgrounds and cultures, with many different talents and perspectives. Despite all of our differences, we come together as a group to agree on what we believe. While we believe without any doubt that the Bible’s teachings are 100% correct, we find that our faith in it, and in our God, is strengthened by massive amounts of additional evidence. We believe not because we need to believe in something, but because when we look at the sum total of evidence (from all branches of science, logic, experiences, historical evidence, and internal evidence within the Bible), it points clearly towards a creator, and the Bible as being true beyond any reasonable doubt. In short, our faith is built on this sure foundation.

Our Unique Differences

Self-Study Encourages Truth

If Christadelphians could be coined by a phrase it would be ‘Bible Students’. We are free thinkers. We try our best to come to our own understanding of the Bible (we don't blindly accept what we are told). If God does exist (which we believe is true), then seeking what the Bible teaches is very important. We are self-funded - we don't have an organisational hierarchy, nor do we have any paid pastors or leaders. Instead, willing members are rostered to share various duties including preaching and teaching on a Sunday morning. We believe this method removes obstacles that would work against finding and keeping God’s truth (power and money corrupts - even the Church!) and we find it works really well.

Would a loving God really torment people in Hell for eternity? Do we need an excuse to sin?

Christadelphians believe the bible does not teach this. Christadelphians find the Bible teaches that “Hell” is a Hebrew/Greek term for "the grave" and means death, (ie. when we die our life is over and we know nothing). But this requires further study and you can read more about “Hell” by clicking here. And unlike many other religions, we do not believe that the Devil is a Supernatural being sent to tempt us into sinning. We don’t need anything to blame when we sin. Sin results when we can’t control the natural desires that are inside us – when the temptations get too great, we sin. We know the difference between right and wrong. But sometimes we make bad decisions. And anyone or anything can be a “Devil”. A Devil is simply someone or something that draws us into making a decision that is against the teachings of God. This too requires further study, and you can read more about this here.

Was Jesus really God?

Another unique difference we hold is that we believe Jesus was a man like us, not a God. We find that the Bible teaches that Jesus was the “Son of God”. You may know instinctively the law of contradiction - Jesus was a man and God at the same time … this goes against all logic. This teaching we find is something that evolved in the church over time because of influences over other "pagan" religions. A superficial study of the Bible may prompt the reader to enquire more deeply into some more obscure passages in this regard. But when studied in-depth and in context, it is clear that Jesus was a man, but having a virgin birth set him apart as the Son of God. We are not alone in this teaching; other Christian religions teach this and have taught this since the first century. So, do we deny the divinity of Christ? No. Christ was from God and was born a man (and given special divine powers), and was resurrected to sit at the right hand side of God, therefore in this sense, yes he was divine. Read more about this here.

When a person dies do they go to Heaven?

Many Churches in years past, particularly Roman Catholics, have taught that when a person dies, he/she goes to Heaven (or Hell). While this may be a comfort to many, the truth of the matter is this is not what the Bible teaches. As stated before, we are not in the business of promoting fairy tales, but truth. The promise of the Bible is that those who are faithful will be resurrected (body brought back to eternal life) on the earth (not in heaven) at the second coming of Christ. Read more about this here

Miracles

Many people misread the Bible and assume that just because a chosen few worked miracles (out of billions of people that lived), that somehow all faithful people everywhere will have special powers. This is far from the truth, and it is why many miracles proclaimed by churches today are not convincing. Once again, we look for the truth in the matter, which is that miracles are not everyday occurrences, but were specific acts conducted by the Apostles using special Gifts from God to initially spread the Gospel. However, we do believe that God listens to prayer, and can and does cause amazing things to happen in our lives, including healing.

Does it matter what you believe?

Hopefully from just a few of our differences above you can see that it does matter what you believe. Ideas have consequences!