A
Brief History
Many
believers since the apostles have held the same faith as the Christadelphians.
There have been countless independent communities around the world who
have eagerly studied the Bible and accepted its simple teachings.
The
Christadelphians trace their history to the mid-1800s. In 1830, an English
physician named John Thomas sailed to America. On the voyage, the ship
met some unexpected bad weather and nearly sank. For the first time, Dr
Thomas faced the reality of his own mortality and was dismayed to discover
that he was not sure what lay beyond death. In the midst of the storm
he vowed that, should he survive, he would not rest until he had found
a satisfactory answer.
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He
did survive and kept his vow, beginning a life-long search for the truth.
It soon became evident that many of the doctrines that were popularly
taught and believed were inconsistent with the Bible. Dissatisfied, Dr
Thomas devoted himself to a careful independent study of the Scriptures.
He made no claim to any vision or personal revelation.
The
work of Dr Thomas attracted the support of others in America and Britain
who were convinced of the truth of his conclusions. Together they formed
the Christadelphian community. Since then, Christadelphian communities
have been established in many countries all over the world.
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