“The Way” was open to facts and new readings of Scripture – are we?

We all imagine we have arrived.  We talk about “The Truth” as if we have arrived.  Yet the Bible shows discipleship means growing and sometimes obtaining new insights into God.  Practical experience, cold hard facts sometimes prompt these insights.  Like we know humans have continually existed longer than 6,000 years.  We see this growth based on fact in Acts.

Admitting to an Adam based faith – wow

“Theistic evolution would encourage us to read the early chapters of Genesis ‘in a figurative, non-literal way’ and to have a Christ based faith, not an Adam based faith. This is simply not how the rest of Scripture views early Genesis.” Bro Bernard Burt. We are happy to plead guilty to a Christ based faith every day of the week. Thank you.

Do you want an Adam based faith for Xmas? We don’t.

“If the Genesis account is metaphorical there is no literal serpent, no tree of knowledge of good and evil, no lie, no fruit, no sin, no sentence of death; Jesus Christ, our Saviour and his Gospel of salvation have no rationale or basis, as set forward by the Apostle Paul in Romans etc.” According to The Lampstand Magazine no Adam = no Jesus. Which one is more important in this equation???

Job – notes on the readings

Job had to fine tune his theology when the facts of life challenged his previous view.  His three friends – stalwarts of the establishment – castigated him increasingly brutally.  The elders insist their traditional understanding is valid.  They had the truth and they would defend it regardless.  Job’s factual observations are angrily discounted.  He became a social outcast, partly due to his condition and then due to his unwelcome new opinions.  Ultimately Job wasn’t exactly right – but he was closer than the elders.  While we thankfully haven’t experienced the suffering of Job we see other echoes in human behaviour.

Jesus was not plan B

 “the Fall itself was an essential part of God’s creative purpose”   So wrote onetime editor of the Christadelphian Magazine Michael Ashton.  Some people get it back to front thinking Jesus was a response to Adam’s failure.  No.  Jesus was the plan.  Not an emergency plan B.

[Ashton, Michael (2001). “Studies in the Statement of Faith”, The Christadelphian, 127(electronic ed.), 205]

Dogmatism – The Believer Magazine

The Believer Magazine was an alternative Australian Christadelphian magazine in the 1970s which opposed the dogmatic assertions of Scriptural uncertainties by a South Australian power bloc and their threats of fellowship action against individuals and ecclesias.  History repeats.  Old man Adam was part of the debate.  Below is from Vol 2 page 2 in 1973.  Here’s part of the Editorial:

The Lampstand Magazine – “don’t add or detract from this book”

Oh the irony.  The Lampstand Magazine and it’s principal backers have been instrumental in promulgating additional ‘explanatory statements’ to existing Christadelphian creeds.  Yet in the March 2020 edition (Vol 26#2) they decry such activity.  bro Brian Luke has an article entitled “The Last Appeal of our Lord”.  The article is the second in a series decrying open fellowship and emphasising the need for pure doctrine & practice.

The pathway to unity – Enfield Bible class 12 February 2020

Having considered the relevance of Robert Robert’s article “General Principles and Uncertain Details”, and largely used it to set up an attack on evolutionary creationists, the second and final Bible class at Enfield in the series was called “The pathway to unity”. It was a thinly veiled swing at evolutionary creationists and a call for accommodation of them to be abandoned.

True principles & uncertain details – an Enfield Bible class

As part of their ongoing agitation against the evident facts which contradict their reading of Genesis, the Enfield ecclesia in SA recently ran two bible classes. The first was based around Robert Roberts 1898 Christadelphian Magazine article “True Principles and Uncertain Details” – a great article worth reading. While Robert’s article was covered, the class was also setting up a belting of evolutionary creation.

Reply to The Lampstand Magazine on “Fellowship & the Statement of Faith (Part 1)”

Bro. James Mansfield’s recent article in The Lampstand entitled ‘Biblical Fellowship and the Importance of the Statement of Faith’ [Vol 26.1] has merit, but falls short in a number of ways. This response is intended as constructive criticism rather than a refutation.