Trinity

TRINITY & OTHER DOCTRINES OF GOD:
PROF. M. M. NINAN
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CHRISTADELPHIANS
Dr. John Thomas (April 12, 1805 – March 5, 1871)
was the founder of the Christadelphian movement, a Restorationist,
with doctrines similar in part to some 16th-century Antitrinitarian Socinians and the
16th-century Swiss-German pacifist Anabaptists.
The founder of the Christadelphians (“Brethren of Christ”) was John Thomas, a physician
turned Bible teacher, born in London on April 12, 1805. In 1832, during a brush with
death in a shipwreck, he resolved to look into the truth about the afterlife and vowed to
dedicate his life to religion if he was spared. His first experience with “Christianity” was
with the often unbiblical Campbellite movement (today known as the “Church of Christ,”
“Christian Church” or the “Disciples of Christ”).
In 1833 Dr. Thomas had met Alexander Campbell and was influenced by his teachings.
Eventually he left the Campbellites and continued studies on his own. In 1847, he
claimed that he had arrived at “the truth of the gospel.” His best known works are Elpis
Israel (“Israel’s Hope,” 1849) and Eureka (1862), a 2,000 page study of the book of
Revelation. Both are published and used by Christadelphians today. The Christadelphian
is the principal periodical of the Church. It was originally titled The Ambassador of the
Coming Age and begun by Robert Roberts, one of Thomas’ earliest converts. Roberts
became the leader of the Christadelphians after Thomas died in 1871.
The Christadelphians meet in “Ecclesias” or local congregations. The first were
established by Thomas in 1838 in Illinois and Virginia. The church was officially
incorporated in 1864, being registered at the county court house in Oregon, Illinois.
Today the church is scattered around the world and is principally found in the United
States, Europe and Africa.
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