Arius

ARIANISM: WHO IS JESUS?
PROF. M. M. NINAN
III
John Thomas (1805 - 1871)
The movement was founded by physician John Thomas (1805-1871) who had left the Disciples of
Christ in 1844, because of a number of theological disagreements. He started a periodical that
same year, called "The Herald of the Future Age". Thomas wrote a book in 1848, titled "Elpis Israel
- An Exposition of the Kingdom of God." He founded a number of groups, starting in 1848. They
were commonly referred to as the Thomasites. His motivation was to return to what he believed to
be the beliefs of the very early Christian church. In 1864, the group adopted a formal name, the
Christadelphians (Brothers of Christ).
The movement survived the death of its founder in 1871. However, a conflict started during the
1880's in the US over the topic of resurrectional responsibility and it split as two groups.:The
Unamended group believes that only the deceased who are "in Christ" will be raised from the dead
and have eternal life; the rest will simply remain dead, without conscious existence. The Amended
group believes that all who are responsible will be raised from the dead at the time of the Final
Judgment. The "responsible" are those who have been exposed to the Gospel. The righteous
among the responsible ones will be judged according to their works, rewarded appropriately, and
live forever. The wicked will be annihilated, and cease to exist. Those who are not responsible,
since they had never heard the Gospel, will not be raised.
“Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is not the ‘second person’ of an eternal Trinity.”
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