Christadelphian Treasury

CHRISTADELPHIAN TREASURY FORMING A COLLECTION OF EXTRACTS FROM WRITINGS EXHIBITING "THE TRUTH" IN OPPOSITION TO THE DOGMAS OF PAPAL AND PROTESTANT CHRISTENDOM BY Dr. JOHN THOMAS, ROBERT ROBERTS, AND OTHER WELL-KNOWN CHRISTADELPHIANS COMPILED, DIGESTED OR WRITTEN BY FRANK G. JANNAWAY Author of "Christadelphian Answers1', "Without the Camp" "Palestine and the Powers", etc. A REPRODUCTION OF AN ORIGINAL EDITION BY heriaLD p 4011 BOLIVIA 1 HOUSTON, TEXAS 77092 PREFACE. " The Christadelphian Treasury " seeks to be of real service to Christadelphians in re-stating and re-empha- sising Christadelphian Truths· Such an aim is justifiable at any time; in these days it is an urgent necessity in view of threatening dangers. In this respect the present volume claims to be especially " A Book for the Times"· An esteemed brother—J. C. Bruce, of Jersey City, U.S.A.—reminded us forcefully at a recent London Fraternal Gathering that " we have an inborn disposition to fall away from the Truth". To counteract this disposition, individual self-examination and ecclesial exhortation are essential if purity of doctrine and con- sistent conduct are to be maintained. Thanks to the mercy of God, Apostolic Truth and its essential correlative Apostolic Practice, have been re- discovered through the instrumentality of Dr. Thomas and Brother Robert Roberts in these latter days of the Gentiles. Their task was one of extraordinary difficulty —how difficult the published record of their lives and work gives some indication. But they succeeded; they consolidated the Truth they had re-discovered; they crystallized their strenuous labours in convenient form in the writings they left on the Truth—an incomparable library of the Truth's literature which has been second only to the Bible itself in the work of enlightenment in PREFACE these days. Thousands have lived to thank God for the work they so nobly accomplished. The work of the Truth has survived the vicissitudes of three generations; in spite of threatening without and division within, it has developed and multiplied. Thanks to that true foundation laid by Dr. Thomas, and so admirably built upon by Brother Roberts and his con- temporary and succeeding worthy brethren and sisters, who have clung intelligently and tenaciously to their teaching and methods, purity in doctrine and con- sistency in practice have been maintained over a period of sixty years. There have been crises in the history of the Truth: false doctrine, speciously disguised, or even innocently promulgated, has been introduced many times, but thanks be to God, there have never been wanting in any division or crisis staunch brethren and sisters who have put the Truth and its claims first, who have refused to compromise with error, who have set purity of doctrine before personal feeling, who have not been afraid to cry aloud and spare not when danger threatened, and to proclaim in its true colours any departure from the One Faith, no matter by whom proclaimed, or however fascinating might be its appeal. Once again danger threatens—all the more serious because of outward calm and lack of warning. The spirit of the Times is the spirit of compromise. Christendom—apostate Christendom—calls for Unity amongst the harlot daughters of the great Mother Church, and the call is being heard. The same cry is heard in the Brotherhood. " The Plea for Union "; " Re-union of Divided Ecclesias "; " Forget the Past "; " Those who caused the division in the past are dead"; "Why perpetuate the difference?"; "Why make non-essentials tests of fellowship ?"; "Let us co-operate : let us unite!55 This plea for unity has deceived many, especially those young in the Truth, and who did not have the PREFACE sobering experiences of the Inspiration and Responsi- bility Divisions. The plea for re-union amongst divided Ecclesias appeals now, as it has always done, to emotion and sentiment and generous impulse. But it does not deceive brethren and sisters who remember the essential and fundamental questions raised in those great divisions. Nor does it deceive younger brethren and sisters who have taken the trouble to read up and master the issues at stake. No vain talk about " non-essentials", " mere matters of personality", or " out of date con- troversies" can hoodwink a true brother or sister into letting slip one of the fundamentals of the whole counsel of God. Nor will they be parties to any false distinc- tion drawn between " membership " and " fellowship"* There is danger around, ahead, in our midst. " The present position is more important than that of 35 years ago; but our view is that the present position is very closely related to that of 35 years ago, in that the doc- trines of partial and erring inspiration, though not openly advocated, are at any rate fellowshipped as they were then". So said the Editor of " The Christadel- phian", Brother C. C. Walker, in an article recently ("The Christadelphian", 1921, p. 71). Where, then, is the voice of warning ? It was wanting» when and where it should have been trumpeted forth. But there are those who refuse to remain silent in view of the threatening danger. All over the Christadelphian world veterans and stalwarts are being compelled by the sense of impending calamity and fear of latter day apostasy to proclaim the warning note of " Danger! Be on your guard!" and to join with us in the work of crying aloud and sparing not in defence of the Truth. Their impressive words will be found throughout this volume, but especially in Sections IV. and IX., and those " Final Words " which form its close. Shall these solemn warnings and earnest entreaties, these words of advice and help—in some cases probably the last words PREFACE these brethren will ever pen for publication—fall on deaf ears? The spirit of compromise is abroad; it threatens the Brotherhood. Let us face it in the spirit which animated the worthy Christadelphians of the past. To help us to this end is the immediate purpose of this book; it summarises Christadelphian teaching on the fundamental questions of doctrine and .practice from the days of Dr. Thomas and Brother Robert Roberts to our own days. It reflects the minds of men who, where the Truth is concerned, refused to compromise. " Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the tradi- tions which ye have been taught " (2 Thess. ii. 15). FRANK G. JANNAWAY, June, 1921. 99, Stockwell Park Road, London, S.W. 9. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE iii. SECTION I.—CONCERNING GOD, JESUS CHRIST, THE ANGELS, AND WORSHIP 1 SECTION II.—CONCERNING THE BIBLE—ITS DIVINITY —CANONICITY—INTRODUCTION TO ITS CONTENTS 27 SECTION III.—CONCERNING FIRST PRINCIPLES UN- RESERVEDLY INSISTED UPON BY ALL TRUE CHRISTADELPHIAN 58 SECTION IV. — CONCERNING " CHRISTENDOM " FALSELY SO-CALLED 67 SECTION V.—CONCERNING APPARENT CONTRADIC- TIONS AND DIFFICULT TEXTS 92 SECTION VI.—CONCERNING BIBLE PERSONS, PLACES AND THINGS 127 SECTION VII.—CONCERNING CHRISTADELPHIAN LIFE, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 161 SECTION VIII.—CONCERNING DOCTRINAL MATTERS 205 SECTION IX. — CONCERNING CHRISTADELPHIAN LITERATURE AND PROPAGANDA 237 SECTION X.—FINAL WORDS 277 COMPREHENSIVE INDEX 304 CHRISTADELPHIAN PUBLICATIONS 312 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE. TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL'S PROPHECY— The Square Conception 154 TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL'S PROPHECY— The Circular Conception 156 Vlll. CHRISTADELPHIAN TREASURY SECTION I. Concerning God, Jesus Christ, The Angels, and Worship. The God of Israel. OUR proposition is that Moses and the Prophets teach that there was One Primary Creating Power and a multitude of Secondary Powers, as intimately con- nected with and dependent on the First as ten or a hundred are upon number one; and that this multipli- cation of the One Power in the relation of Father, Sons, and Holy Spirit was in existence before the Mosaic Creation. The Supreme Power has not only a Son, but a multitude of Sons, and all of them partaking of His nature, or spirit-substance, hypostasis. The Supreme Power, or Ail, is " the Godhead ", or source, fountain, or sole spring of Power. Moses and the prophets do not teach that " there are three persons, three essences, three somethings, or three any- things in the Godhead; and that these three distinct units, or unities, constitute only one unit or one Unity— and that Tri-Unity is the God of Israel ". They do not teach this. They teach the absolute oneness of the THE CHRISTADELPHIAN TREASURY Power-Head. " Before me ", as written in Isaiah xliii. 10, 11, " Ail was not created, nor after me shall be: I, I shall be (anoke, anoke, Yahweh); and NONE WITHOUT ME A SAVIOUR ". Dr. J. Thomas. Only One God. THUS far Moses and Paul are in agreement. Now, Jesus of Nazareth is perfectly Mosaic in his teaching upon the subject. When a certain Scribe asked him: " Which is the chief commandment of all ? " He an- swered in the words of Moses, so often referred to by the Jews of our day: " The first of all the Command- ments ", said he, is " Hear, Ο Israel; YAHWEH our ELOHIM, is ONE Yahweh. And thou shalt love YAH- WEH, thine Elohim, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like; as Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these " " Well, Teacher ", said the Scribe, " thou hast said the truth; for THERE IS ONE DEITY, and there is no other but of Him " (Mark xii. 29-32). Dr. J. Thomas. The God of the Bible. THE God revealed to us in the Bible is a creator, a father, and a person—universal in his presence and power by the spirit, but still a located and Glorious Person whom we can contemplate, love, confide in, and adore.

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