From
Christadelphianism to Christianity My decision to leave Christadelphianism did
not come lightly. It took many years for everything to finally come to a head.
I got sucked into this cult when I was a teenager when I didn’t know any
better, and was involved with them for 33 years of my life. During that course
of time, I had made several close friends, and I knew many very nice people,
especially from the first ecclesia. I still think about them every single day
and I honestly wish I could have a relationship with them, but I can’t. So now
I’m starting over, and it will take a while before I can make close friends
again.
While I was in the cult, the focus was more on academic, heady Bible knowledge,
correct theology and study of prophecy, than on holy living or having a
personal relationship with Christ. “Wrong” doctrine was reckoned as much a sin
as an immoral lifestyle, and in some places was dealt with in the same way.
"Status" of certain individuals came through intellectual superiority in
absorbing and teaching complicated theological concepts, and often I found it
boring to listen to them. I took part in looking up to them in order to fit in.
But I could tell they were enjoying the spotlight, there was always this smug
smile on their faces, and they seemed to be the most outspoken and opinionated
about a lot of things. This was especially evident in Bible Schools, which were
held during the summer months. Others, who were judged less intellectual, were
generally left out in the cold. I was one of these people, and felt ostracised
and could never measure up to the rest of them. It was this way in my second
ecclesia more than the first.
A further major problem was too much focus on Christ’s return and the Kingdom
of the future age as the main content of the Gospel. The Christadelphians as a
whole don’t believe or accept the Rapture as part of prophecy. And if you don’t
believe in the concept of the Rapture, then you don’t accept the graphic
descriptions in the Revelation regarding the Antichrist and the Great
Tribulation.
They don’t have a clue, they just look down on it with contempt and think it’s
funny. There was little real understanding of the relevance of Jesus to simple
daily living. There was a feeling of dissatisfaction with the religion, leaving
some of us feeling defeated in life, and without peace, purpose, or hope. And I
saw people I knew and liked drift away, some into a sinful lifestyle. The
ecclesia had no Good News to offer this situation, no assurance of salvation,
no promise of victory over sin; and no power to make it real. We had no answers
for the desperate heart needs of the downtrodden, to whom Jesus turned with
compassion, love and power in every opportunity.
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