you queried Christadelphians. Might as well lump the Biblical Unitarians in the mix as they are nearly the same.
Each have about 50k known members around the globe.
Now I do not participate in any way, singularly or collectively, in any formal or informal setting with either of these sects. I just like a few of their beliefs, where over 99 percent of so-called Christendom loathe.
I am in the 0.5 percent group...
1. They are fiercely Anti-Trinitarian.
2. The have no formal or informal hierarchy. They meet by chance or if one knows of a another member close by, from list they maintain. And the setting is usually in someone's home. Never been inclined to meet yet.
3. They believe Christ was created as a human male by the Spirit of God. No pre-existent active life.
4. They are well-versed in scripture. They love it and so do I.
Now apart from these areas there are some major areas I do not agree with them on.
1. They believe as many MS churches that there are genuine Jews who still have a special route to salvation, or will have a special time frame to become saved in the future. I do not...I can elaborate of this at a later date.
2. They believe as many MS churches that when Christ returns there will be an earthly Kingdom. I believe I'm in the Kingdom today and Christ rules today. There will be no 2nd chance to become saved! Folks get hung up on the physical and literal and what justice means to man and not God's view of it, who created it. When Christ returns he will come in from another dimension not wielding a physical sword ready for blood justice. By that time Judgement is already set and completed by what is established and has grown into the hearts or spirits of men - of Christ or self. He will leave the same way from the symbolic mount of Olives, back into the dimension he lives in, and I will go with him, and others, into the New Jerusalem, the city of everlasting light and life.
3. They believe that actual water immersion is key to salvation. I do not.
4. They believe one is never assured of salvation. I disagree.
Thank you. I appreciate that summary. Since I am a monist, I am not passionate about the Trinity one way or the other. Actually, I guess I would be a Trinitarian, because I do believe God presents Himself to mankind as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I don't see him presenting Himself in any other way that leads to anything like salvation and Eternal life. I mean, clearly, He presents himself as the Divine Buddha, but if one follows that, and if it works out for them, when they die, they perish (by the Veridican definition of perishing). Same with all other religions. Actually, it's the same with most forms of Christianity as well.
-------------------And are you psychic or what?:cool: --------------
Yes, I have Anglo-Kiwi connections, a part of the Commonwealth and with both a formal and informal educational background
Psychic? Yes, but everyone is. Psychism is just part of the functioning of mind. For instance, telepathy, everyone experiences it at some point, especially if they are married, and even if not, it's how they pray. Right? They are telepathically communicating with God. If they feel God has spoken to them, that's also telepathy--unless they really do have a burning bush that others can also see that is audibly talking to them--and then that would be a whole other kind of miracle.
Most Christians believe strongly in psychic abilities, they just don't call it that. For instance, especially in the Pentecostalism that I grew up in, the preacher may have a "word from the Lord" for someone, and then proceed to give what anyone else would call a psychic reading. So, let's say you sent me your picture, and I looked at it, and I gave you a reading. Most Christians would consider that the work of the devil and witchcraft. If on the other hand, I take your picture and say, "I believe God has a message for you." Well then everything is fine.
And maybe there is a difference. For any gifts I have, I now lay at the feet of Christ to be used in his service. So, even if the devil is the one who gave me the power to see the message in symbols, I now take that and give it to Christ. And this kind of thing is illustrated in Jesus' parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-13).
Here's what I seem particularly good at: the interpretation of symbols (astrology, tarot, dreams, apocalyptic prophecy). That said, I have renounced tarot. I personally feel it is a kind of witchcraft, and while I don't have strong emotions about it, I have renounced witchcraft and repented from it, and tarot just is too much like it. I feel uneasy about it now, and in truth, there's nothing in the Gospel to support it. Besides, with dreams, Revelation, and astrology, I have plenty of symbology to focus on. And they all have Gospel support.
I can communicate with astral entities. Sometimes with people who have crossed over, but I'll be honest with you about that. I'm not sure they are really the "people" because they sound a lot like demons, and when you channel astral entities, you get a lot of demons. I mean, it's a fact. And they are some lying spirits, I tell you. And so, I now find mediumship to be unreliable at best. And it's not like you have to use mediumship to talk to God or Christ or the Holy Spirit anyway; that's telepathy--or prayer if you will. So, now, unless I have to talk to a demon, and there are times for that, especially in exorcism, I don't channel any longer. And I suppose channeling is just telepathy anyway. Besides, they usually strike up the conversations with me. They're around me all the time trying to sabotage and get me to stop.
That said, I no longer astral project to find people who have crossed over. I no longer think it is necessary. I no longer think it's reliable, and there is no Gospel support for it, anyway.
As for the practice of witchcraft. It works. It does. Spells work. But the thing with witchcraft is that it's void of Christ. Miracle working, which is like witchcraft but done in the name of Jesus Christ, is more powerful. Witchcraft is of and for the world. The path leads to nothing, and it leads to no Eternal life. It leaves one alone in the world because ultimately even God becomes a kind of unknown spiritual entity. He stops being the Father and becomes a force. And then, of course, the demons. Most witches derive their power from demonic forces. And demons destroy you in the end. They lead you to death. A witch dies, and that's it. A witch only has the world. I repent of that, and I feel sorry for witches at the same time. Witchcraft is any religion without Christ. That's it. And Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You really learn that hard when you go walking down dark paths, my friend. I can tell you!
I'm sorry to go on like this. I don't expect you to read all of this or comment. I just wanted to put it out there, to say it. And to tell people what I've repented of. I hate the time I spent away from Christ, even if in the end it was necessary for my mission now. And maybe like the scribe Jesus refers to in Matthew 13, I have brought out the old and the new.
Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." (Matthew 13:52)
