The Berean Christadelphians are a Christian denomination.
History In Britain the initial cause of the 1923 schism resulting in the formation of the Berean Christadelphians was concerning service in the police. Following the leading role taken by Frank G. Jannaway of the London Clapham ecclesia with government departments in pleas for the movement's recognition as conscientious objectors during the First World War, Jannaway and other South London brethren took issue with the discovery that two members at Birmingham Temperance Hall ecclesia (so known after the location of their rented rooms) were serving as special constables. This issue was doubly sensitive since Birmingham Temperance Hall was the ecclesia of Charles Curwen Walker who had succeeded Robert Roberts as editor of The Christadelphian Magazine on his death in 1898. In his study of the Christadelphians Bryan R. Wilson suggests that Walker had deferred to Jannaway during the war, and at the end of war as Birmingham returned to its former informal status of primus inter pares, the London brethren resented this.This suggestion is made in Wilson, B. Sects and Society, 1961, and while not explicitly documented with primary evidence, has some basis in the increased then decreased prominence given to Clapham in ecclesial intelligence in 1914–1918 and after. The Birmingham Temperance Hall meeting did eventually "disfellowship" the two special constables, after opposition from two Arranging Brethren of the ecclesia, A. Davis and T. Pearce, who signalled disagreement by abstaining in the final vote on the issue. The Clapham brethren then demanded of Birmingham Temperance Hall ecclesia that they also "disfellowship" A. Davis and T. Pearce for abstaining in the vote. This the brethren at Birmingham were unwilling to do, so London Clapham issued a letter "disfellowshipping" Birmingham, and more significantly any ecclesia in Britain that would not do likewise.see A DISCREDITED BIRMINGHAM ATTRACTION. in The Berean Christadelphian June 1925. See PDF
In 1924 the Clapham meeting split between two groups led by Frank G. Jannaway and his older brother Arthur T. Jannaway1911 Census lists "Arthur Thomas Jannaway, born 1854, Wandsworth London" and "Frank George Jannaway, born 1860, Lambeth London" over whether the Matt.5:32 "exceptive clause" allowed divorce in cases of adultery. Those allowing the exception, led by Arthur, formed the "Family Journal" fellowship at Clapham Common Ecclesia, but did not seek to return to the main body of Christadelphians.The Remnant of Christ's Ecclesia magazine, January 1994 p13
In 1942 most of the British Berean Christadelphians separated from North American Berean Christadelphians to form the Dawn Christadelphians – taking a stricter line than North American Bereans on divorce and remarriage.The Berean Christadelphian October 1942 A substantial part of this group reverted to the main body of Christadelphians in 1993–1994.Ecclesial News, The Christadelphian Magazine, Birmingham 1993–1994
North America Prior to the developing dispute in Britain over special constables, in America another dispute had been simmering concerning the atonement. In 1913 Allen Strickler of Buffalo had written articles which were found by William Smallwood of TorontoSmallwood, William Bible teaching concerning sin and sacrifice Toronto 1913 and some others to contain a "substitution" theory of Christ's death.Wilson, B Sects and Society p.225 C.C. Walker and Birmingham were unwilling to take sides and with two ecclesias at Buffalo, both claiming to follow the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith, Walker stated "We are not aware that the ecclesias named are at variance with us" although the two ecclesias did not fellowship each other.The Christadelphian 1915 VII p335Lippey C. The Christadelphians in North America p75-76
The Berean magazine had commenced publication in January, 1923 at London, England. Following the division in Britain Frank Jannaway became involved in the dispute in the U.S. and in 1925 published a booklet against Strickler and supporting Smallwood.Jannaway F. Christ Our Passover 1925 p. 61 As a result of the disagreement a majority of Amended Christadelphians in North America withdrew from the main body and allied themselves with London Clapham as the Berean Christadelphians. In July 1927 Frank Jannaway circulated worldwide a letter The Christadelphians Then and Now appealing for ecclesias to "stand aside from" Birmingham and all who would not.Copies in North America were distributed by W. Smallwood, who had written the 1913 booklet against A.D. Strickler, and B.J. Dowling, later co-editor of the Berean Christadelphian magazine.
This schism held to the formation of a doctrine of congregational fellowship which required entire ecclesias (congregations), to withdraw from any other ecclesia in fellowship with individuals or ecclesias in error. In 1892 Frank Jannaway had already authored an article Ecclesial Fellowship, published in the Christadelphian, where he presented his own ideas on fellowship in contrast to the more accommodating attitude being taken by some of the London Christadelphians towards the then current problem with John Andrew.The article "arose out a private verbal discussion between W. and F." and takes the form of a dialogue between "F" for false ("W." has not been identified with certainty but may be his brother William John Jannaway) and "T" for true (Frank Jannaway). In 1978 G.V. Growcott produced his own reedited version – not credited to Frank Jannaway – in the Berean Magazine.Julio Scaramastro and Jim Phillips, The Doctrine of Fellowship 1982
Reunion in America In 1952 the majority of the Berean Christadelphian Fellowship rejoined the "Birmingham Central" body of Christadelphians ("Temperance Hall" was now known as the "Central Fellowship", since Birmingham Central had ceased renting rooms at Temperance Hall in 1932),See The Post-War period: 1945–present section in Wikipedia's Christadelphians article. In doing so this large group of Berean Christadelphians abandoned their insistence on the Berean Christadelphian understanding of the atonement and fellowship, although the bloc disfellowship approach of the Bereans lingers in many Amended ecclesias today.
Distinguishing characteristics Over time the Berean Christadelphians have developed a culture which differentiates them radically from mainstream Christadelphians. They are differentiated by a number of doctrinal differences (listed after this paragraph). Some of these doctrines are shared with some of the "Unamended Fellowship" (but not the majority Christadelphian group known as the "Central Fellowship"), particularly beliefs on the atonement and what the Bible teaches about human nature (referred to commonly as 'the flesh'). Some of these doctrines are beliefs which the original Berean Christadelphians held in 1923, whilst others are later developments.'The Evolving Berean Fellowship Position', Steven Genusa, September 2007 A number of these beliefs are not held by any other Christadelphian fellowship, which the Berean Christadelphians take as indicative that they hold the correct understanding of the gospel.'On our part, both careful research and personal contact has revealed that on the whole, as a fellowship, Berean brethren are more oriented toward original Christadelphian beliefs than are the other respective groups on the whole, as a fellowship: Even on their worst day, Bereans appear to be better off doctrinally than virtually anything else that we have been able to find, on its best day'Christadelphian History and The Biblical Fellowship
The following is a list of beliefs which differentiate the Bereans from mainstream Christadelphians:
The Berean Christadelphian position on congregational fellowship (described above)"This page will contain a history of the Christadelphians as it pertains to the Berean Christadelphian fellowship, along with specific doctrines which separate us from other Christadelphian groups" Why the Bereans? That sin is a physical substance which is the cause of moral transgression, disease and death'Sin's Flesh, the flesh in which the Diabolos, SIN, resided in every cell and fibre', G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978"As a race, we ARE Sin. Everything we do naturally is Sin. Sin is the very fiber of our being", G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978"The term sin is scripturally extended by the process called metonymy (extending a name to include a related thing) to include the evil, corrupt, death-bringing principle in every cell and particle of human flesh – the diabolos – that causes all diseases and death and disharmony with God", G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978 That babies die because they are made of this physical substance which is sin (and so inherit the wages of sin)G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978 That although the Bible uses the word 'sin' in two different senses, it always refers to only one thing and not two separate things since sin and the cause of sin are one and the same'Let us not be squeamishly afraid to give the name SIN to the very root of sin', GV Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978"We are told by some that we must not link transgressions and sin-in-the-flesh in the same "category," as two "aspects" of the same basic sin constitution. That is, we must not link "the Devil" (Diabolos) "and his works." But the Scriptures do", G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978 That God treats both sin and the cause of sin in the same way"When God condemned Sin by condemning the Diabolos in the sinless Christ, He inseparably linked all aspects of sin together – or active sin was not condemned", G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978 That Jesus earned the wages of sin"And seeing that the wages of sin is death—whether it be physical or moral sin—all must die", Simplified Atonement, adapted from "God’s Way Of Atonement", by Frank Jannaway That John Thomas (founder of the Christadelphian movement), was raised up by God to restore the Truth to the earth, and was chosen by God because of his unique fitness to the task"brother Thomas was providentially selected as the best instrument for the work at hand, namely, the recovery of the Truth within the Divinely foreordained limits of the non-inspirational era in which he lived. For the accomplishment of this task, we wholeheartedly believe that the Lord chose one who possessed great spiritual capacity, and was totally meet for the challenge", Bob Widding, "Contending for the Faith: A Command for 21st Century Saints" from the Berean Bible Journal, January 2008"Many years ago I came to the firm conviction, daily strengthened ever since, that bre. Thomas and Roberts were divinely and providentially raised up to revive the Truth of God and the Body of Christ in these last days, and that they laid a sound foundation of Truth – all the Truth – as regards fellowship and salvation", G.V. Growcott, article What does the Scripture Teach about Divorce and Remarriage?, July 1971 That God requires a sacrifice for "sinful nature", and that Christ therefore had to make a sacrifice both for his sinful nature and for the sinful nature of humanity"It was necessary that Jesus should offer for himself for the purging of his own nature, first, from the uncleanness of death", G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978 That human nature is physically defiled by sin even before personal transgression has taken place"God ordained sacrificial blood-shedding for the cleansing of mankind from the defilement brought on the race through Adam", G.V. Growcott, The Purifying of the Heavenly 1978 That even without personal transgression, man is an abomination unto His Creator and has need for redemption through the shedding of blood