I am writing to express my appreciation for Bro George Booker’s articles on redemption His dear and logical exposition is consistent with a rich heritage of Christadelphian writings on the subject
I have recently found the pamphlet, The Blood of Christ, by Bro Robert Roberts, to be especially helpful Bro John Carter writes the following concerning the doctrine of redemption “The sections 3 21-31 and 5 12-21 (of Romans) are, we believe, the most important in the whole of scriptures on the subject They might well be the touchstone by which to test every theory The best exposition of the subject in the Truth’s literature is to be found, in our judgment, in the pamphlet, The Blood of Christ ” (Paul’s letter to the Romans, p 42).
Bro C C Walker’s pamphlet titled, A Ransom For All also provides more detailed arguments along the lines of Bro George’s with the unique and special understanding of Christ’s atonement with which Christadelphians are blessed I hope we all appreciate and highly esteem these biblical teachings, and find our common basis of understanding in these principles a source of unity and strength when we are confronted with an almost universal misunderstanding of the redemptive work of Chnst by nominal Christianity
Dear Bro Don,
I was saddened to read the letter “Male Chauvinism” in the December, 2001, Tidings The Lord was respectful toward women and there is no hint he considered them inferior to the male in any way Paul confirms that regarding spiritual status “there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3 28)
Perhaps it was past hurts that caused sister “Dorcas” to react so strongly to remarks in the November exhortation She seemed to feel that the exhorting brother was being misogynistic in his comments This is far from the truth (I was present when the original exhortation was given) The remarks about dress were made in a long list of “ways it is possible to be a stumbling block to both brethren and sisters ” Immodest dress was but one of the issues, and was not confined to the memorial setting or specifically to sisters The trends of modern fashion reflect our society’s obsession with sexuality Tight, revealing garments in both sexes are provocative As brethren and sisters of the Lord we must give adequate consideration to dress appropriately, whatever the occasion
Patricia Bartle, Acton, Ontarto
A Poignant Anniversary
The death of Bro Jonathan Kauffman shocked all who knew him, especially his fellow young people and brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the Midwest Many have asked, “Why?” “What are the eternal consequences of his action?” No human can answer such questions We can see the terrible anguish his death brought to others Yet we know his brother and sister have since been baptized This is a contradiction to what we might normally expect, until we reflect on how Jon was living his life in Christ, as recounted below
Dear Bro Don,
On March 6, 2001, Brother Jonathan Thomas Kauffman, age 17 yea’s, 9 months, tragically fell asleep in Christ.
After a good confession of his faith, Jonathan was baptized August 13, 2000, at Kouts, IN On August 15, 2000, Jonathan gave his first public prayer to close the weekly Bible Class which was praised by several elders of the ecclesia for its spiritual content The Sunday following his baptism, and many Sundays in the months to follow, he read scriptures for the ecclesia or was called upon to pray In December, Jonathan gave his first exhortation at Avon, IN He was a regular supporter of his CYC, of which he was on the rotation to lead classes In January, 2001, he started attending the North Industry, OH, CYC and requested to be placed in the teaching rotation for it
As a 4th generation Chnstadelphian, Jonathan was not afraid to share his beliefs with anyone nor to let his light shine in all aspects of his life He responded in a high school questionnaire to the question “What should I know about you9” “I’m a Chnstadelphian and that sets me apart from the rest of the crowd “.
A classmate of Jonathan’s said he was one who got along with every type of peer at school, even the troublemakers who no one else would speak to Others said he lit up a room with his smile when he walked in He was a loving brother to his little sister, affectionately hugging her in the hallway at school and yelling for all to hear as she walked away, “I love you sisters” Jonathan’s favorite chapter in the Bible was I Corinthians 13 He stated that is how he teed to live his life
Jonathan clearly lived his life in Christ by his actions He had quit all extracurricular activities at school so he would not miss ecclesial activities He explained upon being hired for his after-school job that he would not work on Sundays or Tuesdays which would cause him to be absent from the memorial service, CYC or midweek Bible class In some of his last writings, Jonathan wrote of valuable lessons he had learned to accept people for whom they are, not being judgmental, knowing that no one is better than anyone else just because of their accumulation of wealth or material goods, trying to live his life according to I Corinthians 13 and always putting others ahead of himself It can truly be said that he did live his life in this way His final moments reflected his thoughts of his faith in God and knowing the return of Christ was certain He had opened his Bible to I Corinthians 13 and his hymnbook was turned with the cover folded back to 321, “The day thou gayest lord is ended “
Jonathan is sorely missed by all who knew him His family continues to gneve at this tremendous loss Next month Jonathan’s mother will contribute an article “Finding Spiritual Peace After The Death of a Child “
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One