No reconciliation possible between CBM and Duncan Heaster from Carelinks

It is really frustrating to have to admit that in the Christadelphian world it is like everywhere else in this world, that we do find people who are more interested in their own position than in the welfare of others.

For months now, several Belgian brethren and the CBM linkman for Belgium Chris Edwards have tried to come to a reconciliation between Duncan Heaster, Carelinks and CBM (The Christadelphian Bible Mission). We where surprised to find Duncan Heaster under the members of Christadelphians for Unity and as such we did hope he had come to other thoughts and intentions for the Christadelphian Community, wiling them to unite. But we got a wrong impression, he even tries to get more division in the Christadelphian community and succeeded in a certain way. (It will make him laugh at us.)

Like in many denominations the Christadelphians have by the years become victim of different opinions between its members and got different groups of which some did not want to work together with the other. Such division in Christian communities we do consider very bad.

English: cover of the Photodrama of Creation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Christianity there are even groups who say that they are the right group because they have no division, but mostly we can see that they themselves are also an offshoot of an other denomination. For example you can find the Jehovah Witnesses who always claim to be the only right denomination because they have unity in their ranks. They forget they themselves came from a schism-group in the Biblestudent world. They even claim that their founder was brother Charles Taze Russell (a pupil of our brother Dr. Thomas), though he never founded that organisation. Several people who left the Jehovah Witnesses also formed other denominations, like the Nazarene Friends and many ex-Jehovah Witnesses groups.

Christendom has many many divisions, but it is not different by other religions as the Muslims and Hindu's. also in those religions you can find many different denominations or groups with different believes. as prophesied in the Bible we have come in to the days where those different groups will come to oppose each other and even will go fighting one against the other.

With much regret we do have to say to interested people in the provinces of West and East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg that we can not offer them a meeting place, because Carelinks does not want to let us know where they have ecclesiae in those places.

For us it is more important that people could come together, gathering in the name of Christ, studying the Bible together. We are not concerned so much if they do belong to this or that group of the Christadelphian community. but it looked like others are really concerned with whom we do want to have contacts. So certain Christadelphians asked us to take away article from this site or not to show others their name on this site - probably they would not like to be associated with us or with people we would like to associate with.

The whole situation escalated and derailed in such a way that the linkman for Belgium in Great-Britain resigned after a harsh reaction of his fellow brethren at the CBM Great-Britain. a new linkman for Belgium has been installed, but I did not have contact with him. I do hope we shall be able to co-operate nicely in the future.

Because our trials to associate with Carelinks several Christadelphians would not co-operate with us and do not like to have news from their ecclesia on our site. Without much news from Christadelphians it is no use that this site will keep its name "Christadelphian World". Therefore I do invite all readers of this site to give me some advice, either to keep its name and to continue trying to build up a community of lovers of Christ willing to live in the "City of Christ" (Christadelphia) or to be brothers and sisters in Christ (Christadelphian); or changing its name to "Christian World" or "The World we live in" or something else?
All suggestions are welcome.

I do agree I became very frustrated to find also in this denomination such a division. When I was a non-trinitarian Baptist I have seen thousands of Baptists having to change form denomination because the Southern Baptist Union became to strong and imposed the trinitarian teaching on all of its members.

I did already change twice of denomination, being born in an Old Conservative Roman Catholic Family, having been an acolyte, though always having questioned the Trinity, having become a Baptist, where I also encountered a very free unbounded spirit where many ideas were allowed to be said. Now once more confronted with people who want to have their person put in the forefront and be taken as the leader, though Jesus should be our leader and not one other human person.

Jesus (Jeshua) should be the cornerstone of the Church and it are his teachings we should follow, not the commandments of a human worldly organisation. Those who want to accept Jesus as their Saviour and would like to accept what this man has done for them, having really died and not having faked his death as a reincarnated god, should join hands and come together.

I do hope those people who want to take Jesus as their lord and cornerstone of their community, living in Belgium (Flanders, Antwerp, Limburg, Wallonia) shall understand our limits and that it is not our fault we can not bring them in contact with other Christadelphian communities which are not linked with the CBM. We just do not have their addresses and Carelinks does not want to have their members to have contact with members of our community.

Also the contact with other Bible Students do not go so smoothly. Also some of them do not want to meet with other members of our community.
With my Lifestyle magazine Stepping Toes I would love to see more serious Bible Students working together and sharing ideas. But also their I am confronted with not many writers willing to write for the magazine or willing to share their ideas. I am thankful to those who do not mind writing on that platform and not mind meeting with other believing people, trying to edify  each-other and helping each other to grow in faith.

I do hope the magazine shall receive some more contributors in due time, but for now I am already pleased some different ideas may be posed together on one platform. I would love to find readers of this site also coming to look at that platform where many ideas may be put together. Please do find Stepping Toes and enjoy the writings over there.

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2014 February 14: (18.08 hours):

For those who commented on this article and can not see their comment, I do apologise. This website was also some time off public, beyond my own wishes. Because a person and his organisation attacking me, a complaint was made about this site being inappropriate. Therefore it got censored. I did also ask Google to reconsider the complaint and hope all reaction will soon be again available to the general public.

Please see also my open reaction about this dangerous situation of censorship: Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech



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Related articles

• Who are the Christadelphians? (blogs.abc.net.au)
  Allan Baird is a member of the Christadelphian Church in South Australia.
  
  He came on the Evening program after hearing Vanessa’s interview so that he could highlight the good work of the Christian group. “Rather than focussing on the don’ts, we like to focus on the dos”, he explains.
• Like many trinitarian churches several writers attack the non-trinitarian communities and are most against them when they are confronted by those who try to follow up the tasks given by Jesus.
  Jehovah's Witnesses responses so far (matthew714ministries.wordpress.com)
• The Christadelphian Bible Truth & Prophecy Video Vault (therugbychristadelphians.wordpress.com) is a place where brother Art Courtonol of the Christadelphians in Rugby, England presents several video's which can shed a light on the truth.
• Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
  Wherever you may live, whichever language you may speak and in which culture you were brought up shall determine how you shall  pronounce the name of that Nazarene man יהושע :  Jeshua, Jehushua, Issoua,  Issou, Jesus (in different tongues with different sounds), Jezus, Chesu, Isi, etc..
  
  What is most important, though we know that the name "Jesus" comes from "Hail Zeus" and was not the proper name of the Messiah, though we still use it know because it is the most common known form to indicate that man who is called son of God who is the promised Messiah.
  
• Draw near to God - Thank you Jesus (evanlaar2013.wordpress.com) looks at Christadelphians as a cult, but than he seems to forget what a cult really is. He also does not seem to understand the salvation which came over all people by Jesus dying at the stake. A pity. But in Jesus his offering all people can find salvation. they only have to find the way to Jesus who cleared the way to his Father and is the only path to come to the Most High Elohim.
• Recommended sites (steppingtoes.wordpress.com) talks about the changes in the webworld and Christadelphian websites which had to move around.
• Bible: Yahweh is a deceiver? (discoverthetruefacts.wordpress.com)
  Critics of Islam have gone so low that they have started malicious attacks on Allah, calling him a deceiver. When these Missionaries have no legs to stand on, to refute Islamic Doctrine, they resort to lies to degrade Islam.
• Synagogue, Church or Ecclesia for the Christian (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
  If we are only academic and not practising what Christ taught then it is of little value that we come together as individuals. By being "in Christ" we do indicate that we are trying to become like Christ and are made in him willing to daily following the Nazarene man Jeshua, Jesus Christ the Messiah.
• CBM Jamaica gathering (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
• Those who call the Christadelphians a cult (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)

Duncan Heaster en Carelinks onverbiddelijke verhinderaars

Christadelphian Hall in Bath/England (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Met verdriet in het hart hebben de vele verzoeningspogingen van de Belgische Christadelphians om CBM en Carelinks gedoopten in België samen te laten komen niets uit gehaald.

Marcus Ampe en zijn Belgische confraters betreuren het dat er zo veel verdeling is tussen de verscheidene Christadelphian groepen. er bestaan wel enkele groepen die ook beweren voor eenheid te zijn, maar daar in vinden wij ook mensen terug die zich op andere plaatsen verzetten tegen een samen gaan. zo is er Duncan Heaster die het onmogelijk maakt om Carelinks leden samen te laten gaan met CBM (Christadelphian Bible Mission) leden.

Na maanden geprobeerd te hebben om de CBM leden samen te laten gaan met Carelinks leden in België heeft Carelinks zich daar ondoorgrondelijk blijven verzetten.
Ook bleken de Belgische pogingen het hoofdkantoor van CBM Groot-Britannië niet te plezieren en heeft onze linkman in Groot Britannië Chris Edwards zijn functie doen opgeven. Wij betreuren ten zeerste deze gang van zaken en kijken nu uit hoe de verdere samenwerking met CBM UK verder zal verlopen.

Erg genoeg moeten wij nu vele verzoekers voor een Nederlandse bijeenkomst in hun Vlaamse streek teleurstellen. Als zeer kleine gemeenschap hebben wij namelijk nog geen mogelijkheid gehad om regelmatige bijeenkomsten te voorzien in de provincies West-Vlaanderen, Oost-Vlaanderen, Antwerpen en de Limburg.

Het enige wat wij de geïnteresseerden kunnen voorstellen is ofwel dat zij zelf Carelinks contacteren en hun verzoeken hen in contact te brengen met een ecclesia in hun streek of met de ecclesia van Gent of Antwerpen.

Onder deze omstandigheden zouden wij echter het liefst hebben dat deze mensen moedig genoeg zouden zijn om zelf in hun streek een ontmoetingsplaats te regelen waar zij met iemand van ons samen zouden kunnen komen.

Wij zijn namelijk tot het besluit gekomen dat de weinige Broeders in Christus in het land België zelf hun eigen boontjes zullen moeten doppen en zelf zullen moeten proberen om in deze woestijn een geloofsgemeenschap op te bouwen van scratch.

Wij geloven in de Kracht van God en in de mogelijkheid dat God ook voor ons de weg zal banen wanneer de tijd rijp is. Hiervoor zullen wij dan ook het nodige geduld moeten oefenen.

Mogen wij u als lezer uitnodigen om ons ook te komen versterken en er voor toe bij te dragen dat eenieder de moed kan hebben om door te gaan en verder te proberen meerdere gemeenschappen in dit kleine land in eenheid op te richten, waar wel de broederliefde en naastenliefde zullen kunnen uitgeoefend worden?

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 2014 February 14 update:

Mijn verontschuldiging naar al diegenen die mijn blog wensen te volgen en commentaren willen zien en geven.
Deze site bleek evenneit bereikbaar te zijn voor het algemene publiek en de commentaren werden weerhouden van publieke zichtbaarheid wegens een klacht van iemand wegens ontoelaatbare teksten.
Geleive hier daarom meer over te vinden op: Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech

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For those who commented on this article and can not see their comment, I do apologise. This website was also some time off public, beyond my own wishes. Because a person and his organisation attacking me a complaint was made about this site being inappropriate. Therefore it got censored. I did also ask Google to reconsider the complaint and hope all reaction will soon be again available to the general public.

Please see also my open reaction about this dangerous situation of censorship: Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech

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• Kapalpal Christadelphian School, Vanuatu (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
• Strengthening Connections in the Ecclesia, and The Stomach Virus from Hades (nextcomesafrica.wordpress.com)
  Why do people leave the community of believers? I think a lot of times it boils down to a lack of connectedness, either to the people, the beliefs, or the emotions. A connection was either never made or wasn’t maintained. There are other reasons people leave obviously, but this seems to be a big one. The other reason I’m interested in this is that when I was in Africa, at times I felt very disconnected from America. Obviously. I was disconnected. There were ways to feel more connected – emails, Facebook, Skyping with people or into Bible class – that often made me feel almost as connected as if I were in the room with those people. Since I’m going back for an extended period of time, I’ve been thinking about these connections. Actually I guess there’s a third reason too. Connections are sometimes severed. Which leads to the question of whether they were really real to begin with. I guess there’s nothing that inherently says they weren’t, but the question remains.
• 6. Voting Right or Duty? (12160.info)
  Voting may be seen as a civic right rather than a civic duty. While citizens may exercise their civil rights (free speech, marriage, etc.) they are not compelled to. Furthermore, compulsory voting may infringe other rights. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses and most Christadelphians believe that they should not participate in political events. Forcing them to vote ostensibly denies them their freedom of religious practice. In some countries with compulsory voting, Jehovah's Witnesses and others may be excused on these grounds. If however they are forced to go to the polling place, they can still use a blank or invalid vote.
• Nobody Will Observe added a discussion to the group No Confidence Party (12160.info)

Christadelphian Youth Coalition 2013 Bo City conference

From 19^th to 22^nd December 2013 the Christadelphian Youth Coalition of the Christadelphian Bible Mission (CBM) is holding their annual conference at their Ecclesia Hall Water Lane in Bo City.

The event wants to bring together youths from various CBM branches in Sierra Leone (Freetown, Kenema, Bo, Blama, Wanjama, Talia etc.), for strengthening the relationship in the Body of Christ and to prepare the mindset of young people to be more focused and committed to the things of God.

In this world of materialism the spiritual is often forgotten. Youngsters are quickly taken by the modern gadgets and the facilities of internet social media and youtube video-clips.

At the conference various youth leaders shall be able to deliver messages of sound doctrine to sway the minds of youths from such worldly activities. In the Christadelphian community it is important to put the mind on the true values of life.

We and the CYC Youths believe that the youngsters are the future of the church. For that reason Stepping Toes is still looking for young people to write on the platform and to help create a magazine where youngsters also could find stuff interesting for them.

This gathering in Bo City shall enable the youngsters to come together to discuss issues of importance that ensures the development of their various Ecclesiae.

Several activities have been lined up to ensure a successful conference. These include:

• Bible Discussions in the morning and evening,
• general meetings to discussing and addressing issues of development that unites the Christadelphian Family in Sierra Leone,
• outdoor preaching, elections of new executives and indoor games.

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The Christadelphians, “Brothers and Sisters in Christ”, are a body of Bible believing people, who aim to live by faith in Jesus Christ, according to the teaching of his followers from the first century AD, finding their instruction in a wholly inspired Bible. Central to Christadelphian belief is that Christ will one day return to the Earth to establish the Kingdom of God and grant eternal life to his people – those who have tried to follow him and God.

The fundamental Christadelphian beliefs are:

The Bible is God’s word and the only message from him. It is without error, except for copying and translation errors. (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:1. See also: The Bible, Why I Believe the Bible, and Alleged Biblical Errors.)

There is only one God – the Father. The Holy Spirit is God’s power. (John 17:3, Luke 1:35, Deuteronomy 6:4. See also God, Jesus and the Crucifixion, and The Trinity.)

Jesus is the Son of God, and also the son of a human being, his mother Mary, so making him Son of Man. Jesus was tempted just like us because of this. But Jesus was not just a great man, he was the Son of the Most High God, and was perfect. (Luke 1:30-31, John 3:18.See also God, Jesus and the Crucifixion, and The Trinity)

Man is mortal, having no existence when dead. (Psalm 6:5, Isaiah 38:18, Acts 2:29,34)

By living a sinless life, ending with his sacrificial death by crucifixion, Jesus has opened the way of salvation from death. (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Corinthians15: 20-23, Galatians 3:27-29)

Belief and baptism are essential steps to salvation. (Mark 16:16. See also Baptism and Salvation.)

God raised Jesus from death. Jesus is currently in Heaven, on God’s right hand. He will one day return. (Acts 10:40, Romans 8:34, Acts 1:11)

When Jesus returns, he will raise his “sleeping” followers from death and grant immortality to the faithful who have tried to live by God’s precepts. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

His followers will help him to rule, bringing justice, righteousness and peace to the whole world – the Kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 15:23-26).

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Find Stepping Toes the internet magazine composed by (more progressive) Christadelphians: Stepping Toes

Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience

Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life

Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual

Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people

Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences

Being Religious and Spiritual 6 Romantici, utopists and transcendentalists

Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one

Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious

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• Kenosis and the doctrine of the Incarnation in Philippians 2:5-11
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French language websites

French language websites

Over the past few months the 2 CBM French language websites have been reworked by Bro Matt Barton (Pershore ecclesia) and have now been launched. www.christadelphes.fr gives information about the Christadelphians and lists our various French language publications, including articles from the "Héraut du Royaume magazine" a quarterly magazine in French distributed around the world.

www.lisezlabible.fr gives details of our Bible reading programme and enables direct access to the readings in French.

We would like to further extend the publicising of these sites through the various social networks available, but we don'€™t currently have the expertise to do this. 

If anyone reading this has a good working knowledge of French and a technical competence to maximize the publicity development potential available and also upload new material onto the sites periodically, we would love to hear from you. 

You may contact the Chistadelphian CBM office

Joint Europe CBM Open day on Sat 2nd Nov 2013

Date for your diaries and advance notice of the Joint Europe CBM Open day on Sat 2nd Nov 2013 D.V. at Coventry Grosvenor Road ecclesial hall.  A few changes this year:
 
1. The "€˜Open Day"€™ element will be for the morning only. It will be designed for those who are interested in finding out what mission work is about and will include thoughts on the experiences of younger Brethren in mission work.
2. We will have a crèche available all morning in the annexe to enable parents of young children to attend the presentations.
3. Panels displaying the work of the CBM in Europe will be available for viewing during the morning sessions and over lunch.
4. The afternoon will be for Area and Country team meetings but all who wish can stay for the team meetings to get a flavour of the practicalities of mission work.
 
Key times: 9.30am for tea/coffee with a 10.15am start, lunch/displays 12.45pm, 2.30pm team meetings, 4pm closing session and departure.
 
All are welcome
 
For further info contact either:
 
Bro. Simon Phillips (West Europe Area Secretary) on simonandannaphillips@gmail.com or Mike Lewis (East Europe Area Secretary) on mikejlewis@o2.co.uk

CBM Jamaica gathering

Year End Gathering Dec 29-Jan 1.

The Christadelphian Bible Mission of Jamaica, a part of the Amended-run Christadelphian Bible Mission of the Americas (CBMA), will hold its annual year end gathering in Jamaica from December 29th to January 1.

Don Luff of the Brantford Ecclesia has informed the Jamaican ecclesias that only those who strictly meet under the BASF will be permitted to participate in this gathering, due to his position as head of the CBMJ, not as a member of any of the ecclesia there on the island.  Anyone choosing to attend this event should be aware of this restriction.

Location: Contact the registrar for details.
Speakers: Br. Don Luff of the Brantford, Ontario ecclesia
Topic: The Book of Ruth
Schedule: Contact the registrar for details.
Registration: Contact the registrar Annette Johnson at annettegj@yahoo.com


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2013 update

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Palestine: New national education campaign

On 13th Feb. 2011 the national campaign 'Inclusive education for all children with visual impairment in Palestine' was launched by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Ramallah in cooperation with the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) and CBM.

> Palestine: New national education campaign