Apostle of Legalism

DR. JOHN THOMAS, MD
APOSTLE OF LEGALISM
Rhoderick D. Ice

"You are not a Christian unless I say you are a Christian." In a nutshell, this how Dr. Thomas seemed to think. He was "Unitarian" and "Adventist" in his thinking. Thomas' ideas culminated in the strange cult known as the Christadelphians (Christ's Brethren).

John Thomas came from England in 1844. He became part of the Stone-Campbell Movement. But later he was convinced that they were the apostate church predicted in the Scriptures. So he withdrew to form a group of local meetings who finally took the name, Christadelphians (Brethren of Christ). They were "mutual edification" in having no paid or ordained ministers. In 1967 there were some 600 "ecclesias" (congregations) in the USA, with larger numbers in Australia, Britain, Canada , and Germany.

Thomas taught that Jesus is "a son" of God, but not God the Son; and that Jesus had no existence before being born of Mary. He rejected the Trinity, and a personal devil.

B. L. Smith wrote in the "Millenial Harbinger Abridged": "He was a magnetic, attractive man, and became very popular with some people. Soon he began to teach a spirit of dogmatism and exalted his own opinions above other teachings. Among other teaching was that one coming into the church should be re-baptized; that immersion, as administered by Baptists or any other, was utterly invalid."

Dr. Thomas deserves further study for two reasons: he was perhaps Campbell's severest critic within the "movement;" his type of mind set and thinking introduced a "factor of distortion" which is still with us today.

We learn much about Dr. Thomas and about Alexander Campbell by the controversy recorded in the "Millenial Harbinger." Campbell accepted more as "Christians" than some in our movement would today. He stressed immersion into Christ, and was himself immersed. [Campbell accepted the King James translators as Christians.]

Campbell received a letter from Lunenburg County, VA, in which a woman who, influenced by Dr. Thomas, challenged Campbell's definition of a "Christian." Campbell wrote: "In reply to this conscientious sister, I observe, that if there be no Christians among the Protestant sects, there are certainly none among the Romanists, none among the Jews, Turks, Pagans; and therefore no Christians in the world except ourselves, or such of us as keep, or strive to keep, all the commandments of Jesus. Therefore, for many centuries there has been no church of Christ, no Christians in the world; and the promises concerning the everlasting kingdom of Messiah have failed, and the gates of hell have prevailed against His church! This cannot be; and therefore there are Christians among the sects."

Campbell wrote: "But who is a Christian? I answer, Every one that believes in his heart that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God; repents of his sins, and obeys Him in all things according to his measure of knowledge of His will.. .And hence it is possible for Christians to be imperfect in some respects without an absolute forfeiture of the Christian state and character."

According to J. W. Hunnicutt, Thomas taught the following [which things were contrary to what Campbell taught].

1. All infants, idiots [mental defectives], and heathens will sleep through endless duration - they can never rise.

2. Man has no soul nor existence separate, distinct, and independently of the body.

3. The Spirit of God does not operate on any person apart from the word written.

4. It is sinful for an unconverted person to pray to God.

5. Christ will reign upon the earth in person a thousand years, the seat of government being at Jerusalem.

The Christadelphians deny some essential doctrines of Christianity; namely, that Jesus is God (John 8:58)and that salvation is by grace. Like so many other cult groups that claim to be the Restored Truth, they have their own interpretations of the Bible that deviate greatly from orthodox Christianity.

Note: Some of these things have carried over into present day Churches of Christ without our being aware of it. "Old Uncle John" may have been very sincere in his ideas yet mistaken when compared to truth. We need the witness of the Four Gospels plus the rest of the New Testament plus the witness of the Old Testament to be on solid and safe ground. What God is, the Eternal Word (LOGOS) is also. John 1:1-4; Col. 1:15-17. The ETERNAL WORD came in a body of flesh and blood to be the Lamb who takes away sin. John 1:29; 1 John 3:23; 4:1-4; 5:5-13; Hebrews 1:3; 2:14-18; Romans 8:1-4

GOD is One Lord (Deut. 6:4). Campbell could speak of: Jehovah the Father, Jehovah the Son, Jehovah the Holy Spirit (in his book: The Christian System.).