The Christadelphian, March 1977

“The Turning Point”

Doctor Thomas’ Confession and Abjuration, March 1847

There truly was a turning point in the origin of the Christadelphians. In early 1847, in his magazine Herald of the Future Age, Doctor Thomas published his “Confession and Abjuration.” His confession was actually his public profession of a more perfect knowledge, expressed in a formulary containing the articles of his faith. His abjuration was his “solemn repudiation of an imperfect understudying (sic), and his public profession to abandon it.” In his path towards the rediscovery of the truth contained in the Bible, this was a most significant step, for by doing so he essentially severed all remaining ties to the US Campbellites with whom he had been associated since his arrival in America in 1832. We have commonly dated the origin of our faith to that date of March 3, 1847, and it would seem appropriate to comment on those times as we look back from 150 years later.

There are Christadelphians in America who tell their old stories of Doctor Thomas’ visits that they learned from their grandfathers; of his humanity, and of the impact he made on their families’ life. He has indeed had a significant effect on all our lives—for without his independence and determination, we would still, most of us, be ensnared by the Apostasy around us. I would like to comment on four aspects of the life of Doctor Thomas of this period, that are little mentioned in the published biographies.

• The medical profession of Doctor Thomas, which was expanding at this time. He gave up more than most realise by staying in England to write Elpis Israel.

• Doctor Thomas had many rich and powerful friends in the 1840s. Not all remained such as he clarified his understanding of the truth, but we can recognise how valuable was their assistance.

• Several groups of former Campbellites acknowledged the truth of Doctor Thomas’ different beliefs, and were disfellowshipped by the main body in the period 1843–5. Some still survive as Christadelphian ecclesias, witnesses to the truth in our time.

• There undoubtedly have been many “Brethren in Christ” down through the ages, who have independently discovered some or all of the elements of the faith that distinguish us. But I would argue that, in the most crucial elements, Doctor Thomas himself truly “rediscovered” the truth. 

The Medical Profession of Doctor Thomas

Doctor Thomas was independent in all he turned his hand to. A nineteenth century medical historian, Alexander Wilder, comments: “In all his opinions, medical and philosophic, he was eclectic.” His early articles in The Lancet, the premier English medical journal, show him presenting new methods, and as a crusader for fairness in the distribution of anatomical parts for dissection. He became president of two medical colleges, the first being the Franklin Medical College, St. Charles, Illinois (the earliest in the state) in 1843. However, as a doctor, he did not always follow the conventional medical wisdom, but became a part of the “Eclectic” movement, which held that natural medicines are to be preferred over “mineral poisons”. He received his American MD degree from such a college, the Scientific and Eclectic Medical Institute in Petersburg, Virginia. He became President of this college, at least for the term 1848–49: an old flyer exists that advertises him as president and lecturer in two different fields for a term that would start early November, 1848. The soirée held in Glasgow on October 12, 1848 persuaded him to stay in Britain, and write Elpis Israel. Consequently he sacrificed the presidency, as well as his lecturing fees in this college by remaining at his brother Henry’s house in London to create the first Christadelphian work. Doctor Thomas left copious medical records behind in Illinois and Virginia, which confirm the medical status he had, and which he forsook to proclaim the Truth. It is possible he actually received his MD on March 1, 1847, only a few days before his “Confession and Abjuration.” The certificate, which still exists, gives both years 1847 and 1848, but it has usually been reported as 1848.

The Friends of Doctor Thomas

We can only enumerate a few of the friends who were the most important for the period just prior to Brother Thomas’ “Confession and Abjuration.” Roughly in order of their appearance on the scene they are:

Daniel Gano—The first American friend of Doctor Thomas in 1832, he was the clerk of the Hamilton County Courts in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a most prominent figure in town. A leading Campbellite, he took the young Doctor Thomas under his wing. I suspect he did more than that, for his wife, Rebecca, was a Hunt from New Jersey—as was Ellen (Hunt) Thomas, Doctor Thomas’ wife, who appears to have been baptized as a Campbellite in Cincinnati. (She was re-baptized in March 1836, after having become “disquieted in the validity of her baptism” two years after her marriage.) Ellen and her daughter stayed with the Ganos for quite some time after 1843, when her husband was in Richmond. Daniel Gano, however, never separated from the Campbellites.

Albert Anderson—Another prominent Campbellite initially, he followed the truth expounded by Doctor Thomas at least from 1834 on, when he was baptized by Doctor Thomas in Richmond. This act of rebaptism, and the written justification for it, started the rift between Doctor Thomas and the Campbellites. A staunch follower of Doctor Thomas for the rest of his life, he helped keep the flame of truth alive in Virginia, especially when Doctor Thomas was absent in England 1848–50. His letters to Doctor Thomas gave much spiritual help over many years.

Richard Malone—It was at the Richmond, Virginia house of the Malones that Doctor Thomas and his family resided for the period 1844–52. Also, he was one of the few who, with Doctor Thomas, founded the ecclesia in Richmond in 1844, “the first organic manifestation of the truth”, as Doctor Thomas put it. Many present-day members in Virginia can trace their ancestry to Richard Malone. 

The home of Richard Malone in Virginia

Allan Magruder—This prominent lawyer was cast out of the Campbellite church in Charlottesville in 1843 merely for entertaining Doctor Thomas—and subsequently became a firm friend and helper. He helped Doctor Thomas much in the Civil War, as his brother was a prominent general in the Confederate (Southern) Army, and as such aided Doctor Thomas through the battle lines. Of much financial support to Doctor Thomas, it is sad that he parted company with the Christadelphians after Doctor Thomas’ death.

George Storrs—This editor and preacher was the main opponent in America in the 1840s of the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul. It is therefore not surprising that Doctor Thomas became friends with him, and contributed quite extensively to the pages of his magazine, the Bible Examiner. Although the two parted company after Doctor Thomas’ return from the UK in 1850, the exposure of the message of Doctor Thomas through these pages undoubtedly helped spread the truth to groups such as the Millerites. It is a curious fact that, late in his life, Storrs also greatly influenced Charles Taze Russell, founder of the group commonly known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Some Early Ecclesias

Well prior to his formal “Confession and Abjuration,” Doctor Thomas had collected small scattered groups of followers in Virginia, some of whose descendants are Christadelphians today. He did this both by acting as publisher and largely writing his magazines, and responding to the requests of those who wanted him to visit them and preach (usually at their expense). According to one biographer of his chief opponent, Alexander Campbell, he was “fluent and captivating as a public speaker, and manifesting, especially in his writings, a bold spirit of independence, [and] he soon acquired a considerable degree of popularity.” His first magazine, the Apostolic Advocate, was fairly widely circulated in the period 1834–1839, mainly in the state of Virginia, USA. He soon had considerable influence in this region, which was, however, considerably diminished by his sojourn in Illinois for almost four years, 1839–43. On his return, small groups continued to follow him as he published his Herald of the Future Age, and he was helped by the adherence of several prominent former Campbellites, some of whom are mentioned above.

The Campbellite records of the 1840s show small assemblies of followers of Doctor Thomas in Virginia, perhaps twelve in all, with approximately 150 total members. These were all disfellowshipped by the main body over the period 1843–46. They would probably have regarded themselves initially as disenchanted Campbellites: it was not until Thomas himself realised how different was his message that the separation was finalized. The Civil War in the USA bore heavily on these groups, and some disappeared in its aftermath, and others, such as Lanesville (see “The Lanesville Story”, The Christadelphian, February 1993) have slowly become extinct in this century. But at least Richmond and one other, Good Hope, survive to this day. This latter (Unamended) ecclesia still meets in the hall built by followers of Doctor Thomas in 1845. In the Civil War in 1861, Doctor Thomas was almost arrested by the authorities while preaching there; and it still possesses memorial service vessels and a Bible, given to the ecclesia by Sister Eusebia Lasius, Doctor Thomas’ daughter, and inscribed “Lunenburg, Virginia, United States of America, 1845.” Thus Doctor Thomas’ Biblical message spread, as a result of his editorial work and his summer preaching efforts. 

Good Hope Ecclesial Hall—built 1845

“. . . fluent and captivating as a public speaker, and manifesting, especially in his writings, a bold spirit of independence, he soon acquired a considerable degree of popularity . . .”

The antagonism of Alexander Campbell to Doctor Thomas is well documented, and the two who started out most cordially were totally estranged by the time of Doctor Thomas’ return from Illinois. Yet all his known converts at this time were associated with the Campbellites, and it seems this remained true until after the time of his “Confession and Abjuration”. Subsequently, access to most Campbellite congregations and pulpits was very much restricted. So Doctor Thomas began to preach more widely, to Millerites, Unitarians, and others, which laid the foundation for much of his success in England and Scotland from 1848 to 1850. Arguably, the disappointment that these followers of William Miller experienced when the predictions of the return of Christ in 1844 failed, provided fertile ground for Doctor Thomas’ message in Britain, and to a lesser extent in the US.

Doctor Thomas, a man of his times—or independent of his times?

There is no doubt that Doctor Thomas was an exceptionally well read individual, as any who read his works will grasp. But out of this immense melting pot of nineteenth century literature, and out of the revolutionary changes taking place particularly in Europe, little evidence exists for any one man being the true precursor to the body of beliefs of Doctor Thomas. In fact the only area where Doctor Thomas admits to standing on others’ shoulders is in the field of prophetic interpretation, which was not then, or now, regarded as a fellowship issue. Here, Doctor Thomas differed in only minor points from the conventional Campbellite exegesis at the time, and did not greatly change his views from his earliest writings on the subject, as can be found in the Apostolic Advocate for 1835 and beyond.

Apart from this one area, there is little evidence for Doctor Thomas deriving the essential elements of his differentiating doctrines from others. Perhaps the two most often cited as potential antecedents are John Milton, author of “Paradise Lost,” and Elias Smith, an obscure New England cleric often credited with founding the “Christians.” Both opposed the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul: Smith also wrote on the nature of Christ in ways similar to that later developed by Doctor Thomas. And Doctor Thomas certainly knew of Milton, quoting from him in 1837. However, Doctor Thomas repeatedly stated his quest for the truth was initiated out of a true thirst for knowledge; he was not merely attempting to confirm or deny the work of others. For example, in the Herald of the Kingdom for 1859, he stated the origin of his beliefs in the two areas that really differentiated him from the apostasy around him, as follows:

“. . . in 1834, we started two questions in this country, which may be presented in the form of the following propositions, namely that

1.   No person destitute of the ‘One Faith’ previous to his immersion is the subject of the ‘One Baptism.’

2.   The animal man is in no sense immortal.

. . . When we started the questions, it was more in the spirit of inquiry than of perfect conviction; and it is also probable that, if we had not been bitterly opposed, and bitterly persecuted, the matter would have been dropped and we and many others would have, unhappily, been Campbellites to this day. But it was ordered otherwise, and we are now rejoicing in the truth . . .”

Doctor Thomas, in the Apostolic Advocate for 1837, quoted Alexander Campbell as accusing him of getting his beliefs from Elias Smith. As the circulation of Elias Smith’s writings were very small—only around 200 copies of many of his works—it is not surprising that Doctor Thomas had never heard of him prior to the accusation! As Doctor Thomas says: “I am acquitted of plagiarizing the writings of Elias Smith on immortality to those only who obey the truth.” Indeed, in his very “Confession and Abjuration”, Doctor Thomas says: “We have recently perceived the truth aided only by the prophets and apostles.”

This is not to deny that Elias Smith, John Milton, or others before or after the time of Doctor Thomas independently re-discovered some or all of the truths we hold so dear. Down through the ages we can read of those who, despite strong opposition, discovered the truth for themselves—and proclaimed it, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. It can be assumed, however, that the propositions of Doctor Thomas came from true inquiry: that the resultant firestorm of controversy caused Doctor Thomas to study the Bible, to begin to create the truth we, and he, hold so dear.

Confession and Abjuration

The next of this, first written on March 3, 1847, and published in the Herald of the Future Age, Vol. 3, Number 4, was re-published by Robert Roberts in his biography, Doctor Thomas, His Life and Work (pages 124–131). Doctor Thomas wrote his confession, and was re-baptized, when he realised that he was truly preaching, not a modification of, but a gospel quite different from that of Alexander Campbell and Walter Scott, the two main leaders of the Campbellites. This was triggered by re-reading an article written by an “Anglo-Scotch Baptist”. Doctor Thomas does not give us the name of the writer, but commented when he re-published the article in his Herald of the Future Age that “he subscribe(d) to the above as the truth and nothing but the truth”. He went on to say in his Confession, “Without the proclamation of the Ancient Hope, there cannot be any proclamation of the ancient gospel.” First Doctor Thomas abjured his error in being baptized when his faith rested mainly on the word of man, and was quite ignorant of “the Hope”. Next Doctor Thomas confessed nine items, among them being too quick to baptize without a full knowledge of this “Ancient Hope,” the gospel given to Abraham. Other errors confessed were a false view of repentance, and of the Kingdom of God being in heaven, and not on earth.

Declaration

In the same issue as his “Confession and Abjuration”, Doctor Thomas also published his “Declaration”. It covers only some of the points that we would now consider as distinguishing us from the other so-called “Christian” denominations around us, but the main characteristics of our body are there. The emphasis on the wholeness of the Scriptures, the true Gospel of the Kingdom, resurrection in the last days of true believers, and the necessity for baptism can all be found. As Doctor Thomas summarizes the gospel:

“An enlightened believer being thus obedient to the faith, is baptized for the resurrection, for the Kingdom of God, and for all else the gospel promises. He thus becomes an Heir of God, and Co-heir with Jesus of the world. He will ‘inherit all things’ provided: That he walk worthy of his high destiny, ‘denying himself of ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and living soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age; looking for that Blessed Hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’.”

“... after a journey of 14 years, I had found the truth ...”

Re-baptism

When he realised the true significance of his total gospel, it was only natural that Doctor Thomas would know it was necessary to be re-baptized. As mentioned earlier, it was his rebaptism of Albert Anderson that caused his initial rift with the Campbellites: his own re-baptism showed the clean break between Doctor Thomas and all his former colleagues. So he called on an unnamed friend in Richmond, Virginia to pronounce the words, “Upon confession of your faith in the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Doctor Thomas wrote: “Thus, after a journey of 14 years, I had found the truth.” This rebaptism took place in February 1847, possibly in the residence of Richard Malone, at whose house he and his family was residing at the time. Some think it occurred in the house he owned, which nearly backs up to the Malone house: both buildings still stand, although in poor condition.

The Consequences

It is clear that the publication of this “Confession and Abjuration” effectively isolated Doctor Thomas and his small groups of adherents from the main body of the Campbellites. James Wallis, now the main leader of the British Campbellites, was given credit by Doctor Thomas for earlier publishing the article which brought about the turning point. Ironically, Wallis refused him an audience in England a year later, and any access to the British Millennial Harbinger. When a rival Nottingham Campbellite publication, the Gospel Banner, opened its pages to him, this avenue, and the willingness of the British Millerites to hear him, laid the foundations of what is the Christadelphian movement in England today. In America, a combination of vehement opposition from the Campbellites, no similar ready audiences among the Millerites, and the destructive effects of the American Civil War, almost snuffed out the small flame of the Christadelphian body. The subsequent immigration of many Christadelphians from the British Isles helped fan the flame into the vibrant and growing body we see in America today.

The truth Doctor Thomas defined was cradled in the USA, but then brought to Britain, where, largely through the subsequent efforts of Robert Roberts, it grew and then spread throughout the world. As we look back from 150 years, we see the indomitable energy and will of one man who, despite intense opposition, forsook a potential life of ease to search out and spread the truth as he saw it. But we must realise the importance of the help and comfort he received from his friends and fellow brethren and sisters. As each of us has come to our own personal turning point, we ought to appreciate the efforts of Doctor Thomas who, in March of 1847, separated himself from Apostasy and thereafter proclaimed the “True Gospel.”

Peter Hemingray