In our footnotes we will quote extensively from bre. Thomas, Roberts, and Growcott. We do this for a several very specific reasons. Bro. Stone once complained to me:

"Whenever I talk to some one holding Berean teachings on these matters, his only defence consists almost entirely of quotations from bre. Roberts and Thomas.

"I think you will agree with me, Jim, that our first and only line of defence in respect to the beliefs we hold as true must lie in the Scriptures themselves. When we dispute with or teach those outside of the Truth, we rely wholly on the Word of God, not on the authority of Robert Roberts or John Thomas (which authority would not carry any weight with them in any event). It is a sad thing to have to prove that one's beliefs and teachings are in line with the pioneers instead of the Bible."

In saying this, bro. Stone missed the point. We do not quote extensively from the pioneer brethren because the are authority figures, but because their arguments are based upon the Scriptures . Now, we could borrow their arguments, reword them, and claim them as our own. We do this frequently in public lectures, regardless of the subject. But by quoting directly from the pioneers we do several things. First, bre. Roberts and Thomas were powerful and clear writers. By quoting them verbatim, all of us get the advantage of their depth of understanding and ability to communicate. Secondly, it resolves an issue which is important to some Christadelphians, as to what was the original position of the Truth on this matter. I know that any one who is a true Christadelphian would quickly put away traditional Christadelphian belief, if it could be established that that belief is opposed to the Scriptures. If bre. Roberts and Thomas taught wrong, then their teachings should be discarded. We would not argue that.

But as a point of reference in determining the true from the false, it is essential to many brethren to know what is the original position upon which our system of religion is based, rather than what is the belief of any current brother. Once it is clearly established what is the foundation position, and what is the new position; then it can be determined which position is the Truth. Bro. Roberts said in his booklet, the Blood of Christ, that the Sacrifice of Christ is the "hub of the wheel", from which all the rest of our faith branches out as spokes. If Christadelphian belief on this vital doctrine changes, then many of the other tenants of our faith must change as well, as we shall see as we examine bro. Stone's talk. The nature of man, who the devil is, and to a lesser degree the resurrection all must change to accommodate bro. Stone's views.

So we are not apologetic for our extensive quotations from the pioneer brethren. Some, such as bro. Stone say they have no stomach for justifying their beliefs against the pioneers. That is fine. That is not the issue. We encourage them to forget who they are, and focus on what they said. Don't look at them as authority figures, but look at their arguments, and then judge right from wrong.