E. H. Broadbent’s...
“The Pilgrim Church”
We need to wake up to the facts:
Despite the dominance of the Roman
Church, God has always kept His faithful
witnesses in every generation. In the
world’s eyes, they may have just been a
small, trivial group. Yet, in God’s eyes,
they have been the faithful remnant (see
Romans 11:15 & Revelation 12:17). We
need to beware of echoing Elijah’s cry,
“They have ... killed all your prophets,
except me. And now they are even trying
to kill me!” (1 Kings 19:14). God’s answer
will be the same, “I have kept … people
for myself.”
The victor, we are told, writes
history. When it comes to the history
of the Church, it is true that the largest
“Christian” group in the world – the
Roman Catholic Church, has written
it. Too often, Protestant Churches teach
Church history from this biased view.
Almost 100 years ago, one man sought
to rebalance this bias. His name was
Edmund Broadbent, a missionary closely
associated with the Brethren movement.
His book, ‘The Pilgrim Church’, is
probably the best and most complete
attempt at this task.
The English used may seem dated to
modern readers and, of course, it is not
a short, ‘easy read’. However, the effort
taken to read this book will be well
rewarded. You will find the true church
bravely standing for the truths of God’s
Word. Yes, the author, is biased by his
Brethren, Sunday-keeping and relatively
Western view of Christianity. However,
this book will allow you to see a faithful
God. One who has kept for Himself a
faithful remnant through all the ages. It
will also help you to begin to find the
truth for yourself.
You will discover, the Roman Church
has repeatedly vilified and cruelly
persecuted those who sought to remain
true to God and His Word. Too often
Jewish people have been falsely accused
of vile practices; the same people have
spoken in the same way about our bible
believing brethren. Truth is, the enemy
hates God’s people and uses the same
lies about them again and again. You
will see that God’s true church is rarely
‘successful’ in the World’s eyes. We need
to learn what success means in God’s
eyes.
Among the many things Broadbent
shows us, is his belief that time and time
again, God’s faithful remnant has resorted
to ‘the sword’ to protect themselves. He
suggests, quite rightly, when this occurs,
God removes His Spirit from their
movement. It is not that he is a Pacifist.
Rather, the State might have a right to
call us to arms, but we are not called by
God to use violence to protect our faithful
witness to the Truth. This brave soldier
of Christ took seriously His Lord’s words,
“But I tell you not to try to get even with
COMMENT OR DISCUSS ARTICLE AT: www.thesharemagazine.com/archives/0003-01
A REVIEW
by Philip Clark
a person who has done something to you.
When someone slaps your right cheek,
turn and let that person slap your other
cheek.” (Matthew 5:39)
E. H. Broadbent’s book, ‘The Pilgrim
Church’, is available free to read on your
computer or tablet at: goo.gl/0wssOV
If you prefer a printed copy, ‘The
Pilgrim Church’ is still published by a
variety of publishers. However, it is not
the cheapest of books and it is well worth
looking for it in second-hand bookshops.
p
Examples of where it is easily available are:
Amazon (look for the paperback version “by E. H.
Broadbent and Resurrected Books”);
http://thepilgrimchurch.com/ (not the cheapest);
AbeBooks website is always worth checking.
January - March 2015
SHARE|MAGAZINE
|
25