Short version is Traditores.org is a personal ministry of Alan Fahrner, the minister for the Strasburg Church of Christ in Strasburg, CO (and former minister of the Antrim Church of Christ in Antrim, NH).
What is “Traditores”
Traditores is Latin for traditors. That helps a lot, eh? 🙂
From The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church:
traditors. The name given in Africa in early times to Christians who surrendered the Scriptures when their possession was forbidden in the persecution of *Diocletian. The controversy between Catholics and *Donatists which followed the persecution was centred chiefly in the refusal of the Donatists to recognize *Caecilian, Bp. of Carthage, on the ground that he had been consecrated by traditors.1
Basically “traditores” equals “traitors.” People who, to save their skin, gave up sacred writings…and who…after the Diocletian persecution ended…were treated pretty harshly by some of those who didn’t. Although one needs to be cautious about Wikipedia, you can read a little bit more about the Traditores in their article, Traditors.
So, then why Traditores?
Because haven’t we all been traitors to our God? I suspect, if we are honest, we will admit that we are traitors in one way or another every day of our lives—where we put our own interests ahead of those who has called us out of our sin and into His glorious light. Sometimes it is a “little” thing, others we go all out and completely deny our Lord by our actions.
But, God doesn’t give up on us…and…if we are smart…we don’t give up on Him even though we realize just how traitorous we have been and continue to be.
We are Traitors for Christ.
1Cross, F. L., & Livingstone, E. A. (2005). The Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed. rev.) (1647). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.