I think the key of understand denominations is to study translations. This is something I've done and it had a profound effect on how I see denominations. I see a couple categories.
1. The Tyndale Bibles. These Bibles consist of the 1535 Coverdale Bible, 1537 Matthew's Bible, 1539 Great Bible, and 1568 Bishop's Bible.
These are Anglican Bibles.
2. 1560/1599 Geneva Bible. This Bible was revised over 100 times in roughly a 50 year span of time. All Protestant denominations after Anglicanism followed the Geneva Bible notes. This Bible was strongly opposed by the Anglican Church.
3. 1611 King James Bible.
This is a compromise between the Anglicans and Puritans (the Puritans make up all non-Lutheran & non-Anglican churches today). The KJV was only accepted by Puritans when their Geneva Bible went out of print.
I consider myself a Tyndale Protestant. I am a continuing Anglican, so the KJV is our pulpit Bible and our Psalter comes from the 1539 Great Bible. As an Anglican I love the KJV Bible. But historically and theologically I prefer the 1537 Matthew's Bible, 1539 Great Bible, and 1568 Bishop's Bible over the KJV. This is because I do not agree with the Geneva Bible scholars. Sure, they did manage to get some things right. But their mistakes slowly led us to our divided situation today.
From the 1560 Geneva Bible: The Puritan Bible with anti-Catholic notes:
Zechariah 9:9,
♦Geneva Bible:
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion: shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just,
and saved himself ..."
Bible Gateway passage: Zechariah 9:9 - 1599 Geneva Bible
Saving Himself is what Satan wanted Jesus to do! Sounds like a Gnostic influenced verse.
Now from Anglican translated Bibles:
♦Matthew Bible and Great Bible:
"Rejoice thou greatly, O daughter Zion; be glad, O daughter Jerusalem. For lo, thy king cometh unto thee, even the righteous and Saviour ..."
King James Bible:
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation..."
Huge difference!
Most of our churches derive from the Geneva Bible and the Puritan movement that translated it. Good things did come from the Puritan movement. They discovered our country for one. The first Bible to enter American soil was the Geneva Bible. So there is deep historical reverence here that can't be ignored. The good comes from the hearts of the Puritans but the bad comes from the doctrines based on a bad translation with bad study notes.
From the Geneva Bible notes would follow even more radical translations like the New World Translation, Book of Mormon, and now the line-up of flat earth Bibles such as NAB, NABRE, NRSV, NIV'11 and others.
Why did the Geneva Bible lead to flat earth? Lets look at the better translated Tyndale Bibles.
Psalm 89:11,
"The heaues are thine, the earth is thine: thou hast layed the foundacio of the roude worlde and all that therin is" (1535 Coverdale Bible).
"The heauens are thine, the earth is thine: thou hast layed the foundation of the rounde world, and al that therin is" (1537 Matthew's Bible).
"The heauens are thyne, the earth also is thyne: thou hast layed the foundacyon of the rounde worlde, and all that therin is" (1539 Great Bible).
In 1560 the Geneva Bible was translated and look at the new change on this verse (and all others like it). So here is the 1560/1599 Geneva Bible:
"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: thou hast laid the foundation of the world, and all that therein is."
The word is no longer round. This is a weaker translation because both Coverdale and Tyndale knew the importance in translating the Psalms correctly. The Hebrew word tebel is a definitive word and it does mean the round world or habitable globe in Hebrew as well as Greek and Latin.
Queen Elizabeth I tries to restore the English Bible by authorizing a new Bible to counter the Geneva Bible's popularity.
"The heauens are thine, the earth also is thine: thou hast layde the foundation of the rounde worlde, and of all the plentie that is therin" (1568 Bishop's Bible).
The King James scholars went with Geneva renderings.
"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them."
Julia Smith tried to fix the error
"To thee the heavens, also to thee the earth; the habitable globe and its fulness thou didst found them" (1876 Julia E. Smith Bible).
Every translation after this would use Geneva Bible rendering. In all fairness, the word "world" does mean globe.
Websters Dictionary 1828 - Webster's Dictionary 1828 - World
But how many people today know that "world" means "globe"? Hardly anyone. Coverdale and Tyndale were wise to this which is why they chose the more accurate rendering of tebel which ended up "round world" in many verses. Here is a list from the Tyndale Bibles of accurately translated verses omitted by Geneva scholars as well as KJV scholars.
1 Samuel 2:8,
"He reyseth vp the poore out of the duste, and lyfteth vp the begger from the dong hill: to set them among princes, and to enheret them with the seate of glory. For the pyllers of the earth are the Lordes, and he hath set the rounde worlde vpon them" (Strong's H8398: תֵּבֵל têbêl -- 1537 Matthew-Tyndale Bible).
Psalm 18:15,
"The sprynges of waters were sene, & the foundacions of the round worlde were discouered at thy chydinge, O Lorde, at the blastynge of the breth of thy displeasure" (1539 Great Bible).
Psalm 24:1,
"A Psalme of Dauid. The earth is the Lordes, and all that therin is: the compasse of the worlde, and they that dwell therin" (1539 Great Bible).
Psalm 93:1,
"The Lorde is kyng, and hath put on glorious apparell, the Lorde hath put on his apparell, & gyrded him selfe with strengthe: he hath made the rounde world so sure, that it can not be moued" (1537 Matthew's Bible).
Psalm 96:10,
"Tell it out amonge the Heathen, that the Lorde is kynge: and that it is he, which hath made the rounde worlde so faste, that it can not be moued, and howe that he shall iudge the people righteously" (1537 Matthew's Bible).
Proverbs 8:31,
"As for the rounde compase of his worlde, I make it ioyfull: for my delyte is to be among the chyldren of men" (1537 Matthew's Bible).
Isaiah 18:3,
"Yea, al ye that syt in the compasse of the worlde, and dwell vpon the earthe, when the token shalbe geuen vpon the mountaynes, then loke vp: & when the horne bloweth, then herken to" (1537 Matthew's Bible).
Isaiah 34:1,
"Come ye Heithen & heare, take hede ye people. Herken thou earth & all that is therin: thou rounde compasse & all that groweth there vpon" (1537 Matthew's Bible).
Jeremiah 10:12,
"But (as for oure God) he made the earth with his power, and with his wisdome hath he fynished the whole compasse of the worlde, with his discrecion hath he spred out the heauens" (1535 Coverdale Bible).
Jeremiah 51:15,
"Yea euen the Lorde of hoastes that with his power made the earth, with his wisdome prepared the round world, and with his discretion spread out the heauens" (1568 Bishop's Bible).
Julia Smith correctly translated:
Job 37:12,
"Being turned by his guidance to their doing all that he commanded them upon the face of the habitable globe of the earth" (Strong's H2015 הָפַךְ hâphak, H4524 מֵסַב mêçab, H8398 תֵּבֵל têbêl, H776 אֶרֶץ ʼerets -- 1876 Julia E. Smith Bible).
Psalm 19:4,
English:
"Their line went forth into all the earth, and their words into the ends of
the habitable globe. In them he set a tent for the sun" (H8398 תֵּבֵל têbêl - 1876 Julia E. Smith Bible).
So the Puritans lost all those globe earth verses!! There are more in the NT! So today we have flat earth Bibles and they all trace their roots back to Geneva Bible.
Again, the English word "world" means globe. But a good translator will not gamble with such understanding. Tyndale and Coverdale both understood the purpose of translating was so the English reader will understand what the Bible is saying. The Hebrew word tebel means the habitable globe so naturally good translations will bring out the meaning. But today more and more Christians are being tricked into accepting flat earth lies. These lies were made possible through a bad translation in the 16th century that caused all other denominations after it.
So after all this research I became Anglican. I will not attend flat earth churches.