This is why we have so many denominations: its not the truth, unless everyone sees it differently

[Gottservant]

I wonder what we could do, to make the faith even more diverse?

Would that be something the Holy Spirit, would want?

 

[Carl Emerson]

I wonder what we could do, to make the faith even more diverse?

Would that be something the Holy Spirit, would want?

If you were a universalist you might...

 

[The Liturgist]

I am happy to say, I totally disagree with you! I truly believe the devil is the one who allowed all these denominations. The devil has whispered in the person's ear "You have the truth" and that person ignoring what has been passed down thru the centuries, starts their own version of what they think God gave the Apostles thru the Holy Spirit.

Now the secular world, who truly need our prayers and evangelizing but instead are laughing at our numerous divisions and multiple different messages, don't even look to us for any kind of advice. They started their own food banks, family counseling groups, family development groups, crisis centers without involving Christians.

How can anybody turn their back on what Christ said in the Gospel of John Ch 17:20-26. Jesus wanted us to stay as one but yet there are many of you who think contrary. It blows my mind. We should first and foremost pull the planks out of our own eyes and make a strong effort for our God to reconcile our differences and become one again. Then we can take the specks out of our secular friends eyes. And they will listen to us because they truly see Jesus in us all.

Indeed, this is why I support ecumenical reconciliation. My understanding is the attitude among many Byzantine Catholics has in recent years shifted to a pro-ecumenical attitude of attempting to be a force of reconciliation and disestrangement between the Orthodox and Rome.

However, what will prevent ecumenical reconciliation on the widest possible scale is the continued growth of liberal theology. Orthodox, traditional Protestant and Catholic churches cannot fellowship with liberal Protestants. And Pope Francis just did serious damage to Orthodox-Catholic relations with his Amazonian Synod and now Traditiones Custodes, because Orthodox Christians do not want a Novus Ordo experience in their churches, and the revival of the Tridentine Mass was creating a community with a similar ethos to Orthodox convert communities.

 

[The Liturgist]

I wonder what we could do, to make the faith even more diverse?

Would that be something the Holy Spirit, would want?

Diversity is legitimate in terms of liturgical rites and praxis, and the restoration of certain forms of worship which were traditional among some people, for example, the restoration of the Benvenentan and Gallican rites in Italy and France, and the rites of Sarum, York, Hereford and Durham in Britain, and of Koln in Germany, and the restoration of the West Syriac Rite among some Antiochian Orthodox Christians in Syria who still speak Aramaic in the vernacular, would be examples of legitimate increases in diversity.

We must remember however the importance of maintaining In Essentials, Unity. There is no need for more incompatible doctrines or rival belief systems. The faith should be consistent; the diversity is in expressions of the faith, and even then, certain essentials should remain, because lex orandi, lex credendi.

 

[fhansen]

Hi there,

So a foundational truth:


This is why we have so many denominations of Churches, we are all trying to express the truth, more and more differently - that is, for the sake of the truth.

In reality, there could be more and more differences, different names for Churches at different times of the year or day.

The only thing that stops people from embracing the truth, is that the enormity of the choices in the truth, are too much for their ego to accept - is still in the Word of God.

But God is faithful, He has a word for every angle on the truth and shares them with us, via the Holy Spirit (the One who makes all those choices make sense).

Pause for a moment, and ask yourself:

Sometimes its not necessary to acknowledge, the truth... also true.

What?? Everyone's different perspective on truth only means that some-or all-of us believe something to be true, while being untrue.

 

[Root of Jesse]

The difference is that talking as though every individual is on his own to decide what Christianity is take us off topic here as well as being flatly untrue. On the contrary, most people who are convinced about the Savior seek the right church, a religious home, in which to learn, fellowship, and etc.

But even more to the point, that is what the Original Post asked us about--choosing between the denominations.


Okay, if you want to put it that way, EVERY institutional church, whether Roman Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox Eastern, or Reformed takes its stand and the result naturally involves theologians who are individual humans.

Well, it is true that, if you don't have a central authority, you will stray from what is meant by Scripture. I know you often say that individual Catholics differ in their understanding of Scripture, but if they submit to the authority of the Magisterium as the ultimate, they have that to guide them. If a Baptist doesn't agree with their ultimate authority, their pastor, they make themselves, virtually, their own denomination.