why so many?

[BloodFire]

why are there so many denominations?
how can there be a right or wrong one if there are so many?

 

[FriarErasmus]

Simple answer:
The foundation that Christ placed for us is still within all of these denominations:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself."
"All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God"
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes may have eternal life in him. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
and believe that John was sent to tell us of Christ here:
"John answered them all, 'I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'"
and all agree that "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."
and:
"if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."


Since pretty much all denominations believe these core beliefs (see the Nicene Creed... most believe the crux of this as well, with some minor disagreements), the denominations really are all part of the same universal body of Christ.

The reasons for the various denominations is that some denominations became more focused on the rules rather than on the relationship with God, and when changes could not be made to bring the denomination back into focus on faith and relationship with God, certain individuals chose to start other denominations to allow themselves the freedom to worship and practice their faith as they interpreted it from scripture. Both sides of the coin chose to nitpick the details rather than focus on the overall goal of the Church - to spread God's love around the earth and to bring people into relationship with Him.

The real problem is that all denominations seem to have forgotten a key point in scripture:

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." - (Taken from the NIV translation, available online: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012:1-1&version=31)

Each denomination is, in effect, thinking more highly of itself than the others, and that should not be so. We are all one body with many different giftings, and Christ is the head of that body. If all of the denominations would just realize that we should work together as one unified Christian body (ie one organization, even though we are not all one denomination), we would see the greatest move of God's hand seen since the original beginnings of the Church in the mid first century.

So, hopefully this explains how we are all alike, so therefor can all be correct in the core of our faith, as well as how we are all different, in that we nitpick the details which are truly not important.

It has been my desire for years now to see the whole of Christianity come together an put aside the petty nitpicking items of faith and just believe in the core of Christianity. The only problem is that each denomination differentiates as to what it considers to be the "core". If we all could agree on something similar to the Nicene creed, and all agree to not worry about the specifics of how we go about worshiping and doing the work, we would become what Christ intended us to be.

Again to say, this is how we are all right (at the very core, we agree on at least this one scripture as the sum of all the laws of God:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself.") and why we are all different yet still in agreement (we all differentiate on the details).

Sorry to ramble on this. I hope I got my thoughts out clearly enough. Let me know if you would like a better explanation.

 

[tapero]

why are there so many denominations?
how can there be a right or wrong one if there are so many?

Hi, I've thought about the many different congregations, denominations there are, and in thinking of it have marveled at God as He created each one of us so uniquely.

There are many congregations I wouldn't be comfortable in. A shy quiet person would not be comfortable in a loud type church, likewise, someone who is more vocal in their expression would feel stifled in a quiet type church.

Then there are the different theology's held by the denominations. Some interpret scripture in different ways, and again, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't speak in tongues, etc., but some do, so who am I to question what God is doing in their life kind of thing.
I wouldn't thus be comfortable in a church that speaks in tongues.

Some believe different things about predestination.

Some believe to keep the laws of Leviticus.

I think it's awesome to have so many differnt denominations as many are led from one to another with different phases of growth or understanding, or they've moved.

In my case, there is no church of the denominaton I would prefer to go to in my area. So I go to one, with which I don't agree with lots of things, however the important thing we are in agreeance is that Jesus died for our sins and was raised for our redempton (salvation.) He is wholly God and man. The Holy Spirit indwells believers. These are critical issues to me and of course I would hope all Christians, so though and I can't travel to other churches, and though I disagree with other things, I go to because of God.

Blessings,
tapero

 

[Merlin]

Why so many different foods?
we each are different.
Some like apples, some like steak.
There is a place to worship where you can be comfortable.

 

[FriarErasmus]

I agree in that I would not feel comfortable in a quite reserved church, in that I am a bass player in my church's worship band (guitars, drums, bass, keyboard, saxaphone, etc...) Others would be very uncomfortable in this environment, as for them, worship is a piano or Hammond organ, or in many cases an actual full pipe organ) and the guitar/bass/drums motif would not fit in their style of worship. The most important part is that we believe wholeheartedly in Christ and Him crucified.

 

[PhilosopherD]

why are there so many denominations?
how can there be a right or wrong one if there are so many?

There are so many because Martin Luther began a process in the Reformation that basically allowed for each person to interpret the bible on his or her own.

Much of it is also political in nature, connected to movements in Europe and America since Luther.

 

[Mailman Dan]

why are there so many denominations?

http://www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/whyaretheresomanydenominations.shtml

In the early 1500s, a German monk named Martin Luther was so conscious of his sins that he spent up to six hours in the confessional. Through study of the Scriptures he found that salvation didn’t come through anything he did, but simply through trusting in the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ. He listed the contradictions between what the Scriptures said and what his church taught, and nailed his "95 Theses" to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Martin Luther became the first to "protest" against the Roman church, and thus he became the father of the Protestant church.
Since that split, there have been many disagreements about how much water one should baptize with, how to sing what and why, who should govern who, etc., causing thousands of splinter groups. Many of these groups are convinced that they alone are right. These have become known as Protestant "denominations."
Despite the confusion, these churches subscribe to certain foundational beliefs such as the deity, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "The foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his" (2 Timothy 2:19). Thomas Jefferson once wrote of a preacher, Richard Mote, who "exclaimed aloud to his congregation that he did not believe there was a Quaker, Presbyterian, Methodist, or Baptist in heaven, having paused to give his hearers time to stare and to wonder. He added that, in heaven, God knew no distinctions."

“Why are there so many different religions?

http://www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/whyaretheresomanyreligions.shtml


It has been well said that "religion" is man’s way of trying to deal with his guilt. Different religions have different ways of attempting to rid their adherents of sin and its consequences. They fast, pray, deny themselves legitimate pleasures, or chasten themselves, often to a point of inflicting pain. They do this because they have a concept of what they think God (or "the gods") is like, so they seek to establish their own righteousness, being "ignorant of God’s righteousness." The Good News of the Christian faith is that no one need suffer the pains of religious works. Christ’s blood can cleanse our conscience from the "dead works" of religion (Hebrews 9:14). Jesus took our punishment upon Himself, and He is the only One who can save us from sin and death. See Acts 4:12 and John 14:6.


Dan~~~>suggest using that source for other answers as well

 

[Ailanthus]

Well, I may be stepping out of what is commonly held as true, but I have always felt that the many, many, many denominations of Christianity is a device from satan. There are "loud" churches, and there are "quiet" churches. Personally, I would choose to attend the one that is somewhere in between. But, when you boil it all down, all truly Christian churches are ONE church; the church of the Blood of Christ. While it is true that some feel more comfortable in a quiet church, and some feel more comfortable in a loud church, getting involved with denomination versus denomination is just a device by the enemy to create division in what should be WHOLE.

 

[huldah153]

.

 

[BloodFire]

so can some denominations be moving further and further from the truth?

 

[Rafael]

so can some denominations be moving further and further from the truth?

Yes, and many are going to buckle under the pressure the world will put on them to conform to its mold.

 

[revmalone]

why are there so many denominations?
how can there be a right or wrong one if there are so many?

Greetings
The denomonational thing is one of the body of Christ problems, each one may hold a belief higher then the other or a church tradition done different.

But the one thing we all share is Jesus Christ. He is the head of all of us. It's best to get a Bible and Start Talking to Jesus and ask him to help you and to teach you, he does.

I got out of the hand me down traditions and Found my greatest trill in getting to know Jesus on a personal Level within my Spirit. You can feel him the more you seek to know him. All you need is Jesus, get a bible read it. Then Get to know Jesus.

Trying to follow church traditions will send people to Hell, following Jesus is the only sure way, he said he would tell those who he dosen't know to depart.

Read John, it tells about were Jesus came from and just who he was really.

I hope you and the others reading seek to know Jesus.

Rev Malone

 

[tapero]

so can some denominations be moving further and further from the truth?

Hi, within denominations are individual churches of that denomination. In those alone they may be at odds with each other depending on their doctrinal statement.

A pastor may be of a denomination and teach wholly different than what holds to the doctrinal statement.

I don't go by denominations. I look at each church individually and make judgements that way. Do they line up with the word of God, do they preach Christ in all sermons, including teachings of the Old Testament, by relating it to Christ and then to us.

So any church can stray, no matter what they are. There may be one or two exceptions, however due to the nature of man, with different priests and pastors, they will have of course different understandings of God and what the bible teaches.

I am very glad there are lots of denominations. I don't believe it is a tool of satan or the like.

However, as written, during the end times, or as we draw closer, things will get worse.

It is bad now in some teaching that sin isn't sin etc. This has been happening a lot, however there are plenty of churches that are teaching wrong doctrine. Some are wolves in sheeps clothing seeking a personal following, or numbers, and some are unbelievers to boot, and some are just ignorant of scripture but are in the pulpit.

We should never take a pastors word as truth, but verify it with the word of God. They make mistakes in sermons sometimes, and that can be cleared up by asking them about it.

So mainly, know the bible for yourself, and check out each church individually and see how it holds up to your understanding of scripture in the bible.

Again, what is of most importance is that Christ is preached in all if possible sermons, and tied into any sermon given. This way it is the Holy Spirit who reaches us and changes us inside, instead of man trying to achieve certain behaviors which only leads to external change and not heart change, which is what we need.

Be very careful of legalism, where a church says you must do thus and thus to be saved, when it is not so, remember know the bible for yourself. they try to take away the freedom in Christ by laying on tradition to follow rather than Christ. Not all of course, but legalistic churches. Some good churches do follow tradition and of course Christ and they are okay, if you can handle that type of setting.

God bless,
tapero

 

[GodSoLovedTheWorld]

Well despite the large number of denominations there are some things that don't change.
Like the 10 commandments, which all Christians should obey.
I think the main reason for so many denominations is man's pride. The high philosophers need to have their voices heard. They need to feel ever so important. So they invent things like -ism's. Unfortunately you always seem to get some lunatic fringe that takes things far too seriously and literally and they go around condeming those who don't agree with their postition. How many lives have been lost due to that sort of thing?
So, denominations are human extra-biblical inventions. They are all worthless and you should ignore them. If you don't ignore them you will end up like me - confused, disillusioned and close to losing faith. So maybe denominations are the work of Satan because he wants everyone to turn away from Christ.