I want this to be primarily a christian only thread, since it is a christian subject and I want people familiar with christian doctrine and the bible to answer in here....

now the question is simple. If the title of this thread is true, then why are there so many christian denominations? lets hear the thoughts and reasoning as to why, and even if anyone has any good reason why this might not be a problem.

I think the main reason is people interpret things so differently. I think that is the main reason for the Orthodox and Catholic split in 1054. Some groups don't believe baptism is needed to be saved while others do. Some people interpret things differently, others don't like what they hear, such as King Henry (His number escapes me at the moment). King Henry created the Church of England to divorce his wife (at least that is the generally accepted truth).

My parents couldn't agree on what chruch to baptise me in, so i never have been. I really want to tho, and i will someday.

Michael: well, that is the obvious thing now isn't it...

but, what I'm really pushing for is, if there is only 1 truth...(in Christiantiy).... then what is it? BTW, that title is from the new testament.... written by Paul...

Originally posted by geeogree

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Michael: well, that is the obvious thing now isn't it...

but, what I'm really pushing for is, if there is only 1 truth...(in Christiantiy).... then what is it? BTW, that title is from the new testament.... written by Paul...

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First off what title? Could you clarify?


"if there is only 1 truth...(in Christiantiy).... then what is it?"
Now that is the million dollar question isn't it.
I guess speaking from the view point of Christanity the one truth is that there is a God. I don't think we will ever know everything about the Truth. I don't really think there is an answer to your question. What do you think the truth is?

In response to your first post, having a lot of denominations is a double-edged sword. More people may come to God, but I think that some peoples beliefs are wrong. I can't exactly explain what I mean.

title of the thread! "One Faith, One Lord, One Baptism"


well, Michael, what I'm trying to get at is this.... if there are lots of Christian denominations, but the New Testament says one lord, one faith, one baptism.... then, wouldn't it mean that many of those denominations are off, even just a little

Yea, that would, some of them are very off (some have to be). I infered that when I said, "I think that some peoples beliefs are wrong." I guess the only truth would be the Bible itself, you would have to get the truth from it. Each person is going to have a (at least) slightly different version of what they precieve as the truth. That is why I say I don't think you are going to find an exact answer from us. Does that make snese?

see, and the fact that no one knows for sure seems to tell me that the truth that Jesus taught when he was on the Earth, and that was recorded, wasn't recorded either accurately or completely...

either way, I have trouble putting stock in too many christian groups

It's very simple. All it is is that there are maney ways of tisting the Bible, and really look at most christians Relegions, they you can see in no time how the twist what God said, there is only one who really listen to what God inspired in his Bible correctly.

there is only one? and who is that?

whats denominations?
dictionary.com here i come...

A large group of religious congregations united under a common faith and name and organized under a single administrative and legal hierarchy.

I still dont get it , can someone explain?

BigBob, simply put, "denominations" is the term used to describe the different forms of a religion. Examples of denominations of Christianity are: Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalien (sp?), Jehova's Witness, Mormon, Seventh Day Advantists, etc. Each of them vary in belief just a bit, but they all share the same basic belief that Jesus is the son of God, and that there only one God. Hope that helps you understand that a bit better.

Well, I think that the reason that the Christian faith has so many different demoninations is rather simple. Like you said, for the Christians, the "truth" is in the Bible... however some people could not agree on the interpretation of the text, or they were just really unhappy with what the current main church was doing.

For example (going back to my roots here, so to speak), the Protestant Reformation was started by Martin Luther, and later joined by John Calvin. Luther, unhappy with the Catholic churches way of offering salvation for donations, started the Reformation by nailing the now infamous 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany on October 31, 1517. I provided the English translation since I highly doubt that anyone here can read Latin. People that sided with Luther joined him, and thus the Lutheren religion was created. Calvin had differing ideas as well, mainly that he belived that we do not have free will, and following Luther's example created Calvinism in 1559.

So as you can see, it is disagreements over parts of the Bible or actions of the church that has lead to the formation of so many different denominations.

Episcopalian**

Ok, i get ya know. Do they all use the same bible thought, eg do christians and cathlics use the same bible?

Well.... essentially yes.... except the catholics accept books that are called the Apocrypha.... which are mostly books from the end of the old testament to the beginning of the new testament....

I know I'll get crap for this, but it is wrong to have any denomintation of the christian religion.

Nondenominational is the purest way to go. If you are of a religion, you are following rules set by a man, and you are following a religion in order to follow god...a person should worship and follow god/jesus directly and be Nondenominational.

Thank you for the spelling correction John, I couldn't remember how to spell it.

Originally posted by Davideo7

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I know I'll get crap for this, but it is wrong to have any denomintation of the christian religion.

Nondenominational is the purest way to go. If you are of a religion, you are following rules set by a man, and you are following a religion in order to follow god...a person should worship and follow god/jesus directly and be Nondenominational.

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That is more or less a denomination in its self though. You have told me a little about it on AIN and you have different beliefs than others. So, doesn't that really make it the same?

Originally posted by MichaelVash7886

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Originally posted by Davideo7

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I know I'll get crap for this, but it is wrong to have any denomintation of the christian religion.

Nondenominational is the purest way to go. If you are of a religion, you are following rules set by a man, and you are following a religion in order to follow god...a person should worship and follow god/jesus directly and be Nondenominational.

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That is more or less a denomination in its self though. You have told me a little about it on AIN and you have different beliefs than others. So, doesn't that really make it the same?

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No it doesn't, Nondenominational christians aren't a denomination, they follow the teachings directly from the bible...here's a description
" 'nondenominational' rejects all man-made doctrines and strives to follow only what the Bible teaches"

They dont add beliefs or procedures like many religions do, it's just you and the bible, rather than you and man made rules.

I think there are some scriptures that talk about man made rules (aka, denominations).

When your following a denomination, your following somethin a religion a person made up basically, or one that a person started that follows the bible. In example, the Lutheran religion was named after Martin Luther who lived hundreds of years ago. He was a very good christian man, and before he died, he wanted no religion to be named after him. So, when you think about it, Lutherans are following a religion named after a man. Same with all denominations, they are following rules made by a man.
Hope that makes a little sense...if I ever come across the scriptures in my bible that talk about denominations, I'll post them.

But that is what a lot of people believe about their religion. I mean there are obviously some that are way off. But every group generally believes they are right. Calvinist believe in Predestination which I have heard a verse that totally goes against that. Not trying to pick on them that is just the example that came to my head.