Please, WITHOUT BRINGING UP JESUS TO THE ANSWER. Why are there a lot different beliefs in Christianity?

Question

I just want the answer to my question based on facts or dogmas. Why is there Baptist, Jehovah's Witness, Mormonism or any other stuff that I never know? Does one ever feel much better than another? You know, superiority.

Answer 1

The reason there are so many sects in Christianity and in fact why there are so many religions is because, no matter how similar, no two people can have the exact same opinion on what God, and maybe more importantly, what the meaning and purpose of life is. Therefore, from time to time factions develop that more closely suit the individual beliefs of a sub group. These, at best, can only fully fulfill the existential needs of a few and therefore many followers of any religion will sit in conflict with large parts of their church's doctrine.

Ultimately, the individual, whether he perceives a need to separate from his faith or not, cannot find true spiritual harmony until he or she creates an image of a God or God Head or whatever else he or she may need, that they can fully believe in. Therefore everyone is seeking a personal spiritual vision and not a collective one.

Answer 2

It started with the Protestant Rebellion. People misunderstood what their faith (Catholicism) taught or decided they did not like what it taught, or saw problems that they deemed unfixable. So they (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, to name some) started a few churches of their own. Once they had thrown out the Magisterium, they were on their own to interpret the Bible. And they things really got crazy... every time someone read the Bible they came up with a new idea, or just disagreed with their local preacher, and they would go off and start their own church.
As for better than another... there is such a thing as Truth and absolutes. Not everyone is right. Some may have some fo the Truth or parts of it, and some may be on the right track, but only one Church has all of the Truth.

Answer 3

Interpretation of the Bible has caused many divisions in Christianity. Some denominations will put more of an emphisis on certain beliefs then others. Many of the traditional groups like Baptists,, Methodists, Episcopalian, Catholics, and Lutherans have very similar core beliefs such as the nature of God(who he is) but their origins of existence are different. For example the Lutheran church was started by a man named Martin Luthor who was dissatisfied with the hiearchy in the Catholic church. Remember though there are other groups that you mentioned like Jehovahs Witnesses or Mormons who are not holding to the core beliefs of Christianity and therefor are recognized as a cult by many because they deny the essentials of the Christian faith. Keep seeking Truth and you will find it.

Answer 4

There are different Christian denominations for the same reason that there are different religions--because everyone has different ideas on who and what God is and what he/she/it wants from humanity. Even within the same religion, you can seldom find two people in complete agreement with each other. Christianity is the most obvious example of this, as it is divided into something like 34,000 denominations. Most of these are individual churches who may have similar beliefs to the bigger denominations, but have no desire to join with them. Even if we leave these out and consider only the larger sects--Baptists, Methodists, Mormons, Presbyterians, etc.--that still leaves a lot of division and disagreement. If there is a Holy Spirit, then either it is very confused, has a bad case of multiple personality disorder, or it is deliberately telling different people that there are different ways to get to heaven. Much easier to believe the HS is imaginary, like Santa and his elves.

Answer 5

I recommend reading "Why So Many Gods?" It covers every single religion out there, including all the sub-groups of Christianity (which goes into depth the differences between each). You can find the book in Christian bookstores (but it is NOT bias) or major chain stores. I would say for superiority, there's always a sub-group of Christianity that appeals to different people, but that's for you to decide. Some people are lazy and will become members of one because they think that's all they need to get into Heaven. I would say that you need to do research on what you think is the best sub-religion-like for me, it is the one that does everything exactly as the New Testament says to (Church of Christ), no alterations (like...I am sure you can think of one). Hope I was some help.

Answer 6

They are manmade. Man changes his mind a lot therefore so many religions/denominations.
I am only 28, but the past 10 yrs I have attended a mixture of churches trying to find the one that fits with the bible. I have found that Jehovah's Witnesses, despite what non-witnesses say we are not a cult. People thought the disciples were a cult by drawing some away from the Pharisees & more toward Jesus.
If you are going to follow the God of the bible & his son Jesus Christ then follow him 100%. Jesus did not want his disciples to draw their swords& fight. So we stay neutral to wars.
I found the religion right for me & believe Jesus came in the flesh,died for our sins& rose again ascended to the right hand of his father.
I donot believe in the RCC history from Constitne on the trinity mainly because of all the google research I did & reading my bible(s) KJV & NWT.
To finally answer your question people need to ask God what is correct & what is not & stick to it.

Answer 7

The fact is, that people have worshipped for
as long as there have been humans on this earth.
Over time their believes and rituals have changed
to suit the next generations. When Christianity
came around that too was adapted by some people to their
own liking and everybody believes that their religion is
the "True One".
It is really confusing but I think one has to believe in
what one feels comfortable with and do the best to
be a good person. You should inform yourself as much
as possible about the different "Religions" that are out there
and than make a choice of what is best for you.
And if you don't believe any of that stuff, than that is okay too.

Answer 8

According to your statement, there can't possibly be an answer because how can one discuss Christianity without mentioning Jesus?

Being who I am, I'll answer you anyway... Don't take offense, I'm not here to offend, only to supply answers that may help answer your question.


Definition of Christianity:

Chris·ti·an·i·ty
NOUN:
1. The Christian religion, founded on the life and teachings of Jesus.


Now, before you compare religions, you'll need to research what Christianity really is and which 2 of the 3 you listed above are considered to be cults. Moss, apples, oranges and bark all grow on trees, but they can't be compared as being the same thing. Get my point?

Christianity is following Jesus' example as written in the Holy Bible while Christian based cults tailor the Bible to fit their doctrines.

Here is just one example and it regards baptism:

Christians willingly and gladly commit their heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and invite Him to be Lord of one's life. Once they do that, they get baptized - just as it was in the Bible. No jumping through hoops, inquisitions or others preventing it from happening...

Mormons: members are encouraged to baptize dead non-Mormons in the name of their church to ensure those dead will enter Heaven. How the dead can willingly commit to anything is beyond logical thinking. Mormons also have age requirements and restrictions in place to safeguard who can and can't get baptized.

Jehovah's Witnesses: one must prove their willingness to study, attend meetings, train for the field service, and actually go house-to-house before baptism is even considered. After all that, the person is given a certificate stating they are a "candidate" for baptism.

Regarding superiority attitudes:

People are warned about feeling superior to others according to Matthew 7:1, "Judge not that ye be not judged."

Christians believe that anyone believing in Jesus as their Savior will get into Heaven (John 14:6). The cults dictate that unless you join their church, you'll never get into Heaven. In all actuality, the psuedo-Christians (cultists) feel superior to all who don't belong to their sect.

If you're short on time to do research, here's a few links below that may help answer your question.

Answer 9

fact is there are no two people exactly alike in this large world. Six people can look at the same scene and describe it differently according to their line of vision interjected with their own personal descriptive traits. Several people can take the same exact sentence and will interpret it to mean what it suits them to mean. And some people will adjust the same words to fit their own views, opinions, and emotional outlooks towards the very person saying the words. A perfect example of this is in politics, where in this day it is the thing to do something outright morally wrong and phrase the deed in such a way that it appears to be a noble gesture done out of goodness. Such is with religion and politics. The religions that you mention take some of the words literally and out of context of the rest of the chapters in the bible. A perfect example is the quote An eye for an Eye - used by many - in reality it is a few words taken out of context --- of an entire paragraph and chapter --- and leads with "Thou Shalt not".

Answer 10

Actually, all religions are divided into different groups & subgroups, with varying beliefs. Its just that when discussing religion, the divisions within Christianity are the ones that most often get emphasized.

Christianity was originally split into Catholic & Orthodox in the 10'th century, over a dispute concerning the Nicene Creed, & then in the 15'th century, Martin Luther decided to lead a Reformation movement, based on certain Catholic teachings he did not agree with.

Answer 11

Christianity is such a conglomeration of older beliefs wrapped around a new savior that it would seem impossible to me for there to be just one belief structure. When the early Christians adopted beliefs from older religions to make Christianity more acceptable they opened up the way for the religion to take on new ideas and continue to transform over the centuries... If I were to draw it out I'd say the religion looks like a tree... lots of roots coming into one trunk and then branches growing out from there. Each branch being a new sect of Christianity.

Well, that was a little rambling, but it's my not so humble opinion!

Todd