Can someone explain the differences in Christian denominations?

Question

I have read Wikipedia and I would just like a dumber down version of what makes each sects different from one another (ie. Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Lutheran, Anabaptist, etc.)

Answer 1

Interestingly enough, denominations seldom name themselves. Baptists, for example, got their name because of their rigid adherence to the full immersion in water as completion of the process for becoming a Christian.

I am non-denominational, having found from personal experience that any organization that focuses on internal rules and regulations will eventually stray from the original program laid out by our Creator in the Holy Bible. For example, Jesus made a point of healing the sick and raising people from the dead. Before He left, He told His disciples that they would be doing "greater works than these". There are some denominations that absolutely deny the ability of a Christian to do that which Jesus clearly stated we were empowered to do.

In the Bible, men are "translated", caught up in the air like Enoch, or suddenly moved from one town to another like Phillip after witnessing to the Ethiopian. Paul is shipwrecked, stoned and snake bit, and walks away every time. Lazarus is raised from the dead. Bartamaeus, blind from birth, instantly becomes sighted. 2000 people become Christians in one day after The Holy Spirit descends on the Apostles in The Upper Room, and causes them to speak to the crowd in languages they didn't even know. And, of course, Jesus is crucified and after three days rises from the grave!

This is all good news! God's miraculous power is alive and well. Don't let any denomination dilute the mighty power of the full Gospel for you. Stick to the Word, and find others that aren't afraid to do the same. God bless you!

Answer 2

Differences are that some will take part of the bible and reject what they do not want while others will take another part and reject the rest while there are still some that take the bible and the bible only. The Catholic church takes tradition over the bible so if some tradition says one thing but the bible teaches something totally different, they take the tradition over the bible teaching. Most churches actually follow the Catholic teachings and call it God's when it is not anywhere in the bible. Like the bible Sabbath says that the Seventh day is God's day but the Catholic Church even boasts that it changed the day to Sunday, the first day, the venerable day of the sun, a pagan day, and yet most major denominations follow the Catholic day rather than God's day and make the excuse that it is a Jewish day. Where were the Jews at creation when it says that God hallowed it, made it holy, made it His day? The fourth commandment states Gods day is the Seventh day, not the first but when they claim the law was done away with at the cross, they only claim the fourth one was done away with but not the rest. Why is it that the only one that says REMEMBER is the one they want to forget. All the ones you mentioned follow the Catholic church in its teachings as do all others that worship on Sunday a pagan holiday. Show me one place it says anywhere in the bible that we are to keep Sunday and I will give you $10,000 cash. I will even double that if done in the next 24 hours.

Answer 3

There are different denominations because of the theologians. If everyone would just simply read the Bible this would not occur. We all believe in the same Jesus, the same God and the same Holy Spirit. When you see all of the different religions coming together under the name of Jesus then things on this earth will begin to change. Up until now we have been so busy defending our belief that we can not do this. Just as the early Christians was persecuted so are we today, only verbally. If it would not be illegal it would surely be more than that. People was given a revelation from the Holy Spirit about the Bible thus the different religions.

Answer 4

There was a time 30 or 50 years ago, when one could make some general statements about the standard belief set ( and differences) in each of the Christian denominations.

But now, I am not sure that there is anything I could say about any of these denomination that would be true for all, or even most of its members.

I was raised Baptist, and I can find few similarities in the religion I was raised in, and what Baptist seems to mean or imply now.

My husband was raised Methodist; he also sees little similarity in the church of 30 years ago and now.

Whatever answers you get from this question may be correct for that person's church, but may not be true for the same church in a different city, or even across town.

Answer 5

The differences are there because that long ago (anywhere from centuries to millenia) someone read a book that told them how to live, but decided that what they saw in that book was slightly different than what the people around them were seeing in the book.

And there's no way you can live a good life without worshipping on a particular day of the week, or without just the right amount of water splashed on you when you're just the right age, or if you don't cook your food in the right way, or if you don't drink the right things, or dance the right dance, or dance at all.

So what's the difference between denominations? One denomination decides to follow some crusty old dead guy's opinion over some other crusty old dead guy (or girl's) opinion. And they all have plenty of "proof" to show you exactly why they have the whole truth and no one else does.

Answer 6

They all differ in how they misinterpret the bible. Essentially they are the same. At first there was one, the Roman Catholic church then after about 1200 years of insanity Martin Luther exposed how much of the beliefs of the church were in opposition to the bible. After that Christianity split off into hundreds of different sects, some taking with them much of the original beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church others making up their own new crazy beliefs such as the Mormons. Did you ever read the part in the bible where it says go find the one true organization and be saved? Neither did I?

Answer 7

Catholics believe works get you to heaven and infant baptism. Baptists=Anabaptists and they believe whatever the Bible says is how they are saved, true Christians I think. Do a little more research and you will find that they are all very different.

Answer 8

There is not much differences now days. Mostly styles. Some use hymns while others use choruses. Some have immersion baptisms while others have sprinkling baptisms. Some churches are governed by a board while others are governed by congregational vote. The major thing is that the denomination is part of a larger whole, who keep the churches, and leadership, accountable.

Answer 9

Christ customary one Church only, his Church, the body of Christ in 33 ad. All Christians initially belonged to this Church. in this one and easily Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts which the apostles strongly censured as damnable. yet in next centuries a lot extra severe dissensions regarded and great communities grew to develop into separated from finished communion with the Catholic Church. those communities invented their own denominations and Bibles in protest to the Church. we've some thing like 30,000 diverse guy-made denominations and cults of "Christianity" who can not consider one yet another, even on consumer-friendly Scripture. The ruptures that wound the team spirit of Christ's body - the following we'd want to distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism, - do no longer ensue without human sin. that is the artwork of the devil.

Answer 10

There was one church, the Catholic Church since the time of the Apostles. In the year 1054, The Orthodox Church split in the East. In the 16th century Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation. Protestants believe in the Bible alone.