Christians--what is the purpose of denominations?

Question

Really. I'm curious. After knowing Jesus, after reading the Bible, after chasing after the Creator with all that I am, I think that denominations are bad. Destructive. Devisive. Can anybody tell me what good there is in multiple churches if there's only one Christ?

BTW--Wasn't Jesus a Jew? So, in essence, the Catholic church isn't the first church, either, it's the Jewish church.

Thanks! Keep answering!

Answer 1

Ever heard of the parable of the 5 blind men and an elephant...? They each touch a different part and come to a different conclusion based on what they've touched. Denominations are kind of like that... It's all based on various doctrines... If we Christians would only stick to the 1st 2 commandments (Love God... Love neighbor...) which sum up the prophets and the Law, things would be very, very different...

I think Paul Newman's character in "Cool Hand Luke" put it rather well: "Nothin' but a whole lotta bosses makin' a whole buncha rules..."

Answer 2

The denominations are there cause they all popped up slowly over time and people were raised in them and now they are all that Christians know. It started a long time ago when Christianity took over the Roman empire, and there was a difference of opinion. So the Christian Roman empire split into two factions, which we now know as the Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church. Then several centuries later a monk named Martin Luthor took issue with some of the teachings of Catholicism and broke away from it, forming the foundation for Lutheranism, the first Protestant denomination. Eventually more Protestant denominations formed as more people took issue with the teachings of Martin Luthor. Around that time King Henry VIII of England took issue with the Catholic church as well, breaking away and creating the Church of England, known as Episcopalian over here.

It's all pretty messed up, but the denominations are all due to the fact that you had people throughout history who disagreed on the interpretation of the Bible and how the church should be run and how the followers of the religion should be governed and thus you got descent and division. Hel, every religion is the same way. In my own religion Asatru we have many factions and denominations. No matter what the religion you will always have people who disagree on how the teachings should be interpreted and how things should be done. It's pretty bad, but it's human nature.

Answer 3

All churches that exist today are spun off of the first church. That church began at Pentecost. It was never intended to become the Roman Catholic church, let alone all the other denominations. It all started with the Greek and Roman governments getting involved with the Children of God that seems to be our of control, because they were being led by the Spirit of God. They were operating under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and taking over all of the business and property that was avalible. They had the biggest herds of cattle, and they were seemingly organized without any organization. It became a threat to the governments and they are the ones that formed the Roman Catholic church to imitate the Jewish church and control the people with docternal laws, etc. As groups and individual became disenchanted with the Roman Catholic way of business, and because they learned that the relationship was individual, and with God alone, they broke away from the Roman Catholic church and started their own denominations. The first big break was Martin Luther who formed the Luthern church. From there it is history as many more have formed. It was never intended to be a denomination but it was to be a lifestyle. Gradually we are getting back to unity, but it will be gradual and if all when Jesus comes. God does not care what the name is on the front of your church. He cares that you are re united to Him. After that it is a one on one walk. If you need to fellowship with other believers, make sure the bus is going to the right destination.

Answer 4

I think that the only thing that different denominations are useful for are the interpretations of the Bible. I have went to many different Churches and the part in the sermon where the pastor reads from the Bible is always much different. They always seem to read the passages that enforce what their religion teaches and gloss over what other denominations may emphasize. Just about any good Christian can look up a passage in the Bible that goes against one of the cardinal rules of another religion. It just has to do with how you interpret it and what you believe is the true way to worship.

Answer 5

There isn't any. So much more could be accomplished if we as people would put ALL of our trust, love and faith in God & Christ, NOT just a church.
In short, it sucks.
But I STRONGLY disagree that we should reunite with the Roman Catholic Church. Obviously, there were significant problems with the PEOPLE in it causing one of the first (Martin Luther) to tell the church they had lost their focus. But as another answerer said, that's all history.

In the end, I don't think anyone is 100% correct, but some are at least closer than others.

ETA - Yes, Jesus was a Jew. But basically, you are starting over with a brand new church and religion in the eyes of the world.

Answer 6

There is nothing really good about denominations. But, people interpret the bible so differently that forming a single community has become too hard, and for now, the denominations allow like-minded people to at least try to make some progress together, rather than one impossibly divided assembly.

Still there are attempts to work through the issues and recombine. For example on Catholic/Methodist/Lutheran efforts in this area, see the link below.

Answer 7

Denominations have arisen from various reasons. There have been splits based on one church enacting non christian doctrine such as supporting slavery or racial division. There have also been divisions based on corruption in churches and one group feeling that they had no choice but to split from the other. The most popular reason for denominations arising is probably the fact that certain groups uplift certain theological beliefs above others. For instance, Catholics traditionally uplift works above grace, Lutherans traditionally in response uplift grace above works, Episcopallians and Anglicans are close to Catholics, but they uplift independence from papal dominance. Methodists , which came out of the Anglican church uplifts personal holiness and sanctification as a response to the Anglican upper class status. Then there is the Pentecostal and holiness movements that take methodism one step further and stress signs of sanctification and holiness through toungues. So you see denominations generally arose due to the stressing of one point of the faith over another. Over time if one point is stressed and the others are not, then a group will see need of stressing the other points and may have to split in order for them to be addressed. We are seeing that now with Episcopallians and MEthodists and many other main line denominations splitting because the issue of the innerancy and place of the scriptures within the church has been so neglected that those who hold a high position of scripture are finding that they must leave and split to have the issue given proper attention or value

Answer 8

Amen!!! You have read the Bible and see that God did not make it hard. Check out in Peter where it says "the churches of Christ salute you." Open your phone book and look up church of Christ (regular--not the Latter Day Saints)... Call or just show up. Christ died for one church--his. I Corinthians tells that there is ONE baptism, ONE church, ONE.... Today everyone wants several different kinds. The only church you should belong to is the one that has Christ as the Head, the one that only wears His name---church of Christ. If you find one with an earthly headquarters--run. But the church of Christ is just the name that the Bible states--it was started on the day of Pentecost by Christ.
Keep reading the Bible including Acts 2:38.

Answer 9

Denominations are the reason Christianity exists. In the collection plate they receive denominations of 5 dollars, 10, 20 and 50. People who give $1...well, they can just become Hindus or something. The best denomination is $100, which preachers love dearly. After the holy man receives them, he can keep all the money and pay no taxes. The preacher has no product, no cost of manufacturing, no inventory. You are paying to hear a story. You are paying to hear that you will not really die, when you die. You are part of a special group who will live forever in Heaven. Just donate some money to the Church in your will, before you depart to Heaven. Hallelujah! World without end. Amen.

Answer 10

You are 100% correct, but this is not a perfect world. The word of God tells us to reason together. The problem today after years of separation is this.Most people have a religion and try to prove it with the Bible rather than using the Bible to find it. If you read your Bible carefully, you can find flaws. with dewnominations. Most Denominations have a charter as to what they believe. Sometimes these charters sometomes supersede the Bible in authority.

After you have a reasonable grasp on the Bible, worship where you feel you're being feed and can discuss doctrine. Where you can feel the spirit of God. There are no perfect churches, but one should not deny the gathering of the saints.