Christian Denominations?.....?

Question

What are the differences, and why are there so many?

Please submit links for reference. Thank you.

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations

Answer 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_denomination

Denominations
Christianity is composed of four major divisions of Churches: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant. Each of these four divisions has important subdivisions. Because the Protestant subdivisions do not maintain a common theology or earthly leadership, they are far more distinct than the subdivisions of the other three groupings. Denomination typically refers to one of the many Christian groupings including each of the multitude of Protestant subdivisions.

Denominationalism is an ideology which views some or all Christian groups as being, in some sense, versions of the same thing regardless of their distinguishing labels. Not all churches teach this. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches do not use this term as its implication of interchangeability does not agree with their theological teachings. There are some groups which practically all others would view as apostate or heretical, and not legitimate versions of Christianity.

There were some movements considered heresies by the early church which do not exist today and are not generally referred to as denominations. Examples include the Gnostics (who had believed in an esoteric dualism), the Ebionites (who venerated Christ's blood relatives), and the Arians. The greatest divisions in Christianity today however are between Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and various denominations formed during and after the Protestant Reformation. There also exists in Protestantism and Orthodoxy various degrees of unity and division.

Comparisons between denominational churches must be approached with caution. For example, in some churches, congregations are part of a larger church organization, while in other groups, each congregation is an independent autonomous organization. This issue is further complicated by the existence of groups of congregations with a common heritage that are officially nondenominational and have no centralized authority or records, but which are identified as denominations by non-adherents. Study of such churches in denominational terms is therefore a more complex proposition.

Numerical comparisons are also problematic. Some groups count membership based on adult believers and baptized children of believers, while others only count adult baptized believers. Others may count membership based on those adult believers who have formally affiliated themselves with the congregation. In addition, there may be political motives of advocates or opponents of a particular group to inflate or deflate membership numbers through propaganda or outright deception.

Answer 3

It can be confusing, but to understand it completely, you'll need to become familiar with basic theology, and the history of the church. It isn't hard to get.
A quick answer would be to tell you that everytime there's a difference of belief, a church or denom splits and BAM- a new denomination. It doesn't always happen that way.
Just remember, a denom is a man-made organization. All together though, we are the bride of Christ.
If you decide to pursue this line of learning(I wish we ALL would),
pay attention especially to the true beginnings of the Roman Catholic denom, about 325 A.D., and the Reformation, this is when Martin Luther, John Calvin, Zwingli, and others came into the picture. From them, most denoms have come from.

Answer 4

The many Christian denominations have minor differences in some areas of teachings. If a Christian Denomination adheres to the Nicene Creed without adding to it or deleting anything from it, it is considered a Christian church.

The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy universal and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Answer 5

Matthew 13:24-40; 2 Peter 2:1-3.

Christ foretold that there would be countless counterfeit christians in and among the true Christians he himself had sown.

The apostle Peter, under divine inspiration, also foretold that among the activities of false christians would be the introduction of destructive sects - or denominations.

I can give you no reference links. I can give you only God's word the Bible.

Hannah J Paul

Answer 6

The parasitic religious mind virus or meme gets corrupted and changes slightly over time as it is transmitted from one infected host to another. It is an evolutionary thing resulting in variations on a theme and so various sects are formed, some will become more successful than others and eventually dominate while others may fizzle out over time.

Memeplexes

Much of the study of memes focuses on groups of memes called "memeplexes", "meme complexes" or "memecomplexes" — such as religious, cultural, or political doctrines and systems. Memeplexes of religion provide a common example. In the case of Christianity (the theory suggests), the Christian memeplex evolved to form (among others) the Catholic church. Following the schism between the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches, and later splits giving rise to various Protestant churches, various people have added and deleted individual memes, resulting in the formation of completely different memeplexes (religions/sects) within the basic umbrella of Christianity, as well as within (for example) the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme

Answer 7

There is only true Christianity. Why should I provide a link when the Bible shows how to identify the true Christian congregation?

At 1 Cor. 1:10, Paul said that all Christians should "speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought." Since not all who claim to be Christians "speak in agreement means one thing: not all of them are truly Christian. Consider:

Jesus Christ said at John 13:35 that love would be an identifying mark of true Christianity. But some so-called Christians are part of the military where they are trained to kill their fellow man. Hardly love there.

At Matt. 23:9, Jesus cautioned his followers about NOT using flattering religious titles like "Father." Many "Christian" clergymen blatantly disregard Jesus' words and refer to themselves by the title "Father."

Jesus said his followers would be "no part of the world." (John 17:16) Many of those who claim to be Christian are heavily involved in worldly politics.

Jesus said at John 4:24 that true Christians should "worship God with spirit and truth." Many "Christians" observe holidays that originated in paganism, such as Christmas, Easter, and Halloween.

There are NO divisions in true Christianity. Either a person is practicing it, or he's not.

Answer 8

People, believe in the same thing. The one God is our lord. How the story is told, that's where the problems start. People intrepid the teaching in bible different ways. Who is right and who is wrong? Every body is right and wrong at the same time. Still at the end of it all, Their is still one God that we warship.

Answer 9

Christan Denominations:
The differences are in the sizes and composition.Here is the breakdown:
St Andrew - Tin.....................2 of them make a
St John - Copper.................4 of them make a
St Peter - Silver....................8 of them make a
Jesus or Holy Spirit - Gold.....2 of them make a God which is made from pure Californium. Only one of these exist.

Answer 10

There are no'sects', there is just Christianity.

For example, why do people call themselves 'Baptists'? Do they follow John the Baptist? There are more that deny Christ by doing this.

If you want to truly follow Jesus, then no other name should be exalted than Jesus the Christ.

Answer 11

politics.

King wanted a divorce, church of england.
Martin Luther (not king) wanted reform - protestant split.

Most recently, there are splits in wether women can be pastors // worship leaders or not.