So many Christian Denominations... is this of God or Satan?

Question

Would God create this much confusion?

if so why?

if not why?

Answer 1

After the Apostles died an apostasy set into the Christian congregation. Wicked men drew believers off after themselves and divisions started. Then churches sprung up in the apostasy, the Catholic church being one, and they wrote their own doctrine not in keeping with Bible Scripture. And this was to continue until the last days when God would then re-establish the truth. So any churches from the time of the death of the apostles until the start of the last days would be apostate. But of course people's pride just like that of Satan will keep them in denial.

Answer 2

Denominations are neither of God nor Satan, but of man. It is in the nature of man to disagree. Some disagreements within the Christian church are on doctrine, others have to do with methods and order of worship, etc.

Although it all may seem confusing, on a positive note, many denominational barriers are coming down, and people are coming together under the name of Jesus.

When choosing a church, denomination is a secondary consideration for me. More importantly, I look for a Holy Spirit filled, Bible believing church, which openly professes the basic tenets of the Christian faith.

http://www.reformed.org/documents/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/documents/nicene.html

Any church or denomination that deviates from these basic doctrines have gone astray, in my opinion, and are not preaching the full Gospel.

There may be minor differences in opinions among various churches and denominations about teachings on the tribulation, for example. But this does not constitute one of the basic tenets of Christianity.

It is important to find a church where you will be fed spiritually. Equally important is personal devotion and study of the scriptures.

Answer 3

Denominations are a result of the fact that you can't pitch the ball to everyone in the same way. Some people respond well to intense charismatic worship, while others would be horrified by the same. There are many different kinds of people in the world, and different ways of reaching them all. After all, Christ Himself presented lessons on multiple levels (you can take His parables at face value, or interpret them intellectually or metaphysically). Not everybody understands things in the same way. There's nothing wrong with the existence of different denominations, unless they become destructive cults, which is a different story altogether.

Answer 4

As Christians we are all one body, however by being divided along denominational lines we often times totally miss out on this wonderful truth. Imagine if all of the Christians truly acted in concert with one another the amazing impact that we would have on the world.

Sadly, Christians often expend their energies on bickering with one another and not on proclaiming the gospel of Christ.

Of course, God wants unity among his people.

Answer 5

It is Satan confusing the minds of people with so many different religions teaching different ways to God and making up man made doctrines.

Answer 6

God didn't make confusion. Catholics were the first Christian denomination, then Martin Luther made another. After Jesus formed the Catholic Church, Protestants kept seperated from each other rather than to work out their differences. Are Protestants bad, of course not! I'm not dissing anyone.

Answer 7

In ancient Jewish tradition Satan is simply an angel doing the work that God assigned to Satan to do.

The word Satan means challenger. With the idea of Satan challenging us, or tempting if you will. This description sees Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. This idea of Satan works closely with God as an integral part of Gods plan for us. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it becomes clear to us that there can be only one meaningful or logical choice.

Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God's opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered polytheistic or setting up the devil to be an equally powerful polarity to god or a demigod.

Oddly, proof for The Christian satan/devil mythology is supposedly found in the ancient Jewish texts that were borrowed to create the bible. One can’t help but wonder how Christians came up with such a fantastically different interpretation of Gods assistant Satan in their theology.

Other hints about Satan’s role in human relations can be seen if you look at the name Lucifer. It’s meaning in the original tongue translates as Light bearer or light bringer. Essentially the bringer of enlightenment. The temptations of the Satan idea bring all of us eventually into Gods light. Hardly the Evil entity of Christian mythology.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 8

Catholics were not the first Christians. Constantine the Great came to power, he sat out to establsih a Church State. Whereas the followers of Jesus fled and started living in caves and catocombs. While he incorporated many pagans beliefs into Catholicism.

It wasnt until Martin Luther, whereas they came out from the hill caves, along with the Antibaptist.

The Reformation was the seed that gave birth to most Denominations. Because of the Reformation preaching, many couldnt hold to the teaching of the Roman Cotholicism, so they started their on little groups. With many taking with them various teachings of what is referred to by some as the Mother church. One being water baptism. Whereas John the Baptist spoke not of water baptism, he spoke of the Spirit Baptism. Most hold to the water baptism because Jesus was baptized. However, Jesus baptism was in accordance to a forfilling of the Law for a High Priest. With Him being our High Priest.

But, will need to aslo remember that Satan as an angel of light, as we are told in scriptures, has his own Chirstian denominations as well.

Answer 9

God did not create confusion, we did. We were all one church but we wanted to seperate and do our own thing that's why all of these denominations are so confusing

Answer 10

"For God is not the author of confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:33)

The many denominations should not exist.

Notice what 1 Corinthians 1:10 says;"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Jesus prayed for such unity in John 17:20-21.

Why do we have so many divisions? Men are not satisfied to all speak the same thing. Men are not satisfied to teach only the word of God. Men are not satisfied to only speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent. Men are not content to do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names. Too many wish to add their own desires and teach their own doctrine.

Notice 2 Timothy 4:2-4.
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

We should return to the Bible as our authority and only guide book. We should have a "thus saith the Lord" for everything we teach and do as a church.

The Bible teaches that the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23) and that there is only "one body" (Eph 4:4).When the church first began, there were no denominations.

In Acts 2, we see that about 3000 all heard the same message, all understood it the same way, all believed it the same way and all obeyed it the same way. The result was they became Christians - nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. At this point, God added them to His church (Acts 2:47).

There is no authorization for Christians to "join the church of your choice", but they were added to the church Christ built and purchased! (Matt. 16:18, Acts 20:27)

After they became Christians they continued in one accord in fellowship and together in the apostles doctrine. (Acts 2:42-47) They had the type of unity Christians should have.

Today, if we read and understand what they understood, believe what they believed, and do only what they did, without adding any man-made doctrine, we will become only what they became - Christians!

This is the goal and plea of those who meet together under the name "church of Christ" today. We only want to be the church you can read about in the Bible.

Christ is the head of the church, therefore we have no "headquarters" on Earth that oversees the local congregation, but each congregation goes directly to the Bible to see what should be taught and practiced.

A denomination is larger than the local congregation, but smaller than the universal church. Since the church of Christ congregations are autonomous, only governed by local congregations, with no regional, national, or world-wide "headquatrers" they are not a denomination. There is no man-made organization in between the local congregation (which is not a denomination) and the church as a whole (which is not a denomination).

We only want to follow God's word in our name (Rom. 16:16), method of worship, organization, and teaching (doctrine). The word of God is sufficient for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction. Using it in this way, we can be completely furnished with everything we need, and there is no need to add any man-made doctrine. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

Those who teach as doctrine the commandments of men have form of worship that is vain. (Matt 15:9)

I invite you to examine the Church of Christ by a comparison with the scriptures! If the things we teach are scriptural, found in the Scriptures, then accept them. If the things we teach contradict the Bible, then reject them!

Any church that claims to follow the Bible should not object to such a comparison to scriptures. In fact, they should encourage it!