Are christian denominations the work of the devil?

Question

Nothing has been more successful than the idea of denominations to separate the body of christ into bickering factions.

I denounce all things methodist, baptist, pentecostal, catholic, orthodox, mormon, jehova witness, adventist, assembly, etc. in the name of simply being a disciple of Jesus the Messiah.

Am I off my rocker or what?

denominations are nothing more than a group of people putting the doctrine of men above the pure message of the gospel which is simply that Jesus died for your sins so you can have life and not death.

The rest is between you and God to work out.

Creeds.... bah.... The council of Nicea was the begining of the end.

Jesus didn't found any Catholic church. That came much later - like a few hundred years later.

Jesus had the universal (catholic) church in a sense but not with popes, bishops, etc.

Answer 1

I really dont know why people cant just worship God and read the bible for what it is. Why cant we all worship together? It's all the same bible!!! Some think they are better than others! Haha! they make me laugh.

Answer 2

NO! But Satan certainly has his hands in there now! Each has altered the doctrine to their liking, in some small way, and their doctrine is right! Or maybe Satan did cause all of the garbage? But point in fact, the Major Churches are not of God any more, The Love of Jesus Christ, no longer abides in these Churches, and it is our responsibility as Christians, to pray for Change in those denominations, that they will no longer be God,Inc./ But true followers of Jesus.

Answer 3

I don't trust myself to be able to truly read and understand all of the ancient texts in their native language, and to be able to understand exactly what style and time they were written in.

I was not around during the life of Jesus, so we have to accept guidance from one place or another.

I just chose the Church that he started.

But to your question, the splitting up of Christianity was the work of the Devil, I agree 100%. The bad things that happned during that time within the Catholic Church were the work of the Devil, and Calvin and Luther leaving the Church was also the work of the Devil.

That does not mean that the Catholic Church is no longer relevant, or that the Protestants are going to hell, just that the split was the work of the Devil.

I don't blame it on the creed though.

Good, honest question!

Peace!

Answer 4

I wouldn't say they are the work of the devil, but they are the work of men.

Jesus founded the Catholic Church, as is supported in Scripture and the Tradition of the 1st Christians.

EDIT: Space Guy: Yes He did found it - Peter was the first Pope - he was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven, he was the rock upon which Jesus founded His Church, Pentecost, etc.
There is so much Scriptural evidence. Please see the site below.

Answer 5

Anyone who believes anything without questioning, researching, thinking, debating, thinking, debating, thinking, researching, thinking...

is the work of the Devil.

Add:

Also, the "Catholic Church" founding referred to below arises (if this person knows what they're talking about) from the passage in the Bible, during which Jesus proclaims that Peter was the rock upon which his church would be founded.

So, as far as historical veracity goes, it's pretty much like the Ressurection- a matter of faith. The books of the Bible we have today are very, very different from what the first Christians had, as is the practice of worship and the idea of God.

To be more serious about the denominationalism, I don't think it's the work of the Devil. I think many innately need to feel right about how they perceive or want God to be, and they want that feeling/need validated and verified. As such, they surround themselves with others who will agree with them. It is unfortunate that too many people spend so much time trying to prove their idea of God to be correct, rather than developing their idea of God, itself.

To me, even drawing divisions of God amongst different religions is dangerous (see the current religious conflicts.) The single worst passages of any holy scripture are those that demand that those who do not worship "my god" be destroyed.

If there is a Devil, and if the Devil bothers to mess with humans, I suspect he spends most of his time with a pen, not a sword.

Answer 6

No, it is not the devil. Considering that the bible is so vague and contradicting of itself, it is only natural that different parts would be interpreted differently by different people. If you are going to say that this is the work of the devil, that means that the devil actually helped write the bible. I do not believe in the devil, but I do believe that humans wrote the bible. The many imperfections of the bible prove that it was not written or inspired by any omnipotent God. If an omnipotent God wrote the bible, don’t you think it would be very clear and leave little room for alternate interpretations? I don’t think that the lack of clarity is due to the devil, because that would mean that the devil helped write it.

Answer 7

Man made the religions. They do not come from God but neither do I believe that Satan encouraged them...at least not initially.

Man's pride regarding his own opinions has been the problem. God has told me that I am not to try to tell anyone else how to worship Him,.....so I don't. I only encourage people to have a personal relationship with Him.

Answer 8

Well, I don't know. I think denominations came about when people disagreed on the doctrine and practices of the Bible.

Answer 9

Might not be the work of the devil, but work of men. If they create rules and law above the real teaching, then the true message will be lost.

Answer 10

I do not think that they are the work of the devil, i feel that they are just different view points of the scriptures and also what works for that group of people and how they are able to serve G-d.