Skip to main content

Why are there so many denominations?


The simple answer to this question really involves acknowledging how the fall of man has caused even Christians to pursue a system of labeling themselves to the point of sectarianism and exclusionary tendencies. Inherent within our sin nature is an urge to puff ourselves up as having the "only correct interpretation."   Some denominationalism arises from a desire to distinguish ourselves according to a certain heritage such as the African American civil rights movement or some other significant historical event that drove people to their faith, but most denominations came about in an attempt to distinguish a certain doctrinal position that a certain church held to. The primary issue with denominationalism is not that different church communities have a different interpretation of the "negotiable doctrines," it's that we tend to slap labels on ourselves which can lead to sectarian divisiveness and lack of overall unity in the body of Christ. The true Church is made up of all believers in Christ across the world, no matter what denomination they are in.

Let's take a look at the history of how denominations came about. Between 33-60 AD the New Testament church began to be established. This church was based upon the doctrines of the early Apostles and Prophets of the Bible (Eph. 2:20). Relative harmony existed within the New Testament church until about 125 AD when the "gnostics" began to introduce heresy into the church. Only a few other "splinter groups" attempted to infect the early church with false doctrines to no avail  until the time between 300 and 400 AD when a major societal shift regarding the church happened.

In the early 300's the Roman emperor Constantine issued an edict that ended hundreds of years of violent Christian persecution in the Roman empire, this resulted in a period of favorable relations between the Church and the governing Roman officials. As the times progressed an official meeting between church elders and Roman officials commenced in 325 AD called the "council of Nicaea." This basically reorganized the early church model into was was known as the Catholic Church. So here we find the introduction  of the first denomination of Christian history, we can see that the New Testament church experienced a "break-off" into which the "Roman Catholic denomination" came into being.

Over the next 700 years Christianity was made up of those who considered themselves non-Catholic and those who were part of the Catholic denomination. One could argue that the "non-Catholics" perpetuated the continuance of the Early Church as the Catholic church began to institute rituals and traditions which are alien to that which was practiced by the early church in the Bible. At around 1054 AD an event called "the great schism" happened which basically split the Catholic denomination between East and West. Out of this "great schism" the second major denomination in Christianity came into formation, the "Greek Orthodox church." This split had to do primarily with an objection to the authority of the Pope in the Eastern church, however it did result in creating a denomination that held several differences in doctrine to that of the Catholic church.

So by 1054 AD we had 2 denominations, the Catholic and Greek Orthodox, and then we had those who claimed to adhere only to the teachings of the New Testament regarding faith and conduct (non-Catholic/Greek Orthodox Christians). This was the basic landscape of Christianity all the way until the 1500's when the 4 major "protestant" denominations came into existence.

The word "protestant" basically refers to groups that decided to engage in "protest" against the Catholic church in the 1500's. One of the first protestant movements was called the "anabaptist movement" in about 1521 AD. It basically was a movement that took issue with the Catholic doctrine of infant baptism and argued that one must make a personal decision to follow Christ before being baptized. Around the same time a German monk named Martin Luther began what many historians call "the great reformation" when he published his 95 theses against the Catholic church in 1517 AD. This led to the founding of the Lutheran church in about 1526 AD.

Two additional "protestant" denominations began in the mid-1500's called Anglicanism and Calvinism. Anglicanism began when the King of England (Henry VIII) was prohibited from divorcing his wife by the Catholic church. He then decided to break away in protest to this, and thus created the Anglican church otherwise known as "the Church of England." Calvinism began when a French theologian named John Calvin wrote his book "The Institutes of the Christian Religion." In Calvin's writings he built upon many of the teachings of Saint Augustine of Hippo and Martin Luther regarding justification by faith alone. Calvin also became well known by his teachings regarding predestination and divine election.

So by the end of the 1500's we find six major denominations at work: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Anabaptist, Lutheran, Anglican, and Calvinist. From these six major denominations we essentially derive all other denominations that we have today. Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches still have their respective houses of worship with only a few minor factions within. From the Anabaptists came the Mennonites, Amish, the 7 day Adventist churches, and all Baptist denominations,. From the Lutherans we find a couple of different branches which all wear the Lutheran label. The Anglicans remain fairly firm in their structure to this day, the Episcopal church is basically the American version of the Anglican tradition, which was created after the American revolution. In the 1700's an Anglican minister named John Wesley reportedly experienced a deep religious conversion which eventually led to his leaving the Anglican denomination and beginning the Methodist movement. From this came all modern Methodist, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, and Charismatic denominations. And finally from Calvinism came all of the Presbyterian and "Reformed" churches that we see today.

The reason we have so many branches of the 6 major denominations that existed in the 1500's is due to several factors. Sometimes regional locations cause different branches to happen, for example the Northern and Southern Baptist conventions. Most often the differences boil down to a difference of interpretation regarding the mode of Baptism, the nature of the Lord's supper, God's way of administering divine election, the process by which God brings about salvation by grace through faith, adherence to a particular confession or creed, contention over the validity or reasoning for infant baptism, and etc. For the most part all major denominations have traditionally affirmed the inspiration of scripture (some liberal branches do not), the diety of Christ, the Trinity of God, and the truth that we must believe in Christ to be saved. What is important is to realize that some branches every denomination can be guilty of violating scripture in their doctrine so we must be very discerning.

The pattern that God has called us to follow is not that of any particular denomination. God has called all believers everywhere to study His Word with diligence (2 Tim. 2:15), and to find a church home to worship and fellowship with other believers in (Hebrews 10:25). If the church that you attend continually teaches something that violates an area of scripture that is clearly lined out in God's Word then you may want to begin searching for a church that seeks to be more consistent with the New Testament pattern. There is no perfect church, so as you seek to find a body to connect with ask the Holy Spirit to guide you completely and give you grace and patience for being a member. Many non-denominational churches exist in our day so we are seeing some of the denominationalism beginning to decline. The main thing we must do is show love and respect toward believers in ALL denominations, be apart of a local church, and seek to encourage each other to let God's word guide us above and beyond any man-made creed or confession. God bless.

Written by: Kyle Bailey, M.Th.

For more inspirational content SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel.

photo credit to: http://thetruthonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/OneBible.jpg




Comments

  1. Was a good read Kyle. Excellent perspective. I like to think it reflects my own thoughts on who is our Christian brothers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great article! I wonder if we will ever reach the understanding that all denominations have some great teachings, and they all have some great shortcomings, too.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Storm on Your Phone: learning to fix our eyes on Jesus in the age of social media.

Matthew‬ ‭14:25‭-‬31‬ ‭NIV‬- “[25] Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. [26] When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. [27] But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” [28] “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” [29] “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” [31] Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” During one of the most climactic moments of Jesus' ministry, the Apostle Peter demonstrated a dazzling expression of faith and power. Moments after stepping on to the water, his courageous efforts fizzled in defeat. He found himself in a dangerous duel with the depths of the sea. What was it tha

A Review of: "Calvinism, Arminianism & The Word of God: A Calvary Chapel Perspective" By: Chuck Smith

Recently a Pastor friend of mine shared with me an article written by the founder of the Calvary Chapel Denomination Chuck Smith. It was written with the intention of addressing the Calvinism vs. Arminianism issue for all of the Calvary Chapel Churches. To see the article CLICK HERE . First of all I like the format of the paper in which he clearly set out to address both views and then clarify the Calvary Chapel stance. A couple of things that I noticed I want to point out below: Overall he did a fair job conveying the Arminian view, however I am not sure why he seemed to be confused on a couple of things he said. Over the year Arminius’ beliefs have been misrepresented and demonized by Calvinists so I can see why he made a few false assumptions regarding their beliefs. 1. He stated, “Arminius believed that the fall of man was not total, maintaining that there was enough good left in man for him to will to accept Jesus Christ unto salvation.” This is actually a descript

Can a Christian need Deliverance from Demons?

The question of whether Christians can be demonized and in need of deliverance is a th ought-provoking topic that ignites intense debate within Christian circles. While opinions may differ, this chapter aims to present a comprehensive overview of how Christians can benefit from the ministry of deliverance, supported by scriptural evidence. By delving into biblical passages, studying the original Greek, and examining the theological perspectives surrounding this topic, we can gain a deeper understanding of the possibility of Christians requiring deliverance from demonic influence/oppression. Oftentimes you will hear it said in Christian circles: "a person can either be possessed, oppressed, or influenced by the devil." However, this terminology is not used in the Bible, especially as it relates to the word "possessed." In fact, the Greek word "daimonizomai," used in some Bibles to mean "demon-possessed" is often improperly translated. Scholars ar