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There is a great joke I once heard that I would like to share with everyone, which pokes fun at the attitude of many Christians today:
“I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said ‘Stop! Don’t do it!’
‘Why shouldn’t I?’ he said.
‘Well, there’s so much to live for!’
‘Like what?’
‘Well… are you religious?’ He said yes. I said, ‘Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?’
‘Christian.’
‘Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant ?
‘Protestant.’
‘Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?’
‘Baptist’
‘Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?’
‘Baptist Church of God!’
“Amazing! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?’
‘Reformed Baptist Church of God!’
This is unbelievable! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?’
He said, ‘Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!’
I said, ‘Die, heretic scum’, and pushed him off.
While the above joke makes us chuckle, we must realize the sad truth that it seeks to uncover. There are simply way too many denominations in Christianity!
Some estimates suggest there are as many as 20,000-40,000 denominations within Christianity. However, I suspect that number is probably greatly exaggerated and many are not actual “denominations.” Most are probably just being divided or categorized based on a very small belief which wouldn’t be enough to constitute a denomination by most standards.
But nevertheless, I think it is quite obvious that too many denominations and branches exist within Christianity. If you think about it, it is quite shocking this has happened since the bible is quite firm against this.
Most Christians have done exactly what Jesus himself, and the disciples, prayed that we wouldn’t do: We Denominated and Divided.
In the scriptures, it is quite obvious how passionate Jesus was about this, and you can catch a glimpse of this in his prayers:
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. John 17:11
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (Jn. 17:20-23).
The apostle Paul also wrote:
So that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 1 Corinthians 12:25
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3
After reading the above scriptures, I think it is quite clear how serious Jesus and His disciples were about keeping unity and one faith (or denomination). So if Jesus is so clear and serious about it, why haven’t Christians obeyed?
Why We Break Up Into Denominations, and What Your Denomination Should Be
I always take a non-denominational stance on a lot of things. I don’t really like the word “non-denominational,” and in fact try to avoid it when possible. When I get asked what denomination I am, I usually reply with, “I am the denomination Jesus was.” Or ” I am the same denomination as the Apostle Paul.”
Sometimes I will say that I am “non-denominational,” to simply say that “hey, I am not picking one, okay?” I think it is a mistake for Christians to label themselves as belonging to any one denomination, because that is a recipe for segregation and division with true believers and followers of Christ. And Jesus certainly did NOT want that to happen.
But it isn’t too hard to understand why denominations develop. We do not have the luxury at this point in time of asking God, Jesus, or the disciples any given question regarding doctrine and getting a verbal reply. We can’t exactly send a text or email to God, and expect an answer to help us clear up an ambiguity in the scriptures.
God has given us His Holy scriptures to His satisfaction, and that is all we have to go by. God has given the complete revelation to us, and now our job is to simply obey and understand. Things we cannot understand, (or those ambiguous doctrines) are of non-importance. The important thing is to make sure you are counted as righteous in God’s sight, and follow God’s will.
Granted, there are some topics or doctrine which may be debatable or ambiguous, but that is NOT a reason to divide Christians. Unfortunately, this disagreement is often the cause of just that. Simple disagreement on scriptural meaning, mixed with a little bit of pride, is all that is needed to create a brand new denomination these days.
One man may read the bible and suggest we MUST be baptized by being fully submerged in water. Another comes along and points out a scripture where someone was baptized by the spirit.
Man 1 thinks his way is the right way. Man 2 thinks his way is fine. Guess what comes next? A new denomination, thats what!
For crying out loud, I will let you dump me in water, sprinkle it on my head, and do it by the spirit all at the same time if it will make you united in Christ. Sheesh people, some of these divisions are so trivial it is bordering on absurdity. Can we not put aside pride for unity’s sake? Would you not just go ahead and get fully baptised just to please everyone (and by doing so you pleased Christ)?
Why Denominations Harm Christianity
Denominations are very harmful to Christianity in most cases. Need some evidence? Go on a forum and see a Baptist ridiculing a Jehovah Witness as a “crazy cult person”. Or look at a Methodist poking fun at the apostolic “nuts”. Look at all of the countless churches in existence to serve each individual doctrinal belief. Look at how much time gets wasted on debates, and how much more effective people could evangelize if they worked together more, and shared funds.
The bottom line is, people waste their time making enemies with people of their own faith (I am talking TRUE followers of Christ), and sometimes it is over a trivial matter. If a house or kingdom divided cannot stand, what makes you sure that a Church or faith divided can stand? There is only 1 church, the body of Christ. Why seek to amputate Christ’s body?
Imagine for a moment what it would be like if a football team allowed themselves to segregate. Before long, players would be arguing over which play is right, who should play, etc. They would be so busy arguing amongst themselves the entire game, they wouldn’t even notice how their competition was actually winning.
Instead, if the team was all focused in on a single goal, they could play better, and have a better chance of winning against a common enemy. Unity leads to victory. Are we Christians not all on the same team? Are we not all apart of the body of Christ? Yet we are easily getting side-tracked by the “competition” of other faiths. We sometimes spend so much time bickering, that we lose sight of what is important: The gospel of Christ.
But Doesn’t the Bible Give Orders To Avoid Associations with False Teachers, Doctrines, and Non-Believers?
The bible does indeed give serious warnings to avoid false doctrines, close associations with unbelievers, and false teachings. We are to take those scriptures seriously. But at the same time, we must separate false doctrines and false teachings and distinguish that from mere differences in interpretation on insignificant subjects.
For example, the disciples constantly warn to avoid anyone who preaches a different Gospel, or who preaches a different Jesus. Some take this to mean that if you disagree on even 1 thing in the bible, you believe in a totally different religion.
Not so! If we consider the historical context of this scripture, I think it will make more sense. At this point in time, there were people who thought a mere idol could grant them fertility or blessings. There were false messiahs on every street corner, along with magicians, and so forth. Everywhere you looked there was a new person trying to start up a new religion, and lead you away from Christ.
I don’t think the apostles are talking about different interpretation of the same scriptures at all (the bible). I simply think they are saying we should avoid people who have a radically different gospel, use different scriptures, or have a Jesus that differs from the biblical account.
For example, at this time period, perhaps someone would have called themselves Jesus, and made up a completely new gospel and teaching. This is what I think the early apostles are warning against. They are not suggesting that when two Christians disagree over what a verse may mean, they should separate! If we really understand that, I think that will help us to be united in Christ.
As Christians, we should be unified, while at the same time discussing scriptures, doctrines, etc. openly. We should make up our own opinions, and discuss them to ensure we know where we stand.
Using the example above, if a Christian feels like full water baptism is the right thing, then they themselves can get full water baptised. If another thinks sprinkling is fine, then do it. Or for the sake of unity why not do both? Why should they split and start a different church? Why can’t we have unity, but at the same time tolerate insignificant differences of opinion (or interpretation)?
Does That Mean We Shouldn’t Have Doctrines or Individual Beliefs?
I think it is VITAL that we all study the scriptures, reason with the scriptures, and divide truth from lies. If we didn’t do that, how would we ever discern false doctrine?
I am not in any way suggesting that we should have a unified doctrine, a one world religion, or that having a doctrine or belief in anything is bad. No, not at all.
All I am saying is that we do not need to segregate ourselves by creating a denomination based on a belief. We should have churches full of people who agree on the main gospel, but perhaps have small differences of interpretation or opinion in other areas.
And let me distinguish something: I am talking REAL Christians, not people masquerading as Christians but making up new age stuff, or who don’t even believe in the bible, and so forth.
If two REAL Christians disagree on a particular doctrine, then so what. I do not know any 1 Christian alive today that was here when Jesus walked the Earth (or the apostles for that matter). And it would be difficult to find any 2 Christians that agree on anything 100% anyway.
All we can go by is the bible and scriptures we have. That is it. So we can never fully know if we are “right” about any given ambiguous scripture or doctrine. So why argue about it and pick a side to defend, while ridiculing those who maybe have a different spin on it? Why can’t we just say this:
“Well, I have studied and I feel that the bible is really saying _______ (insert doctrine there), and I respect your views but disagree with you. Oh well, we are still united in Christ, and He will set us straight in His return.”
Why can’t we all just say that, and go on in a happy spirit united in Christ? Because I openly admit that I may very well be wrong about any given topic I have written about. Any time I write on a topic, I always do the following:
- Search the scriptures
- See views of other prominent religious leaders on this topic
- See how each denomination/faith interprets the scripture/topic
- Pray
After I do those things, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on any given topic, enough to write an opinion on it or defend my stance. Even though I may defend a certain doctrine, that doesn’t mean I know I am right. I may be wrong. But it does mean I have considered all angles of a given doctrine, and have a reasonable amount of confidence in my conclusion.
For many topics, I simply say, “I don’t know for sure.” Some topics I will give my views, and explain the scriptures I feel that supports it. But in the end, it is God’s own words that are most important, and I will happily alter any view I was wrong about when God sets us all straight.
But until that day comes, there will always be differences of opinions and interpretations. Again, we should never allow this to create a division. We can happily agree to disagree, and be unified in Christ.
Will There Ever Be One Church and One Faith?
If you read Revelation, you will see that in the end there will be divisions and different views, and false prophets, etc.
What this means is that until God destroys heaven and Earth, there will be denominations. I fully realize that while I am preaching against denominations, we will have them until God Himself dwells with us. We will only have true unity when we are in the literal presence of God and Christ.
Why then, am I writing this article? I am writing on this because even though I know this is something that won’t fully happen until after Christ returns, I still think we can make progress and strengthen Christianity at least a little.
We don’t have to eliminate ALL denominations, but out of 22,000-40,000, I think we can stand to lose ten thousand of them at least, don’t you? For Christ’s sake if for nothing else. He prayed for us to be united.
Should You Quit Your Denominational Church?
I would strongly recommend any new pastor or church leader denounce a denominational affiliation, since it is completely unbiblical. That doesn’t mean they have to change their views or stances on doctrine, I just think they should drop the label.
However, I do not think individual Christians should leave a church because it states a denomination. I think they should still attend, but not label themselves as anything (baptist, etc.).
Non-denominational churches seem to be growing in popularity, and I think its great. I wish anyone with any kind of influence within a church would push to remove the unbiblical denominational label, and simply call themselves a Church. Again, I am not saying they have to change their beliefs or interpretation, but I think dropping the label would help with Christian unity.
I myself love to listen to pastors of all different denominations, read books by Christians of different denominations, etc. One of my favorite pastors is a Baptist (the late Adrian Rogers).
I certainly disagree with some Baptists views (the trinity, once saved always saved, etc.). However, I overlook those small differences and instead pick out the good parts.
Even though I think many pastors or churches may teach something that is not scripturally accurate in my opinion, I don’t call them “false prophets, cult leaders,” or anything else, and I would hope that other Christians would do the same.
Conclusion: Doctrines are Fine, Denominations Not So Much
It is reasonable to assume that people will sometimes speculate about a given topic, misread a scripture, have a different interpretations or opinions, etc.
We all have different views in life about religious topics or doctrines. I think that is perfectly normal, and comes as a result of not having God on speed dial to answer our questions.
However, I think we should be unified in Christ and we should just have a “Church.” I don’t believe in denominations at all, as Jesus Christ passionately prayed for us to avoid this. If Jesus didn’t have a denomination, why do you?
I think any pastor should seek to remove this label, and should seek to encourage his “flock” to engage with all TRUE Christians who follow the word of God, despite small differences in doctrine.
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Posted under comparative religions
This post was written by Revelation on September 3, 2009
