Can someone please explain why there are denominations? Why we are seperated by beliefs but call ourselves Christians who base our lives off of God's word. His word isn't divided....so why would we be? I'm just wondering, because if I were on the outside, this is a question I would be asking before making the commitment to be a Christian.
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Why is there Division?
- Thread starter 3n1
- Start date
Pah
Uber all member
3n1 said:
The homosexual marriage/clergy issue. The degree of Biblical inerrancy. The divinity of Christ or the humanity of Christ. The form of baptism (and even baptism by the Holy Spirit). Sacrements. Celibacy for the clergy. Revealed scripture. And on, and on, and on.
You might not find it hard to understand but mankind does not have a universal interpretation of God's Word.
Romans 1:
25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Does this not imply that same sex marriages are against the will of God? Read on in Romans to see the fruit of these acts.
If you really are interested on the degree of inerrancy, I would suggest reading this page.
http://www.slsoftware.com/study/html_outlines/Accuracy_Of_The_Bible.html
When does faith come into play? Do we have to understand everything? Does there always have to be proof? Proof.......that is religion, and it breaks my heart because chances are you aren't going to find it.
25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Does this not imply that same sex marriages are against the will of God? Read on in Romans to see the fruit of these acts.
If you really are interested on the degree of inerrancy, I would suggest reading this page.
http://www.slsoftware.com/study/html_outlines/Accuracy_Of_The_Bible.html
When does faith come into play? Do we have to understand everything? Does there always have to be proof? Proof.......that is religion, and it breaks my heart because chances are you aren't going to find it.
Pah
Uber all member
3n1 said:
Whoa - I didn't think we were going to discuss the truth or falsity of the issues. Those (and others) are what divides the Body of Christ (denominations, sects and cults) at least in my mind. You did ask for examples.
Don't you think human politics in the Church also has something to do with it?
heres something to chew on... nowhere else do you see division like you do in the christian church. how many different denominations are there? i cant count them on my fingers and toes... you look at any other religion.. you dont see for instance... buddhist reformist, or pentocostal muslims (for instance) they have one thing, where christianity has many many many divided churches which all argue about such petty differences. it makes you trhink... why might the church be so divided... to keep it from acomplishing something? to keep it out of the way? hmm... think about it... who would someone want to keep the church confused and divided? maybee if we were united then something bigger than us might happen.... just maybee...
Pah
Uber all member
DJEllipse said:
Actually buddhism may be a rival to Christianity for sheer numbers of division. Just the opening page in a google search showed many - differing by the nation in which they practised and the practise itself.
Muslims have two major groups it seems - Sunni and Shi'i . but various forms are within those two http://www.ksafe.com/profiles/a_code/islam.html
Jews have also not been so united - at the time of Christ there were four . Pharisees, Essenes, Sadducees, and Zealots (and Herodians are aslo mentioned). I guess that is maybe five.
I certainly can't prove it but I think that no major religion is "unified" for it is established by men and men differ.
3n1 said:
In the Old Testament we read that the House of Israel was the nation of God. They were all under His guidance. He led them via prophets and (when they refused to follow prophets, and begged for a king to be like all the other nations) He led them through a king. Amos 3:7 tells us what God's attitude towards His prophets was. As long as everyone hearkened to the counsel of the prophets they were guided and protected. The Old Testament's most important message (besides providing us with an account of the creation and our beginnings) is that we must follow the prophets.
When the Jews were carried to Babylon (much before that actually) they stopped following the prophets. Most of the books of the O.T. are about prophets pleading with their people to obey the Lord, but the people think they know better. In Babylon the seeds of disobedience started to take root and faction and denominations were formed (They originally formed with the death of Solomon, but we can go into that later). Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Herodians, and every other Jewish denomination you can think of found their roots in the Babylonian captivity. With that the prophets' voices were never hearkened to again.
When Christ came on the scene they told Him had they lived during the times of the prophets they would have obeyed them. Christ tells them they're worse because they don't obey the words they left. Ancient prophets are easy to disobey because it's impossible for you Bible to smack you in the face and say, "No, you fool, it's you I'm talking about. You need to change." Exegesis became the cancer that ate away at the spiritual capacities that upheld the Jewish nation. Everybody's different, and everybody interprets the scriptures differently. From the first man to the last in the Bible, revelation, prophets and priesthood were required to rule. Only the prophet could say, "This is what the Lord means by this." After the death of the last Apostle the same cycle repeated itself. The sacred words, "Thus sayeth the Lord" were forgotten and ignored. The living oracles died and the remaining people (instead of searching for new prophets) tried to derive meaning, substance, and even authority from the wrinkled pages left by the prophets. Denominations and division show that prophecy has ceased, and people follow themselves instead of God.
Christianity has more sects than any religion on the planet. It's become the most divided and the most polar. The best and the worst peopole of this earth wear the badge of Christ. They don't look for prophets. They look to aggrandize themselves and their beliefs, but they care not for the way it was done in the scriptures. "The scriptures are complete, the canon is closed," they shriek, echoing the doomed Samaritans (absolutely verbatim). "There is no need for prophets," they assume, intepreting horribly wrong the New Testament. They rationalize away everything that God has set in motion only for their own profit and comfort.
You want to know why there are denominations? Because they don't hearken to the voice of the prophets. Yes, there are prophets and apostles on the earth today. I have met some of them and I know they are men of God. The scriptures have not ended; they continue today, as does revelation, priesthood, and every holy practice that Christ instituted, free of superfluity and pomp.
Pah
Uber all member
"You want to know why there are denominations? Because they don't hearken to the voice of the prophets. Yes, there are prophets and apostles on the earth today. I have met some of them and I know they are men of God. The scriptures have not ended; they continue today, as does revelation, priesthood, and every holy practice that Christ instituted, free of superfluity and pomp."
You could be referencing Bishop John Shelby Sprong
You could be referencing Bishop John Shelby Sprong
brotherjim
Member
3n1 said:
First, take rest in Him, for if you were on the "outside," as you say, having an answer to your questions posed here would not make any difference. Those on the "outside" come to Christ Jesus when the Heavenly Father draws them, and they believe because God revealed Himself and then gave them the gift of Faith.
But to answer the questions for YOU:
1) As another also said, somewhat, those of us in the church do not submit to apostles, those whose job it is to be the final authority on doctrine. But rightly so, for TRUE apostles are unknown by most and in fact are extremely rare (and almost never, if not ever, are they those who have included the word "Apostle" before or after their name).
2) True apostles are so rare because such requires a pure heart, and it takes a good decade or two to create a pure heart, during which much suffering, tribulation, and downright hell on earth must be endured.
Virtually all Christians never reach the stage of a pure heart. But without a pure heart, man will pervert and bend the scriptures to justify his heart's impurities, hence varying and dichotomous doctrines. (Not to mention, without a pure heart we will never see God - the Beatitudes.)
3) If we ref. Prov.6:16-17, we will see what God hates, and #1 on the list is haughty eyes (KJV), which is the outward symptom of inward pride and its resulatant arrogance. When we get puffed up with pride, God cannot stand to even look at us. Hence He can only give each Christian a few Truths, for what little they do know makes them arrogant as it is. So he gives this one the Trtuth of Doctrines #1, 2, 3, 17, 23, 37 and 49. To another He reveals Doct.'s #1, 2, 4, 11, 26, 33, and 43. He would like to give all to all, but it would kill us.
We much too greatly have underestimated the power of pride and its ability to paralyze Christians and make them all but useless to God. We need a supernatural, specific revelation of our pride, and also of Christ's Meekness (the opposite of arrogance).
Need I say more?
But the Good News is: where sins abounds, Grace abounds. PTL! "All" we need to do is apprehend more of that Grace - "...MANIFOLD Graces...."
bro. jim
They may seperate their religion here on this earth,but at the end there will be only one true religion.And that is wheather or not you believe.Not by what ever name you might say your religion is. But if you love GOD and the LORD JESUS CHRIST,and your love and belief is powerful enough to make it to HEAVEN. Then that is where your true religion lies. So instead of asking yourself what religion you should belong to? You should ask yourself, Do you believe in any religion?