The Bible: The Denominational Dilemma

Recently Christians of all denominations are getting a reputation of being hateful and hypocritical. I identify with non-denominational Christianity, my beliefs fall most closely with Evangelical Christianity.

No dog can pull a sled on his own; all must work together to finish the race. Additionally, they must unite in following the master’s directions. If one dog tries to pursue another route, he will only make the race harder for the rest of the pack and the musher will eventually need to pull him out. Similarly, each of us needs other Christians in order to finish the race strong. No one can accomplish the task alone. In Hebrews 10:25, Paul admonished the early church with these words: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We must unitedly follow the Master’s guidance. Otherwise, we will only make things harder for ourselves and others around

Church after church split into evangelical and traditional factions and denominations appeared. New denominations occurred and grew in numbers as a result of the importance on individual faith and salvation. With

In the article, Baptists and the Ecumenical Movement by John Briggs, the role and history of Baptists in their engagement with the Ecumenical Movement is discussed. This article critique will summarize the main points of the article, as well as look at the strengths and weaknesses. The conclusion of this critique will determine the overall effectiveness of the article itself.

Looking past church’s names and denominations, that usually separate churchgoers on any given Sunday, everyone was on one accord, as all hearts and minds were focused on the one thing each had in common---their love for God and his children.

People are not committed followers of Christ just because they study the Bible. That is only part of the process. The Great Commission tells us to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey (Matthew 28:16). The Great Commandment tells us to love God and others. (Matthew 22). The New Commandment in John tells us to love one another (John 13:34-35). The church needs to be able to forge relationship so that they in turn can reproduce more Christians.

ii) Church unity follows logically from fellowship of love. Members of one body; unity of belief - hence heresy a breach of unity, not just difference of opinion. Antithesis of love is the spirit that promotes schism.

By the 1830s, the Protestant denomination which I am personally familiar with, had begun a few violent attacks against the Catholic, because of their republican values. Later in the same decade, the Protestants again ignited fire into a convention, here in Massachusetts related to difference in views. Within these 35 diverse Christian denominations, 50,873,000 members are Roman Catholic (Catholic) hence the largest. Other equally functional denominations are Baptist, Pentecostal, and several others; says a recent American Religious Identification Survey. (35 Largest Christian Denominations in the United States). While there are numerous varieties of their divide, the onset of Christian community emphatically, traces to only one unified community. Since its establishment in the 1st century, the Christian community was founded on the doctrines of Jesus of Nazareth, which rather contributes to the wellbeing of communities, regardless of whether their views aligned with theirs or not. Starting with the apostle Paul, several

Who shared common backgrounds, common experiences and common realities. Religious freedoms develop experiences of a common existence which transcend beyond the individual but loom on the threshold of a collective body. Theological perspectives, rituals, and styles of worship emerged. This is why I ponder the negatives associated with religious separation. Since tearing down the bondage of segregation; the church has yet to experience a great surge of integration. James Baldwin, as well as many others, contend the most segregated day or hour in America is on Sunday. These words are spoken with much contrition, as to say there is something profoundly wrong with this situation. How can Christians call themselves Christians, yet separate themselves based on social and cultural differences during their hour of worship? The religious experience is not only a spiritual connection and oneness with God, but a collective oneness of self; viewing one’s own identity through the lens of cultural experiences. This is not say separation is an evil perpetuating religious divineness; but a necessity to maintain one’s identity. There is no solid foundation for religious integration; for

The competition between denominations has taken away from the glorification of Jesus Christ. This also has lead people to think that denominations cause a division among Christians. When a denomination does not align with the Word of God and removes or inserts other implications to the written Word, it dilutes the authentic meaning of the Holy Bible. In having confidence that God composed every single word in the Holy Bible, I believe it is important to adhere to and believe in the Holy Bible in its entirety. The Southern Baptist denomination believes in the entire Bible, in the manner in which it was written, and promotes its members to live so

Norris and Speers’ journey sent them out around the US in search for five different churches that undoubtedly worship differently but at the same time follow the universal Christian belief of the one true God. The goal of their expedition was to set out to explore the amount of politics that are found in many congregations. Out of these five distinguished churches, Norris and Speers’ focused on analyzing the congregation’s worship tactics, along with their leaders and mission of the church.

Denominations have such an impact on people within their sect that they actually set the rules the people live by. Such as is it okay to drink or is it not okay. Some argue that denominations have no part in one’s relationship with Jesus Christ. While one’s relationship with Jesus Christ is exactly that—a relationship between an individual and Jesus Christ, one’s denomination helps promote and lead you in your relationship with Jesus

I really appreciate Elizabeth’s sharing about her confusion. I think it is normal to be confused in most of the theological questions since these questions are actually real struggles from previous Christians. If it is clear cut and easy to understand, there is no need to have so many definitions and interpretations developed. In fact, Elizabeth’s response stimulates my thinking about what we are actually trying to do. Is this just a yes or no question? Or actually yes or no does not really matter? If we can support our standpoints through theological, biblical, and historical, does it prove that we are right and the others are wrong? Most of the time, the conclusions of the questions may actually build up the walls or differences between church

d) There is a time for division in the body of Christ. When a church group is denying scripture and, after being confronted, still continues their same practice, then it is time to break fellowship with that group. This has happened with the Metropolitan Community Church denomination which openly advocates the support of homosexuality. Also, there is an Evangelical Lutheran church that is thinking about accepting homosexual relationships into church. At this point it is ok to draw the line and say enough is enough.

Gilbert Bilezikian gives four areas that need to be addressed when administering the church here on earth, 1. A shared faith, 2. A share purpose, 3. A shared lifestyle and 4. A shared authority (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195-197). A shared faith is noted in Ephesians 4:5 where God’s people are told to have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (NIV). Gilbert tells his readers, “every church needs to formuloate clearly its understanding of the Christian faith” ( (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195). With this written statement everyone within the church will have a common ground from which to govern, with all people knowing what the belief of that church is.