{"id":12154,"date":"2013-09-10T17:50:55","date_gmt":"2013-09-10T21:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=12154"},"modified":"2013-09-10T17:50:55","modified_gmt":"2013-09-10T21:50:55","slug":"are-denominations-dividing-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2013\/09\/are-denominations-dividing-the-church","title":{"rendered":"Are Denominations Dividing the Church?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One day, Jesus turned to one of His most faithful disciples, fisherman Simon Bar-Jonah, and gave him a new name. God had only done that a few times before \u2013 Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, then a few years later, Saul to Paul. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus not only re-named Simon, but told him: \u201cI tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/a>
St. Peter, painted by Pompeo Giralamo Batoni (1708-1787),<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis was an extraordinary thing for Jesus to do,\u201d writes Christian attorney John Salza<\/a>, \u201cbecause \u2018rock\u2019 was not even a name in Jesus’ time. Jesus did this, not to give Simon a strange name, but to identify his new status among the apostles. When God changes a person’s name, He changes their status.\u201d Indeed, Peter would have a unique role in founding the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Gospel records that He built one church and that all saved people were in that church,\u201d writes David Pratt.<\/a> \u201cHe prayed for unity and rebuked division.\u201d In 1 Corinthians 1:10, the Apostle Paul pleaded \u201clet there be no divisions among you!\u201d<\/p>\n

So, how did today\u2019s church get so divided \u2013 Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Mennonites, Orthodox, Mormons, to list just a few?<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>\u201cToday, hundreds of denominations exist in the name of Christianity,\u201d notes Pratt, \u201cclaiming to be Christian. They are divided and contradict one another.\u201d Sometimes their theological differences are puzzling. In order to receive eternal salvation, Southern Baptists believe we must hear the Gospel, believe Jesus is Lord, confess that belief before others and repent of our sins, then we must be baptized. The Churches of Christ\/Christian Churches teach exactly the same thing \u2013 except for the sequence: salvation only comes after the final step, after baptism. Then the Southern Baptists believe a Christian cannot lose his salvation; the Churches of Christ disagree \u2013 a believer can \u201cbackslide\u201d and end up in Hell just like anybody else.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/a>Both groups base their theology on the Bible. Some of their differences are incredibly minor \u2013 yet keep large groups of believers from having much to do with one another. For example, the Churches of God headquartered in Anderson, Indiana, is theologically almost identical to the Churches of Christ\/Christian Churches \u2013 however the latter refuse to recognize any central headquarters.<\/p>\n

Many Pentecostals believe much as the Baptists and the Anderson Churches of God do \u2013 except teach that salvation comes only after the in-filling of the Holy Spirit, which the convert must prove by vocalizing a heavenly language, \u201cspeaking in tongues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"3\"<\/a>Another enormous divide concerns how God\u2019s gift of eternal salvation is given. On one side are those who believe salvation must be gained, even earned, by fulfilling certain obligations. Others disdain such obligations, saying salvation is freely given by God\u2019s boundless grace and all we have to do is accept His gift.<\/p>\n

The headquarters issue is a major sticking point among many groups. Millions of Christians in China are required by their government to repudiate any headquarters other than the government-recognized Three-Self Movement for non-Catholics and the national Catholic Association, both with headquarters in Beijing.<\/p>\n

\"4\"<\/a>Worldwide, the largest group of Christians, the Roman Catholic Church is headquartered in Vatican City \u2013 right in the middle of Rome, Italy \u2013 and disdains any notion that they are a denomination. Everybody else is, they teach. They, on the other hand, are the original church. However, the Christian Churches\/Churches of Christ also teach that \u2013 insisting they are \u201cnon-denominational,\u201d while everybody else is \u201cdenominational.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"5\"<\/a>Greek, Ethiopian, Syrian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Russian and other Orthodox groups are divided largely over the headquarters issue. To outsiders, they don\u2019t seem that different from each other or Roman Catholics \u2013 however, most are rich in rituals and traditions that have developed over the centuries and which are held dear by the faithful.<\/p>\n

Mormons, a large and growing group, have their headquarters in Salt Lake City, and believe that their founder in the 1800s was visited by an angel who lead him to a manuscript of the Book of Mormon, which the church teaches is \u201canother Gospel of Jesus Christ\u201d \u2013 but is not accepted by any other group. Similarly, the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, Christian Scientists and Seventh-Day Adventists have their own individual headquarters and their own unique teachings passed down by their founders, but rarely accepted by anybody else.<\/p>\n

\"6\"<\/a>So, is all this division a good thing?<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the average person,\u201d teaches Pratt, “Christianity includes hundreds of different denominations that disagree with one another in name, organization, doctrine, worship, and plan of salvation. Such a situation clearly constitutes division, not unity. Yet all the denominations claim to be Christian and to follow Jesus Christ. If we really want to please God, however, we must forsake what we want and practice what He wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"7\"<\/a>After all, Ecclesiastes 12:13 teaches us that man’s whole duty is to fear God and keep His commands. We should be determined to do God’s will, not our own. Matthew 16:24 instructs us that to follow Jesus we must deny ourselves. \u201cTrue religion does not consist of what pleases us,\u201d says Pratt. \u201cIt is entirely a question of what pleases God.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fundamental consequence of denominationalism is that error is just as good as truth<\/i>! If the denominational concept is true, then all denominations are acceptable to God even though they flatly contradict one another regarding worship, salvation, etc. This means error is just as good as truth and unrighteousness is just as good as righteousness. Denominationalism must be wrong because it says that error does not condemn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"8\"<\/a>Pratt, of course, has a clear idea of what he believes to be the true church. And it does not include groups that are \u201cin error.\u201d Pastor Rick Harrington<\/a> isn\u2019t so sure. He says the issue can be viewed in terms of \u201cThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Good:<\/b> Denominations help people distinguish theological differences. If I am looking for a church that holds to Scripture alone as the highest authority, then I certainly want to stick to a protestant denomination. If I am also looking for one that holds to believer’s baptism, then I want to find a free church or a baptist church. If I want one that is paedo-baptist (infant baptism) I will look to the Presbyterian, Methodist, or Congregationalist. If I am Reformed, then usually that means Presbyterian or Congregational. If I want a high-church liturgy, then Anglican or Methodist. You get the idea. Denominations mean we are taking theology seriously. That is a good thing. To water down the message for the sake of unity is a huge mistake.<\/p>\n

\"9\"<\/a>\u201cThe Bad<\/b>: Denominations can also be bad. By that I mean evil. They can be a source of divisiveness and arrogance. When one denomination begins to think that they are the only real Christians who have a full grasp on all the truth, there is a problem. I’ve seen this in all different denominations. Christ is bigger than any one denomination of Christianity. Sectarianism and divisiveness are flat out evil. This falls into the \u2018I follow Paul\u2019 or \u2018I follow Apollos\u2019 mentality we read about in 1 Corinthians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ugly<\/b>: Sometimes denominations can just be plain ugly. People hide away in their denominational traditions and never peek out to see what else is going on in the world. It is not that people don’t think there can be Christians outside of their denominations, it’s just that they have no association with them. They are \u2018American Baptists\u2019 or \u2018Southern Baptists\u2019 or \u2018Orthodox Presbyterian\u2019 or \u2018Evangelical Presbyterian Church.\u2019 Think about how this looks to the world. Instead of making much of our unity in Christ, we turn the church into alphabet soup: ABC, SBC, BGC, EPC, OPC, PCA, UCC, CCCC, PCUSA, UMC, CB, ELCA, IFCA, etc. (yes those are all real denominations).<\/p>\n

\"10\"<\/a>\u201cCan we save the good, and get rid of the bad and the ugly? Can we do away with the bad and the ugly, and still keep the good? Only in degrees. We can get better and better. How about a more radical idea?\u201d suggests Harrington. \u201cBe inter-denominational. Be a church that majors on the essentials, is not afraid to talk about and deal with the non-essentials but doesn’t divide over them. Welcome folks to join based on the gospel essentials, but still maintain strong theological differences without dividing over them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s what we are trying at First Baptist. We are a Gospel-centered, believer’s Baptist, complementarian church in practice. However, we have a good handful of paedo-baptists. I’m what would be a labeled a five-point Calvinist, but I would be happy to welcome an Arminian into fellowship and debate. We are covenantal for the most part, yet open to dispensationals at all levels of leadership. We major on the essentials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"11\"<\/a>Hardliners would say he has embraced apostasy. Others would say he\u2019s trying to overcome human barriers and be obedient to the command in I Corinthians to shun all the divisions.<\/p>\n

A recent conference on the future of evangelicalism<\/a> raised some interesting questions about denominations. Blogger Trevin Wax<\/a> tried to keep up with the discussion for his readers. \u201cAt the core of the issue of denominationalism is a simple question: <\/i><\/b>is it a good or bad thing that the Christian church is split into so many different denoninations?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Egyptian<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnswering that question requires addressing many other issues as well, such as how a denomination might help or hinder individual churches\u2019 ministries, and how members of different denominations should (or should not) work with each other,\u201d reports Wax.<\/p>\n

He puts forth an interesting reason that denominations can be useful: they bring balance to individual churches\u2019 tendency to \u201cover-specialize\u201d in just one area of ministry<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEvangelical churches in general tend to specialize in, unsurprisingly, evangelism,\u201d he writes. \u201c<\/em>Narrow definitions and limited experiences do not stretch us into the people that Jesus came to make us into. Even though we are all called at different points to different specialties (gifts, ministries, vocations \u2013 insert your word here) in the church, God has also called us to be first His in ALL aspects of life. We need to experience others who are specialists in aspects that we have, but may not concentrate on. We need their perspective, and we need to learn form them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs your church part of a denomination, and if so, has that association been a help or a hindrance to its ministry? Share your thoughts!<\/a>\u201d he asked readers.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI have maintained for a very long time that denominations equate to traditions,\u201d answered reader Howard Gunter<\/a><\/cite>. \u201cWhen a tradition and its accompanying practices become MORE important to the following than basic Bible doctrines, that denomination becomes a constraint rather than a blessing. I especially adhere to the point that specializing in a single or few practices derived from Scripture may rob the following of a full teaching of the Christian life as set before us by the ONE EXAMPLE: Jesus the Christ and in some cases encourage an attitude of eliteness. Another thing that emerges in some \u201cspecialized\u201d practices is a forced or choreographed response which only tends to serve man and allows for personal pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are positives as well to traditions. The most glaring is that it provides a certain structure and comfort for a following and certainly order. I simply believe that we need to be open to guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit, without any sense of trepidation when something occurs that falls out of the realm of \u201ctradition\u201d as long as there is NO conflict with basic bible doctrine. I am well aware that various denominations interpret the doctrines differently and therein lies the draw to followers that seek a personal comfort zone in which to worship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my experience, the tricky thing about denominations is the same as political parties,\u201d responded reader Dale Fincher<\/a>.<\/cite> \u201cIf you don\u2019t toe the party line you\u2019re at great risk. There leaves little room for growth into new developments of theology and understanding. If one is merely a member of a church, he may feel that his larger denomination overlooks local needs. If you are on paid staff, you may find your career and financial support disappearing if you are convinced by conscience and study that the dogmatism of your particular denomination isn\u2019t accurate. And this silences many preachers because it\u2019s better to keep quiet than to not put food on the table.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSomething often overlooked is the more nebulous question of what it means for Jesus to be the \u2018head\u2019 of the church and for the Holy Spirit to bring unity. Seems, in practice, we sidestep these two and impose hierarchy to \u201creplicate\u201d the work God promised to do among local assemblies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not to say denominations are \u2018bad\u2019 per se. They\u2019ve done many great things. And when they go well, they have more strength, resources, and voices than mere local assemblies. But when they go bad, they can be devastating, silencing strength, resources, and voices of local assemblies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the New Testament,\u201d answered reader Morris Saffold Jones,<\/cite> \u201cthere is no justification for such a thing. In fact, the way church is practiced in America could be described as \u2018a waste of time.\u2019 The first century church got together and actually fellowshipped. Coming together today (for church) is a joke in that people drive to a massive building, drop 10 percent of their income in a bucket, listen to someone espouse their opinion for 45 minutes (without ANY dialogue \u2013 which means that many people have not engaged), then scramble through a throng of people to pick up their kids and go home to the same lives that they left 3 hours prior.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first century, the ekklesia<\/i> or the assembly was small, local, and lacked the destructive culture that we have today. they actually sat around a perimeter and debated the scriptures. Imagine that! thinking about the scriptures in front of other believers. Do we believe the Bible or do we believe in structure?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Youngsters<\/a>
\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c\u2019Denomination\u2019 is not in the Holy Bible,\u201d observed reader Ira Kirkpatrick<\/cite>, <\/i>\u201cand is like a two edged sword. It brings people together and separates them as well. There were seven churches of Asia because of different cities and all were followers of Jesus Christ and that is what we need more than denominations. We do not need to be traditionalist to the determent of the spirit of the lord and its function in us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we get to heaven there will not be Baptist, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Pentecostal or any other. I have seen all my life the divisions of denomination cause more problems than it solved in my opinion. We must read and study the Bible for what it states and not what we want it to say.<\/p>\n

\"12\"<\/a>\u201cI am Christian first and when asked what religion I am, I say I am a Christian and follower of Christ. Blessed is the Lord Jesus Christ who did for our sins.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod so loved the world that he did not send a committee, or a denomination.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what do you<\/i> think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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