Did you know that there are 38,000 Christian denominations in the world?

Hi bellis, Thank you for responding and you make a good point as some do pay a lot of attention to the old testament. Blessings.

Hi zadkiel, Thank you for commenting and I agree that the church was meant to be one and love is the answer. The chances are very slim that it will happen anytime in the near future however as like the Jewish leaders in the time of Jesus, they focus too much on the letter of the law. Blessings.

The thing is that Baptist have both charismatic Baptist and Fundamental Baptist and they are miles apart in many practices and belief. And both of them are Baptist. I agree that there are too many groups. I wish that more groups will come together and form one group after certain period.

Hi headhunter, I think you may be right about the split in 1054, someone else also mentioned that. It's interesting to see the Baptists, Anglicans and Presbyterians coming together as at least the Anglicans and Baptists have very different ways of worship. I once visited as Anglican church that was very much like the Pentecostal, including speaking in tongues and an altar call after the sermon. That was a real eye opener for me. The fact remains however that there are far too many denominations. Thank you for your response. Blessings.

Hi giabaigar, Thank you for commenting but I'm not sure that I get your meaning. I'm familiar with the chapters you are referring to, chapter 15 is the vine and the branches. I know too that in Chapter 17, Jesus prays for his followers that they may be one and Chapter 14 is where Jesus comforts his disciples. Are you saying that the power of Christianity lies in the power of choice? Does this mean that many denominations is a good thing? Blessings

God Bless you also Pose123.... Yes! It is the most powerful choices way of life. Within the Name of Jesus Christ is the only way of life to be with God. Whoever started a new branch within the the branch or Name of Jesus Christ are all good things. But if they are not, they are highly condemned both by human and by God. But God only has all the final judgements amongst everyone of us, and we should not preempts of every what God's judgement to everyone of us. God is God and the only God, we are not all god or we should not always be in the place of a god. ............ OOpss. Its my mistake and confusion.... forgive me .... hahahahaha.... You are right thanks for the corrections..... Chapter 15 is about the Vine and the Branches... and also with Chapter 17.... ............ John Chapter 14 is where you find the words by Jesus "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6).... These words on John 14 are one of the most powerful words of life in the Bible of being in a way of life into the boundaries of Christianity. Whoever knows everyone his own self on Christianity, can knows all the truths about God, himself, and all that surrounds of himself or being as a multidimensional being without any doubts and fears of his past, present and future.

the Pope in Rome thought he should be the head of all the churches, and the Popes and Patriarchs in other major sections of the Christian world at the time said - "we all come from Apostles... what makes YOU so special?" or words to that effect...

Hi ElicBxn, Thanks for sharing that and you may well be correct, I just know that there was a division. Blessings.

Your teacher is just wrong; we may not be able to precisely define art but to say art is different for everyone or that art can be whatever you want is just wrong; that is to make a false god of art. Art is a human activity, animals do not make art, Nature is not art. all the best urban

You missed the point, in search of a point to argue about... how typicaly Urbandecay. You always seem to be of the opinion that just because you say it, it becomes true. Therefore there is no point trying to debate with you. Thank you for your opinion though. Certainly no more or less valid than any other opinions on the tpoic. Certainly goes to help prove my point that there are many different views of art... and religion... and although many claim to be the solution, the plain truth is that there are many answers to the same questions. It is up to us as humans to decide what to believe and what not.

On the contrary, if I say there is a chair in the room, and there is, then that is a matter of fact not opinion. Likewise if you say art is other than a products of human activity, then sorry but you are not speaking English. It is not a matter of opinion but an intrasubjective truth that in the English language the term 'art' refers only to products of human activity. all the best urban

I don't think the majority of them are currently headed up by con-artists simply because a lot of them have survived past the lifetime of the founder of the denomination. Many of them have deluded themselves and actually believe they and the teachings of their denomination are correct. Others used religion as a means of legitimizing other agendas - example: the king of England creating the "Church of England" so he could further his own marriage agendas and legitimize his divorces. But, the Church of England survives to this day. When it comes to reading the Bible, it really wasn't that long ago that very few people were literate and able to read the Bible. The pattern/tradition of going to church and having the Pastor tell them what was in the Bible was ingrained from early childhood and is a tradition that is still passed down today. Also, the legitimacy of the Bible is still being called into question. It has been translated and retranslated many times; and, errors do happen. Also, many "books" have intentionally been left out because they did not meet the prejudices and agendas of the time. A few surviving copies of original "Bibles" (from the 200's and 300's) have shown that even the books which are currently in the Bible have had things added or left out of them. So, who really knows what should be in the Bible and what is simply the agenda of early religious leaders.

Hi speakeasy, I sometimes wonder if their are not con-artists heading up most denominations? I've always had a problem with Christians who depended on someone else to to explain the Bible to them. There are some who admit that they never read the Bible at all, just go to church and depend on the Pastor to tell them what the Bible says as well as what it means. Clearly Jesus did not want division among his followers, but sadly no one understood him. Certainly, it is ridiculous for any one denomination to claim that they alone are right. Blessings.

Hi urban, There was indeed more than one group of Christians in the early church, very different beliefs too about the teachings of Jesus, but I didn't go back that far. The Orthodox were the first big break with the church of Rome. I believe there have been groups that broke away from the Baptists as well. Of course, no one church is right and the number of denominations prove how little the church have grown spiritually since the time of Jesus. Blessings.

Hi bev, Thank you for your response and I agree that 38,000 is a lot of denominations. Blessings.

Hi Mirita, I agree that some people are very flexible but others, like the Jewish leaders of old, stick to the letter of the law. Many churches have little that divide them except misunderstanding. Does God really care if a person is baptised or not? Of course not, surely God is bigger than that. Yet these denominations even believe that it matters how the baptism is done. I ask you, How small is their God? Having a sabbath,a day of rest, was of course for practical purposes and it doesn't matter which you choose, but we all need at least one day of rest. Yet Christians think that God really cares about it being the right day. Everyone should read and follow what we have of the teachings of Christ. If someone will take the four gospels, read,mark, learn and inwardly digest, they will see and know that the Christian church has strayed far from his teachings. Blessings.

Hi starlover, Thank you for your comment and you are right. The teachings of some denominations are so close that they could be one. If Christians followed the teachings of Christ himself, the world would be a better place today. Blessings.

Hi nangisha, Thank you for your comment. Blessings.

Hi achilles, I find it strange that you go back to the tower of Babel, long before the time of Jesus. Among the early Christian, there were divisions but eventually one group won out and there was only one church until 1054 when the first division occurred. Later came the reformation and there soon were a dozen or more denominations. In the last two hundred or so years everything has gone haywire and churches split up over the smallest things. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Blessings.

Hi prasanthwills, It's good to find someone with such an open mind as you have. I have to correct you in one thing though, all denominations don't believe in the trinity. There are also some other big differences but many are only for people with small minds. Thank you for responding. Blessings.