Do Denominational Differences Really Matter?

[smaller]

The majority of schisms have healed, however; there are only three major schisms that remain other than the multiplicity of Protestant denominations.

I think a lot of Protestants are rather relieved that orthodoxy, as it morphed into what it eventually became, is no longer the forced/imposed head.

 

[gerbilwoman]

Most people are born into a denomination. They may continue to attend services in that denomination even if they do not believe in it fully. It can be scary to explore new denominations. I want to explore other denominations but am kind of nervous.

 

[Sinthesis]

The majority of schisms have healed, however; there are only three major schisms that remain other than the multiplicity of Protestant denominations.

Which three major schisms remain?

 

[evenifigoalone]

Most people are born into a denomination. They may continue to attend services in that denomination even if they do not believe in it fully. It can be scary to explore new denominations. I want to explore other denominations but am kind of nervous.

With how other denominations are often put down by the one you're born into...yeah!

 

[AGustOfWind]

I think, that whoever has accepted Jesus Christ as their lord and savior, whether you're a Mormon or not, doesn't really matter.

Sure, we could banter on about how "false" Mormonism is, or how "false" other Christian-esque religions are, or, we could accept the fact that in one way or another, we are ALL incorrect.

ALL of us, from the child who has barely begun reading Genesis, to the elderly man who has studied the bible his entire life, we are all incorrect about how to perceive different denominations.
That's why we don't need all of this ridiculous religion stuff, and different denominations, but rather, we just need Jesus, and his grace. Which we have been given.

You wanna be Mormon? Great, be a Mormon. You wanna be a radically different denomination of Christianity? Good for you.

Jesus just said to love our neighbor as ourselves, and, to love the lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul.

After that, all we need is the bible, and God himself.
No extra silly things like man-made religion.
Just, just God.

 

[Mike]

ALL of us, from the child who has barely begun reading Genesis, to the elderly man who has studied the bible his entire life, we are all incorrect about how to perceive different denominations.
That's why we don't need all of this ridiculous religion stuff, and different denominations, but rather, we just need Jesus, and his grace. Which we have been given.

You wanna be Mormon? Great, be a Mormon. You wanna be a radically different denomination of Christianity? Good for you.

Oh, boy... We have a problem here. Please consider Gal 1:6-10

"6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."

I haven't read this whole thread, but AGustOfWind you really need to take care with what you are saying here. Do you know what Mormon's believe? Do you know they were started by a man who disavowed Christianity and claimed to have been given a new testimony? Do you know that Joseph Smith taught and the Mormon's believe that God was a man like you and me living on another planet; that he was made the god of our planet, and that we too can become gods of our own planets? You must be discerning and ensure whatever you accept as profitable lines up with scripture. Denominational differences are often secondary to true salvation issues, but to say it's okay to create a new religion that is radically different from Christianity is radically wrong... and dangerous.

 

[Douglas Summers]

I think, that whoever has accepted Jesus Christ as their lord and savior, whether you're a Mormon or not, doesn't really matter.

The whole world of religion is made up from what man thinks about Jesus. With the Truth you know for sure (The Word of God). What man thinks has been the downfall of God's creation. Apathy is a sin also! The wisdom of man? How's that going for ya in your life? The Mormon does not follow the Doctrine of Christ. They are not Christian, that is why they are called Mormons. In times past before the 50's, these society's were not called Christian, but were called cults. But in these last days (as Christ warned us) they have all been accepted as Christian's because of the falling away of sound doctrine and the preaching to those with tickling ears (what they want to hear and believe) not the Truth.
Because the TRUTH would make them feel guilty of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Which is of the world....not of God. Google Mormonism and study it's history and beliefs. Do that for every denomination you want to know in what they believe. But, if you do not know the TRUTH to begin with. Then you have a fruit salad of different doctrines to pick from.

 

[Malachi]

I want to explore other denominations but am kind of nervous.

And so you should be. There has been a general departure from Bible truth, Bible authority, and Bible doctrine across the board, so your first priority should be to know what is in the Word of God. Unless you yourself are a solidly ground Bible-believing Christian, you may be swept away with every wind of doctrine.

As to the question in the title of the thread, yes, denominational differences do matter. It is not our task or our responsibility to go around finding fault with other denominations. Rather, we should be focused on our own spiritual well-being, as well as those with whom we are in fellowship. To be in fellowship means to be in one accord (one, heart, one soul, one mind).

 

[Willie T]

Not really. You will find most people who say denominations aren't right, belong to a denomination themselves. But, of course, it is not THEIR denomination that has it wrong.... it is those other denominations.

 

[AGustOfWind]

Oh, boy... We have a problem here. Please consider Gal 1:6-10

"6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."

I haven't read this whole thread, but AGustOfWind you really need to take care with what you are saying here. Do you know what Mormon's believe? Do you know they were started by a man who disavowed Christianity and claimed to have been given a new testimony? Do you know that Joseph Smith taught and the Mormon's believe that God was a man like you and me living on another planet; that he was made the god of our planet, and that we too can become gods of our own planets? You must be discerning and ensure whatever you accept as profitable lines up with scripture. Denominational differences are often secondary to true salvation issues, but to say it's okay to create a new religion that is radically different from Christianity is radically wrong... and dangerous.

I'm not encouraging it.
I know of its origins, I know of some of the questionable things it consists of.


But, I have met Mormons who are more Christian than anything else, I was speaking moreso for them.
But I digress.

 

[Mike]

I'm not encouraging it.

But, I have met Mormons who are more Christian than anything else, I was speaking moreso for them.
But I digress.

Very nice people generally and good citizens of the community indeed, however none of that matters if they have embraced and followed the false testimony of a man who spent his life seeking stones to make it rich. They do not believe in the Jesus of scripture. They believe Satan and Jesus were brothers, Satan wanted to force God's will upon people, and Jesus wanted to give them free will, God chose Jesus plan, and Satan rebelled.
Mormonism teaches that black people are cursed with the mark that God gave Cain in Gen 4:11-16. In the Book of Mormon, it says black people are dependents of Cain and are cursed with dark skin.
As I said, they aspire to be equal to God and Lord their own planet like ours does. Think about this, and then look back at the scripture I gave you. What does God say about people who preach gospels different than the one the apostles wrote of? Let them be accursed. You said:

You wanna be Mormon? Great, be a Mormon. You wanna be a radically different denomination of Christianity? Good for you.

Not great or good. Their false gospel and nature of God concocted by a delusional seeker of riches who had NOT ONE PERSON to corroborate his testimony is evil.

 

[Malachi]

But, I have met Mormons who are more Christian than anything else, I was speaking more so for them.

You are absolutely correct in that many Mormons are wonderful clean-living people and exhibit Christian virtues. And that is the tragedy. It is important that we believe Bible Truth, and believe on the Christ of the Bible.

The Mormon Articles of Faith (as found in The Pearl of Great Price) state: We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

This appears to correspond to the orthodox view of Christ and the Trinity. Then we have this summary which appears to be scriptural:

What do Mormons believe about Jesus Christ? Do Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God. His birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the many prophecies contained in the scriptures concerning the coming of a Savior. He was the Creator, He is our Savior, and He will be our Judge (see Isaiah 9:6, 53:3-7; Psalms 22:16-18).

Under the direction of our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the earth (John 1:10; Hebrews 1:2).

When Jesus lived on the earth (approximately 2,000 years ago), He led a perfect life. He taught by word and example how people should live in love of God and others.

Through His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and by giving His life on the cross—that is, by performing the Atonement —Jesus Christ saves us from our sins (1 Peter 2:21) as we follow Him. Because of the Atonement, you can be forgiven of your sins when you sincerely repent (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 26:30).

Through His Resurrection, Jesus Christ saved us from death. Because He overcame death, we will all be given the gift of resurrection, that is to say our spirits will be eternally re-united with our bodies (Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22). When life on this earth is over, Jesus Christ will be the final Judge (Acts 17:31; John 5:21-22; Acts 10:42).

But according to Mormon Doctrine by Bruce McConkie, Jesus is "a God" (which implies Polytheism) through obedience and devotion to the truth:

As far as man is concerned, all things center in Christ. He is the Firstborn of the Father. By obedience and devotion to the truth he attained that pinnacle of intelligence which ranked him as a God, as the Lord Omnipotent, while yet in his pre-existent state. As such he became, under the Father, the Creator of this earth and of worlds without number; and he was then chosen to work out the infinite and eternal atonement, to come to this particular earth as the literal Son of the Father, and to put the whole plan of redemption salvation, and exaltation in operation.

https://archive.org/stream/MormonDoctrine/mormon_doctrine_djvu.txt

 

[Christ_empowered]

Denominational differences have become somewhat blurred over the years. People church shop, marry people from other denominations, leave the faith and come back to a different denomination, on and on it goes. Pentecostals, apparently, are growing rapidly, while PCUSA and the Episcopalians are shrinking in numbers. Then you have mega-churches popping up (for better or for worse, lol) that are often either non-denominational or only loosely affiliated with an established denomination.

I dunno. I've been pondering this. On the one hand, you want a church that preaches the Truth, and a good way to tell that is by looking for what the denomination as a whole believes in. Then again...individual churches vary wildly. I like individual Pentecostal churches (usually); the denomination as a whole has problems. I can still get into some Southern Baptist Churches...I don't always like what comes out at the denominational level. PCUSA has gone a lil crazy at the denominational level, but some (many?) individual churches are growing and preaching Scripture (apparently, it costs a lot of $$$ to break away from PCUSA...who knew?).

So, yeah, denominational differences --do-- matter, to a point, but I think its probably wise to remember that most churches are filled with people who just want to fellowship, worship, learn, maybe teach, build bonds with other people. At least...that's what I've begun telling myself, now that its time for me to get into a church.

 

[AGustOfWind]

Very nice people generally and good citizens of the community indeed, however none of that matters if they have embraced and followed the false testimony of a man who spent his life seeking stones to make it rich. They do not believe in the Jesus of scripture. They believe Satan and Jesus were brothers, Satan wanted to force God's will upon people, and Jesus wanted to give them free will, God chose Jesus plan, and Satan rebelled.
Mormonism teaches that black people are cursed with the mark that God gave Cain in Gen 4:11-16. In the Book of Mormon, it says black people are dependents of Cain and are cursed with dark skin.
As I said, they aspire to be equal to God and Lord their own planet like ours does. Think about this, and then look back at the scripture I gave you. What does God say about people who preach gospels different than the one the apostles wrote of? Let them be accursed. You said:



Not great or good. Their false gospel and nature of God concocted by a delusional seeker of riches who had NOT ONE PERSON to corroborate his testimony is evil.

Okay.
Indeed, I did say that.
Perhaps I spoke too quickly.
But, blacks are allowed in the Mormon church. In fact, a while back they decided to write off the idea of blacks being "cursed", anyway, I'd not like to derail this thread any further.

Then you have these mega-churches popping up

Christ_empowered, if Jesus saw half of these mega-churches, making tons of money and some of them preaching hypocrisy, I'm sure Jesus would pull a Matthew 21:12 again.

 

[JohnDB]

Apparently if you are a Nicolaitan Theology matters

Same went for Judas...he knew Jesus personally but still had the wrong theology.

So where I can call someone who doesn't believe in the Jesus I believe in a Christian I really can't call them a brother. (Semantics assuredly)

But to try to find ways of undoing the different denominations is fighting God himself. Obviously they exist because God ordained them...

 

[reba]

I'm not encouraging it.
I know of its origins, I know of some of the questionable things it consists of.


But, I have met Mormons who are more Christian than anything else, I was speaking moreso for them.
But I digress.

any one who belongs to a group that believes Jesus and satan are brothers is not Christian .. or that god had sex with Mary is not Christian

 

[Mike]

But, blacks are allowed in the Mormon church. In fact, a while back they decided to write off the idea of blacks being "cursed", anyway, I'd not like to derail this thread any further

First of all, my strong responses here were not personal, and I don't think it's really a derailment since this thread was untouched for 5 months before you made your first post. I did respond strongly, because I see infighting within the Body of Christ here on CFnet too often over small matters that shouldn't devide us, and then I see your post saying it doesn't matter if you even adhere to the core tenets of the Christian faith. I said all that to put it out on the table, in case you didn't know the origin of Mormonism and what their additional books teach.

I'll just say this and leave it here. If a church claiming to have built itself on a prophet who received a new revelation changes and re-writes it's theology due to societal pressure of the times, that's another indication the revelation was fraudulent in the first place. The Mormon church reversed its position on a few things like black people descending from Cain and polygamy because public pressure got to be too much.

Among different denominations within the universal Christian Church, there are non-salvific issues that will always keep them separated, but these differences shouldn't keep us from recognizing that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe all of the core beliefs that join us are captured in the Nicene and Apostles Creeds. When you part ways with the statements expressed in them, you are outside of the Christian faith.

 

[reba]

 

[Douglas Summers]

Among different denominations within the universal Christian Church, there are non-salvific issues that will always keep them separated, but these differences shouldn't keep us from recognizing that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

Hi Mike, I'm not sure what you mean here. Are you saying that no matter what we believe, or denomination we are that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ?

 

[Christ_empowered]

I think that's true, to a point.