donstan18:


You are smart.

This was my major reason for opening this thread.

I see it that self-interest and greed is the reason behind these church founders.

I may be wrong.

Thank you for your submission.

You are absolutely wrong because you don't to understand the dynamics of the establishment of churches and ministry. While the cultural effects might be in the way churches conduct themselves, the Bible is the same and all true messengers of God preach the same message ultimately.
The main message is to bring people into the Kingdom of God an the kingdom comes first.

When God calls he gives a message, the message is your ministry. He will empower you to do the things he has assigned you to do. When you go outside of those things you are exposed to the wiles and plans of the devil.

God anoints you and you will fulfil the ministry committed to your hands. If you are not called, then you need to be empowered by something or someone else. This is why the 'church' is polluted.

Omuneizzy6:
And you think only your small church can take the word of God to every part of the world... we even need more denominations
but remember the more we have them the more the evil of men increases...

It is not more denomination we need, it is more branches or parishes of one Church of the world that we need.
Imagine if Catholic is a normal one man owned Church, owned by a Nigerian General overseer called the pope; he for don't buy luxury ship, airforce-1,

nwadiuko1:
everybody wants to cash out

Op case closed

The same reason we have so many banks.........

RCCG would soon merge with MFM.............

To answer this question, we must first differentiate between denominations within the body of Christ and non-Christian cults and false religions. Presbyterians and Lutherans are examples of Christian denominations. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are examples of cults (groups claiming to be Christian but denying one or more of the essentials of the Christian faith). Islam and Buddhism are entirely separate religions.

The rise of denominations within the Christian faith can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation, the movement to “reform” the Roman Catholic Church during the 16th century, out of which four major divisions or traditions of Protestantism would emerge: Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, and Anglican. From these four, other denominations grew over the centuries.

The Lutheran denomination was named after Martin Luther and was based on his teachings. The Methodists got their name because their founder, John Wesley, was famous for coming up with “methods” for spiritual growth. Presbyterians are named for their view on church leadership—the Greek word for elder is presbyteros. Baptists got their name because they have always emphasized the importance of baptism. Each denomination has a slightly different doctrine or emphasis from the others, such as the method of baptism; the availability of the Lord’s Supper to all or just to those whose testimonies can be verified by church leaders; the sovereignty of God vs. free will in the matter of salvation; the future of Israel and the church; pre-tribulation vs. post-tribulation rapture; the existence of the “sign” gifts in the modern era, and so on. The point of these divisions is never Christ as Lord and Savior, but rather honest differences of opinion by godly, albeit flawed, people seeking to honor God and retain doctrinal purity according to their consciences and their understanding of His Word.

Denominations today are many and varied. The original “mainline” denominations mentioned above have spawned numerous offshoots such as Assemblies of God, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Nazarenes, Evangelical Free, independent Bible churches, and others. Some denominations emphasize slight doctrinal differences, but more often they simply offer different styles of worship to fit the differing tastes and preferences of Christians. But make no mistake: as believers, we must be of one mind on the essentials of the faith, but beyond that there is great deal of latitude in how Christians should worship in a corporate setting. This latitude is what causes so many different “flavors” of Christianity. A Presbyterian church in Uganda will have a style of worship much different from a Presbyterian church in Colorado, but their doctrinal stand will be, for the most part, the same. Diversity is a good thing, but disunity is not. If two churches disagree doctrinally, debate and dialogue over the Word may be called for. This type of “iron sharpening iron” (Proverbs 27:17) is beneficial to all. If they disagree on style and form, however, it is fine for them to remain separate. This separation, though, does not lift the responsibility Christians have to love one another (1 John 4:11-12) and ultimately be united as one in Christ (John 17:21-22).

The Downside of Christian Denominations:

There seems to be at least two major problems with denominationalism. First, nowhere in Scripture is there a mandate for denominationalism; to the contrary the mandate is for union and connectivity. Thus, the second problem is that history tells us that denominationalism is the result of, or caused by, conflict and confrontation which leads to division and separation. Jesus told us that a house divided against itself cannot stand. This general principle can and should be applied to the church. We find an example of this in the Corinthian church which was struggling with issues of division and separation. There were those who thought that they should follow Paul and those who thought they should follow the teaching of Apollos, 1 Corinthians 1:12, "What I am saying is this: each of you says, “I’m with Paul,” or “I’m with Apollos,” or “I’m with Cephas,” or “I’m with Christ.” This alone should tell you what Paul thought of denominations or anything else that separates and divides the body. But let’s look further; in verse 13, Paul asks very pointed questions, "Is Christ divided? Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name?” This makes clear how Paul feels, he (Paul) is not the Christ, he is not the one crucified and his message has never been one that divides the church or would lead someone to worship Paul instead of Christ. Obviously, according to Paul, there is only one church and one body of believers and anything that is different weakens and destroys the church (see verse 17). He makes this point stronger in 3:4 by saying that anyone who says they are of Paul or of Apollos is carnal.

Some of the problems we are faced with today as we look at denominationalism and its more recent history:

1. Denominations are based on disagreements over the interpretation of Scripture. An example would be the meaning and purpose of baptism. Is baptism a requirement for salvation or is it symbolic of the salvation process? There are denominations on both sides of this issue. In fact, baptism – its meaning, its mode, who can receive it, etc. – has been a central issue in the separation of churches and forming of new denominations.

2. Disagreements over the interpretation of Scripture are taken personally and become points of contention. This leads to arguments which can and have done much to destroy the witness of the church.

3. The church should be able to resolves its differences inside the body, but once again history tells us that this doesn’t happen. Today the media uses our differences against us to demonstrate that we are not unified in thought or purpose.

4. Denominations are used by man out of self-interest. There are denominations today that are in a state of self-destruction as they are being led into apostasy by those who are promoting their personal agendas.

5. The value of unity is found in the ability to pool our gifts and resources to promote the Kingdom to a lost world. This runs contrary to divisions caused by denominationalism.

What is a believer to do? Should we ignore denominations, should we just not go to church and worship on our own at home? The answer to both questions is no. What we should be seeking is a body of believers where the Gospel of Christ is preached, where you as an individual can have a personal relationship with the Lord, where you can join in biblical ministries that are spreading the Gospel and glorifying God. Church is important and all believers need to belong to a body that fits the above criteria. We need relationships that can only be found in the body of believers, we need the support that only the church can offer, and we need to serve God in community as well as individually. Pick a church on the basis of its relationship to Christ and how well it is serving the community. Pick a church where the pastor is preaching the Gospel without fear and is encouraged to do so. As believers, there are certain basic doctrines that we must believe, but beyond that there is latitude on how we can serve and worship; it is this latitude that is the only good reason for denominations. This is diversity and not disunity. The first allows us to be individuals in Christ, the latter divides and destroys.

donstan18:


You are smart.

This was my major reason for opening this thread.

I see it that self-interest and greed is the reason behind these church founders.

I may be wrong.

You are not wrong sir and you really spoke my mind. Selfishnesses, joblessness, pride, money, self glory and many more are responsible for all these. All these factors are potent tools in the hands of the devil in causing division in the Body of Christ. There's need for every Christian to individually and earnestly seek out the TRUTH IN THE WORD OF GOD and not to allow businessmen in suits to deceive and derail us. ENDTIME STUFFS

talkme:
so many christian denomination but no love. OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM AS CHRISTIANS IS JUST LACK OF LOVE. We dont love each other, look at our Muslim brothers, love radiate among them and they love helping each others. We only come to church and form holy than though but after church we become devils. LIONS IN SHEEP CLOTHING. God help us.

i see plenty of radiating love among muslim brothers like sunnis and shias.

Denominations arise because of opinions.

Opinions means what I feel. Opinions could be wrong. Opinion leads to religion and denominations. I'm right you're wrong.

Cain had an opinion on how he could give sacrifices and he was rejected because he didn't do what God wants.

My personal self have refused to belong to any denomination.

Where does the word Christianity appear in the bible.
That's where the confusion started. Even the adulterated teachings of the bible is not strictly followed by the gullible followers of the religion. May Allah guide you Christians to the right path.

"Money"
- Cardi B

izzou:


Denomination is Satan's way of scattering the church..... You can argue with yourself if you like...

Most, if not all, denominant pastors all came from a particular church, but along the line, they left.... Even if God called them, why didn't they continue with the same church they were serving then?

And what we have today is competition and marketing. If you tell someone that you attend a particular church, he'll still want to force you to attend his own, because to him, his own is "where God is truly"

Satan is busy dividing Christians daily...

When i see some church's posters, tracts, or adverts, sometimes i just gast wonder.... Do we have more than one God ... Its now more like a competetion, lets pray it doesnt result to rivalry.

donstan18:
As we all know.

Christianity is a religion based on the
life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as
described in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.


Having known what the word Christianity implies; I want to know, why do we have so many Christian
denominations? What exactly is the essence?



Your help to give me audience for clarifications will be highly appreciated.

For some follow Paul while Others follow Apollos

It was so from the beginning, having denominations is not the problem, not having same doctrine is the issue

1Cor3

4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

8The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.

9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

callmeVIBRANT:
FTC
The Catholic Church is the best church.. it is the true way that leads to Christ..forget other denominations.. Catholic is one..Catholic is Holy and the Catholic Church was instituted by Christ himself.. call this number for argument 08175773780

baba stop nonsense we all should have one aim

callmeVIBRANT:
FTC
The Catholic Church is the best church.. it is the true way that leads to Christ..forget other denominations.. Catholic is one..Catholic is Holy and the Catholic Church was instituted by Christ himself.. call this number for argument 08175773780

are u for real?
are u of the opinion that besides RCM every other denomination is fraud ??

lemme believe u are joking

chivera018:
People from different cultures like to express their faith and worship God in their own distinctive ways

true talk but. you contradict yourself below.

[/quote] Let's say, if am a pagan all my life, later I decide to join Christianity, if I go to the Catholic Church, different teaching, if I go to Pentecostal, different teaching, it will cause confusion.[/quote]its the same teaching but different practice simple

abujaafar18:
Where does the word Christianity appear in the bible.
That's where the confusion started. Even the adulterated teachings of the bible is not strictly followed by the gullible followers of the religion. May Allah guide you Christians to the right path.

Fist of all, christianity is not a religion... Secondly, the bible is an acient book Where u will visit and still find a solution to present day issues (show ur respect)... Lastly, don't be opinionated about things u can never understand.

Childofaking:

What are you doing about your salvation ?
Can't you see that your life is gradually coming to an end?
Don't wait until it's too late.

Like seriously?

We have just two major denominations. The Catholic church which carries the majority and the Protestant which is a mere minority. The problem now is that these minority protestants seem to be in disagreement with themselves. Hence the thousands of protestant ‘political parties’ who seemingly have nothing on the catholic church

donstan18:
As we all know.

Christianity is a religion based on the
life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as
described in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.


Having known what the word Christianity implies; I want to know, why do we have so many Christian
denominations? What exactly is the essence?



Your help to give me audience for clarifications will be highly appreciated.

The spirit of segregation is fully at work,and its winning

Many have no idea we are about to enter the kingdom age which will manifest in the physical world soon leaving the church age behind. God last days army will not belong to any denomination. They will be 'called out' people. The nameless, faceless and selfless will make up God's last days army.

The devil is going to use denomination and religion to make Christians fight each other in this last days instead of showing love to each other and focusing on the spiritual war ahead.

That is what they call rat race, grab your copy now.
Stomach infrastructural development ministries.
They are all thieves and criminals

izzou:


Denomination is Satan's way of scattering the church..... You can argue with yourself if you like...

Most, if not all, denominant pastors all came from a particular church, but along the line, they left.... Even if God called them, why didn't they continue with the same church they were serving then?

And what we have today is competition and marketing. If you tell someone that you attend a particular church, he'll still want to force you to attend his own, because to him, his own is "where God is truly"

Satan is busy dividing Christians daily...

best ANSWER so far for me...

donstan18:


You are smart.

This was my major reason for opening this thread.

I see it that self-interest and greed is the reason behind these church founders.

I may be wrong.

No you are not wrong, people open Church today not for saving of souls but for money and so the more the Church the more evil in the society, the Bible says the love of money is the root of of all evil.
Churches in civilized society are for charity, development and support but in Africa (uncivilized) Church turned to source of income for some people due to greed, whereby creating more poverty rather than society development

kleverley:


are u for real?
are u of the opinion that besides RCM every other denomination is fraud ??

lemme believe u are joking

what am saying is very simple.. The catholic church is true church that leads us to Christ.. Christ then leads us to the father.. I don't know of any other true way asides the one ordained by Jesus Christ. #ProudCatholic

[color=#006600][/color]

iammo:
"Christianity " simply means to be christlike. Romans who are Christ like introduced Catholic and Christ like British introduced Anglican, Americans who are Christ like introduced Pentecostal similarly CAC reflects yoruba culture in someways including praying style... hence all denomination are Christ like only difference is infussion of little cultural practice of it's originator

you've said it all

Joebryan:


Like seriously?

You actually don't know that you need salvation for your soul ?
When your spirit leave this your body, it is not the end, it is actually the beginning of your journey into eternity.
Without salvation you are doomed in eternity.

And you can only get salvation through Jesus.

beatmonster:


The salvation I need now is continuous depositions of hard currency (dollars) in my bank account. If you think I am joking ask your GO (pastor) why they like tithe so much

Life is not coming to an end, it is getting started !

But money ends when you die. Your money does not take you beyond your grave. Your soul need salvation. And you can only get salvation through Jesus Christ.
A lot of atheists die daily and enter eternity unprepared and doomed for hell.
Don't be among them. You can be saved.

all these multiple denominations is satan's work. Divide and conquer

The holy catholic church is the mother of all churches. Other churches came to existence through her.