Why are there so many Christian denominations?
18 min read
Christianity contains a lot of denominations. Where did all these denominations come from? To understand that, we have to take a look back in time.
The Way
After Jesus' death and resurrection, followers of Jesus were called followers of "the Way" (Acts 9:1-2, Acts 19:9, Acts 19:23, Acts 22:4, Acts 24:14, Acts 24:22). They were called followers of "the Way" because they taught and believed that Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6).
The term "Christian"
The term "Christian" is only used three times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, and 1 Peter 4:16). Every time that it is used, it is never used in a positive sense.
"Christian" comes from the Greek word christianos, meaning "little Christ." It was used as a derogatory term. Enemies would poke fun at them by calling them tiny versions of their Savior - as in, "Look at those little Christs."
The Way in Rome
What we recognize as the New Testament today was completed by 110 AD. The texts were either written by an apostle or by someone who received it from an apostle and could be verified through eye-witness testimony.
At this time, Romans didn't even recognize "The Way" as an actual religion. They saw it as a superstition. Romans would hear about Christians eating the flesh and drinking the blood of their god in their gatherings (the Lord's Supper).
Romans knew that followers of "The Way" refused to make any sacrifices to the Roman gods. This was a big issue for Romans because they thought they needed the favor of the gods to keep Rome safe. If these gods weren't sacrificed to, they'd withdraw their favor. Thus, Romans accused Christians for every disaster, calamity, and misfortune that happened to Rome.
Followers of "The Way" did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome, but instead acknowledged Jesus as King. Christians refused to worship the Roman gods and the emperor. They chose to worship Christ alone.
This was not acceptable to the Roman emperor. As a result, the Roman emperor treated Christians like criminals for not paying homage to him. He had Christians heavily persecuted and violently killed because of this.
Roman soldiers rounded up Christians, put them in the Roman Colosseum, and slaughtered them using gladiators and lions.
Roman emperor Constantine
During his reign, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337 AD) had a vision of an enormous cross of fire in the heavens. On one side of the cross were the Greek words, "By this, conquer."
Constantine was astonished at the wonderful vision. He could not understand what it meant. That night, Constantine dreamed that Christ appeared to him with a cross in his hands, promising Constantine victory over his enemies if he would make the cross his standard.
In response to this vision and dream, Constantine declared himself a Christian. As a result, Constantine stopped the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 313 AD, emperor Constantine and emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, decriminalizing Christian worship. The Edict of Milan granted Christians throughout the Empire legal permission to meet together. Being a Christian was no longer considered criminal.
In 325 AD, Constantine summoned the Council of Nicaea, which was a gathering of Christian leaders to decide on the formal beliefs of Christianity. The result of this council was the Nicene Creed, which laid out the agreed-upon beliefs of the council. The council of Nicaea was an attempt to unify Christianity. Constantine envisioned Christianity as a religion that could unite the Roman Empire, which at that time was beginning to fragment and divide.
The start of Roman Catholicism
Constantine was able to regain control of the Roman people with the creation of Roman Christianity, which would eventually evolve into the Roman Catholic Church. Constantine was a key figure in the development of the Roman Catholic Church. His involvement in the Council of Nicaea significantly influenced the rise of Roman Catholicism.
While what Constantine did for Christianity may seem positive, the results were anything but positive. Constantine refused to fully embrace the Christian faith, but continued many of his pagan beliefs and practices. As a result, the Christian church that Constantine promoted was a mixture of true Christianity and Roman paganism.
Constantine found that, with the Roman Empire being so vast and diverse, not everyone would agree to abandon their pagan beliefs in order to embrace Christianity. Therefore, Constantine promoted the "Christianization" of pagan beliefs.
The Christianization of pagan beliefs
Pagan and unbiblical beliefs were given new "Christian" identities in Rome's version of Christianity, which later evolved into the Roman Catholic Church. Some examples of this are the following:
The Cult of Isis
This Egyptian mother-goddess religion was absorbed into the Roman Catholic Church by replacing Isis with Mary. Many of the titles that were used for Isis, such as "Queen of Heaven," "Mother of God," and theotokos ("God-bearer") were attached to Mary. Mary was given an exalted role in the Christian faith, far beyond what the Bible ascribes to her, in order to attract Isis worshipers to a faith they would otherwise not have embraced. Many temples to Isis were converted into churches dedicated to Mary.
The Cult of Diana
This cult based on the goddess of the hunt was very prominent in that day. The Roman worship of the goddess Diana was absorbed into the Roman Catholic Church to become the worship of Mary.
Mithraism
Mithraism was a religion in the Roman Empire between the 1st and 5th century A.D. It was popular among the Romans, especially among Roman soldiers, and was the religion of several Roman emperors. It was the official religion until Constantine and succeeding Roman emperors absorbed Mithraism into their version of Christianity.
Mithraism believed in a sacrificial meal, which involved eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a bull. Mithras, the god of Mithraism, was said to be "present" in the flesh and blood of the bull, and when consumed, granted salvation to those who partook of the sacrificial meal. This is known as theophagy, the eating of one's god.
The sacrificial meal of Mithraism was absorbed into the Roman Catholic Church's Eucharist/communion celebration. This is why the Roman Catholic Church teaches the Eucharistic miracle, whereby they say that the actual substance of the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ.
Catholics who partake in communion are said to be eating the body of Christ, just as followers of Mithraism ate the god Mithras who was present in the flesh and blood of the bull. Also, Mithraism had seven sacraments. This is why the Roman Catholic Church has seven sacraments.
Henotheists
Roman emperors and Roman citizens were henotheists. A henotheist is one who believes in the existence of many gods, but considers one particular god supreme over all the other gods.
The Roman god Jupiter was supreme over the Roman pantheon of gods. Roman sailors were worshipers of Neptune, the god of the oceans.
When the Roman Catholic Church absorbed Roman paganism, it replaced the Roman pantheon of gods with the saints. Since the Roman pantheon of gods had a god of love, a god of peace, a god of war, etc., the Roman Catholic Church assigned saints to each of these categories.
Since Roman cities had a god that was specific to the city, the Roman Catholic Church provided "patron saints" for cities.
The official religion of Rome
In 380 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which made the paganized Christianity of the Roman Empire the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Any other Christian sect that did not align with this now-official form of Christianity was considered heretical, lost their legal status, and had their properties confiscated by the Roman state.
By resisting the paganized Christianity of the Roman empire, the persecution of true followers of "The Way" continued.
The Protestant reformation
Let's fast-forward to the Protestant Reformation in 16th-century Europe. Up until the early sixteenth century the Roman Catholic Church dominated the spiritual life of Europe.
Only church clergy were permitted to own and read the Bible. Lay people were not permitted to read the Bible for themselves. This allowed the Roman Catholic Church to do as they pleased in the name of God without anyone to challenge their religious practices.
Martin Luther
When the German priest, Martin Luther, heard that the Roman Catholic Church was scamming people with the sale of indulgences, he felt called by God to do something about it.
In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church taught that salvation was possible through "good works," or "works of righteousness." One of those "good works" was buying indulgences.
Indulgences
By buying an indulgence, people were told they could shorten their stay in purgatory. Or, for the right amount, they could bypass purgatory entirely. The indulgence could also be applied to one's family and friends already thought to be suffering in purgatory. Indulgences were making the Roman Catholic Church richer and the people poorer.
Purgatory
Purgatory is a Roman Catholic belief that there is an intermediate state after death for purification. Purgatory is a place of punishment where it is said that the souls of those who die in God's grace make satisfaction for past sins in order to become fit for heaven.
Indulgences and purgatory are not found anywhere in the Bible. They were concepts that the Roman Catholic Church made up in order to profit.
Luther objects to indulgences
Augustine of Hippo was a theologian and philosopher who lived from 340 to 430 AD. He emphasized the greater importance of the Bible over Church officials as the ultimate authority. He also believed that humans could not reach salvation by their own acts, but that only God could bestow salvation by his divine grace.
Luther shared Augustine's beliefs. Committed to the idea that salvation could be reached through faith and by divine grace alone, Luther objected to the corrupt practice of selling indulgences.
In response, Luther wrote the "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences," also known as the "95 Theses." It consisted of a list of questions that Luther wanted to debate with the Roman Catholic Church.
On October 31, 1517, Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. He chose this date, All Saints' Eve, because the city's church would open on All Saints' Day for the viewing of relics and sale of indulgences. This began what is today known as the Protestant Reformation.
Luther simply wanted an open debate on the topic of indulgences. However, the Roman Catholic Church became furious and tried to silence him. Luther responded by questioning the entire hierarchy, authority, and legitimacy of the Roman Catholic Church.
Diet of Worms
Luther had no intention of ever leaving the Roman Catholic Church. He simply wanted to bring reformation to it so that its false practices, such as the selling of indulgences, would be stopped.
Luther appeared before leaders of the Roman Catholic Church at a meeting on April 17, 1521. This meeting is known as the Diet of Worms.
Luther was told to recant his writings or he would be branded a heretic and be excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.
Luther refused to recant his works unless he was convinced of error by Scripture or by reason. Otherwise, he stated, his conscience was bound by the Word of God.
Luther ended his statement with the words, "Here I stand. I can do no other. So help me God. Amen." Luther would no doubt have been arrested and executed afterwards. However, he was secretly given protection by German Emperor Frederick III at his castle in Wartburg, Germany.
Luther in hiding
While Luther was hiding in the Wartburg Castle for three months (Dec 8, 1521 to March 1522), he began to translate the New Testament from Latin and Greek into German in order to make it more accessible to the people of Germany.
Luther firmly believed that every believer had the right to read and understand the Scriptures for themselves. The Roman Catholic Church prohibited translating the Bible into the language of the people in order to maintain control over them. Luther decided to defy this prohibition.
Luther continued to insist that the Roman Catholic Church's claim of being the sole representative of God on the earth was a false claim, as exposed by Scripture.
Instead, Luther claimed that the Church and its pope were anti-Christ and an obstacle to people coming to faith. Luther stated that the Roman Catholic Church maintained their status of being ordained by God simply by scaring people with things like indulgences, purgatory, and Hell.
Indulgences are still issued by the Roman Catholic Church today because ever since Luther's "95 Theses", they still refuse to submit to the authority of Scripture.
Lutheran Church
Martin Luther never intended to create a new church or a new Christian denomination. However, after his passing, the followers of Martin Luther created what is today known as the Lutheran Church, or Lutheranism.
In an effort to protect the revelation of Scripture that God gave Martin Luther, the followers of Luther felt that they needed to plant their flag in the ground by creating a new Christian denomination.
Followers of Luther's teachings acted as humans would and prioritized self-preservation over doing God's will. We are not called to create more religious institutions in this world.
Throughout history, the revelation of God's truth in Scripture is gradual. It is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. We cannot grasp it all at once, and so it is given to us over years and years of revealing and teaching.
The revelation that Luther received was not the be-all and end-all. There was more that God wanted to reveal and make clear to us over the years. This is why, after Luther, God inspired others to help us focus on and understand other parts of Scripture that were being neglected.
Let's take a look at some other movements that were inspired by God to reveal and clarify more of Scripture's teachings to us.
Anabaptist movement
The Anabaptist movement was a 16th-century Protestant movement in Europe. The focus of this movement was the importance of adult baptism. The reason for this is because they realized that only adults were baptized in the New Testament.
Those who joined this movement received a second baptism beside the first baptism that they received as infants in the Roman Catholic Church. Adult baptism was a crime punishable by death under the Roman Catholic laws of the time.
Members of this movement rejected the label "Anabaptist", or "Rebaptizer", because they viewed their infant baptism as having no merit. It was a blasphemous formality forced upon them. They considered their public confession of faith in Christ, sealed by adult baptism, to be the only proper baptism.
Anabaptists believed that infants are not accountable for sin until they become aware of good and evil. Only then can they exercise their own free will to repent from sin and accept baptism.
Just as with the Lutheran Church, followers of the Anabaptist movement later made the same mistake and created the Baptist Church.
Methodist movement
The Methodist movement was another Protestant movement that was derived from the life and teachings of John Wesley.
John Wesley received God's revelation from Scripture on the importance of holiness and the sanctification of the believer.
Followers of this movement were named Methodists because of the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith. The methodist revival began as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century.
Just as with the movements before it, followers of the Methodist movement later made the same mistake and created the Methodist Church.
Pentecostal movement
Toward the end of the 19th century, the Pentecostal movement was born. It was born out of the holiness movement, also known as the Methodist movement. The Pentecostal movement emphasized the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Just as with the movements before it, followers of the Pentecostal movement later made the same mistake and created the Pentecostal Church.
Which denomination is right?
The truth is that no denomination is the right denomination. There is no right denomination. Every reformer that God used throughout history was used to bring people back to the truth of Scripture, not to build a new denomination.
Which denomination was Jesus part of? Which denomination were the disciples and apostles of Jesus part of? They belonged to no denomination. They just belonged to Jesus. If that was enough for them, why can't it be enough for us today?
It was man who started every denomination, institutional church, and house church on the face of the earth. Some of these may be following God's will, some only think they are following God's will, and most are doing whatever they want with no thought for God's will.
I will build my church
God does not calculate the members of the church that Jesus is building by looking at the membership sheets of denominations, counting heads on Sunday morning, or reviewing our baptismal records.
God does not endorse any of our denominational labels, organizations, and associations. It is not that God is for or against specific denominations. God simply overlooks all of it. These institutions of men are of no account to God. They have no importance in God's eternal purpose, which is the preeminence/supremacy of Christ (Col 1:18). It's all about Jesus Christ, not man's denominations.
Denominations and institutions are worldly terms for worldly establishments. In spiritual terms, there is only one church, and that is the church that Jesus is building.
One flock, one shepherd
There is only one flock - the church that Jesus is building. There is only one shepherd - Jesus. Everything else is just noise and confusion.
God bypasses and transcends all the denominational and institutional boundaries that we put up between each another. God is just too vast to confine Himself to working within one little group.
God has never blessed a denomination, and He never will. God blesses people, not denominations or movements. God judges people, not systems.
God only sees one thing, and that is His Son. God only gives us one thing, and that is His Son. If we have the Son, we have life - that is, the eternal life of Christ dwelling in us. If we do not have the Son, we do not have life, and there is no church or denomination by itself that can give us this life.
Do you have the Son and does the Son have you? Will you be found in Him (Phil 3:19)? This is the only thing that matters to God.
Division and the need for unity?
There's so much talk today about divisions within Christianity and the need to create unity. However, this entire perspective is worldly and incorrect. It's looking to what man is building rather than to the church that Jesus is building. There is no division in the church that Jesus is building.
We need to see that, in a spiritual sense, we are already one flock under one shepherd, and we are supposed to be listening to his voice now (Jn 10:16). This is not something we are waiting for in the future. This is a spiritual reality that we need to be aware of.
From God's perspective, there are only two groups of people: the ones who belong to the shepherd's flock and the ones who do not belong to the shepherd's flock. We can't say someone does or does not belong to Jesus by judging them according to what denomination they do or do not belong to. We can only know by seeing if they listen to the shepherd's voice and put his words into practice.