Care to "rank" 'em?

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danimay

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Protestant religions, that is. Anyone care to try to list them in order, as you see it, starting with the one whose teachings are closest to the Catholic church and descending to the one whose teachings are furthest from catholicism?
 
Posts are limited to only 5,000 characters. To list the 33,000+ denominations by name would require approximated 132 posts. Assuming the average length for the name of a denomination was 20 characters.

And then there are the sedavantists.
 
Or you could stick with the major denominations and lump the rest into “Bible churches,” “non-denominational” and “other”.
 
OK. Then, to simplify, we’ll just use…in no particular order:

Pentecostal
Baptist
Stone-Campbell
Episcopal
Methodist
Lutheran

Feel free to add any you want.
 
Lutheran and Anglicans as they broke away directly.

Then the Methodists who broke away from the Anglicans.

Then the Pentecostals who broke away from the Methodists I think, correct me if I’m wrong.

Generally the further away the new churches get from Catholicism the larger the difference. I hope that makes sense.

I don’t like using ‘‘non denominational’’ because they are a denomination unto themselves. And I cannot use ‘‘Bible churches’’ as that suggests that the Catholic Church (which compiled the Bible) is not one.

God bless

Peter
 
Sorry. I was just being a little tongue-in-cheek in my response.

Here is my take in reverse doctrinal unity.

Irregular Status
SSPX

Almost in Communion
Eastern Orthodox Churches in general (Polish, Greek, Russian, etc.)

Pretty close
Anglican (but getting morally problematic.)
SSPV
Most sedavantist movements and anti-Popes.

Sola Scriptura churches:
Lutheran (in all its variations)
Presbyterian

Major departures like believer’s baptism, once saved always saved, etc.
Methodists
Baptists
Fore Square
Pentecostal
Dutch Reformed
Church of Christ
Most “non-Denominational”
Seventh Day Adventists
Quakers
Mennonites
Amish
Assembly of God (moral issues cause wide separation)
Salvation Army

Not Christian, but derived from Christianity
Church of Christ Scientist (Christian Science) Unitarian
Jehovah’s Witness
Mormon (in all its variations)

Forgive me if I missed some major ones. These are the ones that immediately came to mind.
 
danimay said:
OK. Then, to simplify, we’ll just use…in no particular order:

Pentecostal
Baptist
Stone-Campbell
Episcopal
Methodist
Lutheran

Feel free to add any you want.
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Hmmm…
What’s closer to Catholicism,
Luther’s Lutheranism or Calvin’s Presbyterianism?
:ehh:
Because within Lutheranism, there are some that are close, and there are some that are very far indeed.
Same with Presbyterianism.
There is the Scott Hahn variety of Reformed Presbyterianism, which is closer to Calvin, and there is the PCA, which I don’t even think counts as a Christian denomination…

See, it is just too hard to classify because there is no other system of beliefs and Church Authority that Catholicism can be compared to.

But, still, I’d like to see what people come up with.

I’ll give it a shot:

Reformed Presbyterians
Calvary Chapel
Good Sola Scriptura Baptists
Faithful Anglicans and Lutherans (but here they continue to debate whether they should allow homosexual marriage and pastors, that always gets me)
 
rpp said:
Sorry. I was just being a little tongue-in-cheek in my response.

Major departures like believer’s baptism, once saved always saved, etc.
Methodists
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Methodists embrace neither believer’s baptism or OSAS. Methodists practice infant baptism, and believe that works of piety are a means of grace.

???
 
rpp said:
Posts are limited to only 5,000 characters. To list the 33,000+ denominations by name…
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I see this figure tossed about quite a bit, I think that we may be dealing with hyperbole for effect. Do you happen to have a source?

Not long ago the common figure was 30,000. I can’t remember now for sure but I thought apologists were claiming something like 23,000 some years ago, and I just two days ago saw a website that indicated 40,000! I have serious doubts as to the accuracy of any such claim, but it is sure to be repeated.

There was a thread recently that addressed this very issue.

Michael
 
Well, religioustolerance.org is a fairly unbiased source, I think. Here’s what they say:
Divided Christianity:
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According to David Barrett et al, editors of the “World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions - AD 30 to 2200,” there are 34,000 separate Christian groups in the world today. “Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations.” 1
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However, “group” does not necessarily mean “denomination” - the same website identifies “only” 1,000 Protestant and Anglican denominations. If you want more info, here’s their link:

religioustolerance.org/chr_divi.htm
 
Hesychios said:
I see this figure tossed about quite a bit, I think that we may be dealing with hyperbole for effect. Do you happen to have a source?

Not long ago the common figure was 30,000. I can’t remember now for sure but I thought apologists were claiming something like 23,000 some years ago, and I just two days ago saw a website that indicated 40,000! I have serious doubts as to the accuracy of any such claim, but it is sure to be repeated.

There was a thread recently that addressed this very issue.

Michael
Click to expand...
While there are probably around 250 or so significant denominations, the number usually includes the individual unaffiliated, independent “non-denominational” one-church denominations. I suppose many do use it for effect, but it is accurate.

The reason why the number keeps seeming to get bigger is the growing popularity of unaffiliated churches that keep springing up.
 
SSPX

Polish National Catholic Church

Continuing Anglican Churches (with valid succession)

Eastern Orthodox Churches

Anglican Communion

Old Catholic Churches (Utrecht)

Some Lutheran Bodies

Methodist/Presbyterian
 
Protestant. I am never sure who guys think are Protestants…
  1. All those other Catholics that are not REALLY Catholics so I am told!
    ind-movement.org/links_denominations.html
  2. Anglican-who may or may not be Protestants
  3. Lutheran
  4. Methodist
  5. Presbyterian
    Then it gets real tough…
    I would put Mormons higher than most because they rely on tradition, a priesthood which directly comes from an Apostle, infallible type figure…so they might be my sixth.
 
O.S.Luke said:
Methodists embrace neither believer’s baptism or OSAS. Methodists practice infant baptism, and believe that works of piety are a means of grace.

???
Click to expand...
Sorry, I was thinking of Methodist was derived from Calvinism and relied heavily on predestination. Which really puts it out there. But then, perhaps I am wrong. It would not be the first time! (Or the last.)
 
rpp said:
Almost in Communion
Eastern Orthodox Churches in general (Polish, Greek, Russian, etc.)
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I don’t think it’s a good idea to use the word “almost”. Orthodox churches like Greek or Russian are not in the communion with the pope. While Greek-Catholic Church founded in Poland in 1596 definitely is in communion.
 
angelusm said:
I don’t think it’s a good idea to use the word “almost”. Orthodox churches like Greek or Russian are not in the communion with the pope. While Greek-Catholic Church founded in Poland in 1596 definitely is in communion.
Click to expand...
I stand corrected. Thank you. 🙂
 
rpp said:
Sorry, I was thinking of Methodist was derived from Calvinism and relied heavily on predestination. Which really puts it out there. But then, perhaps I am wrong. It would not be the first time! (Or the last.)
Click to expand...
Methodism derives from Anglicanism, so no, they are not Calvinist.
 
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