different Protestant...

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rayne89:
Gnosticism

Ecclesia Gnostica

Bogomils (extinct)

Borborites (extinct)

Carpocratians (extinct)

Cathars (extinct)

Manichaeism (extinct)

Nontrinitarianism

Arians (extinct as a modern and distinct group)

Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship *

Church of Christ, Scientist

Unification Church

Iglesia ni Cristo

Christadelphians

Magi Network *

Doukhobors

Molokan

Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • Independent Affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association
New Thought churches

Divine Science

Religious Science

Unity Church

This is the results of believing the Bible in the only necessary authority from God.
It’s very sad.

Source of list en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations#Protestants_before_Luther
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**## Some of these are Christian only in the same sense as that in which Santeria is Catholic: those “Gnostic Churches” for example. **

Some have no connection to Christianity whatever - such as the New Thought movement.

**Some are parts of others also named: The Scottish Episcopal Church is not a sect broken off from the Anglican Communion - it is a Church within the Anglican Communion. It is in communion with the remainder of the Anglican Communion. They are two Churches only in the sense in which the Roman Communion and the diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas are two Churches. **

**Some are not Protestant Churches at all, but are Church-like sects - such as the JWs. **

**Some exist only because of geography, not because of any sectarian or schismatic purpose. **

**It is wrong to include Manichaeanism as a Protestant sect or Church - it has no more to do with Protestantism than satanolatry has to do with the CC. Less in fact - because some Satanolaters have been Catholics (defrocked priests, for example); but one cannot be a disciple of Mani, and a Protestant. Mani was not even a Christian - he was never baptised, and he claimed to have a mission to preach a faith which would supersede both Judaism & Christianity. **
**Carpocratians Cathars and Bogomils were all pre-Protestant, and two of them were Dualist movements. They have no more claim to be called Christian than has Manichaeism, and none is any more a form of Protestantism than Hinduism is. **

**It is hardly necessary to add that a lot of these bodies pay as much attention to the Bible as Muslims pay to the Upanishads or Catholics to the canon law of the Church of England - IOW, none. **

Protestantism is not a rubbish-bin into which unrelated religious odds and ends can be thrown in any old way. It may be difficult to understand in some ways - but so is any religion, Catholicism included. ##
 
**## 1. It is true that there are divisions within Protestantism - but so are there within Catholicism. There is not much evidence of communion between so-called “conservatives” and so-called “liberals” - even though they represent baptised and practising Catholics. Because communion is many-layered, not reducible to being un-excommunicated. **
**2. It is completely unjustifiable to count Churches which are in communion with one another as separate sects. Yet this list from Wikipedia is no more reliable than the equally mendacious article from the same site about Christmas. **
Let us play the same game with the CC:
  • Catholic Church in Scotland
  • Catholic Church in Ireland
  • Catholic Church in England and Wales
are three Churches, three sects, out of communion with one another, if we adopt the method used on that list from that site. In fact, they are parts of a Communion - as are many of the Churches listed. It is laughable to suggest that because there is more than one body named “Reformed Church of…”, they have no fellowship with each other; as laughable as supposing that Catholics in England and Catholics in Ireland must belong to rival sects because they live in different countries
What that list nowhere mentions is that there has been much intercommunion of Protestant Churches in recent years: the United Church of South India (which joined several groups together in 1947) is only one of the better-known ones. The Porvoo Declaration between the C of E and the Lutheran Churches of Scandinavia provides for intercommunion & mutual recognition of ministries. ##
 
Paris Blues:
Why are there many Protestant denominations? I mean, there’s Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, etc.!! What’s so different about them?
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If you study anthropology its a pretty well understood pattern of factionalization. The central institution becomes corrupt, and then idealistic or ambitious members break off to form their own group which becomes corrupt in turn and the pattern repeats.
 
john ennis:
I will add something no Lutheran pastor (I’ve been through this with a few) has answered: Using the Bible alone leaves you with no means, no authority, by which you can identify which books are Scriptural. Nothing in Scripture tells you that Mark, or James, or Revelation, is inspired. It is Apostolic Tradition, identifiable through the Church.
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Speaking as a Lutheran pastor (ELCA) I do not see the problem implied in the quote. Why should a Lutheran pastor have to maintain the stand that you seem to imply? We do teach apostolic succession and respect apostolic tradition and the witness of the Church Fathers. We might disagree with Catholics or other Protestants about the what-when-where and how of apostolic succession and about what that witness says on some matters, but we do not reject the witness of the Church Fathers. We teach that it is the witness of the Church Fathers and the witness of the apostolic tradition that tells us that yes, Mark, and James, etc., are the inspired word of God and are scriptural. To argue that “sola scriptura” means the Bible must be accepted as the word of God in a vacuum without any witness to that effect, (I am guessing those "few"Lutheran pastors you have encountered made such an argument) such as the witness of the Church Fathers or apostolic tradition, is shady and is an odd way of applying the principle of sola scriptura. I can not speak for those other pastors. Perhaps they are from another Lutheran tradition or they just feel that because you are a Catholic then they must disagree with you.

(Those in other more “conservative” or more “confessional” Lutheran traditions may choose to disagree with me. We Lutherans are not of one voice.)
 
I believe what most people forget is what was taught at the beginning, and that is this, and there should be no schism:

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (common union) of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Colossians 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Colossians 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
**G2842 **κοινωνία koinōnia
**Thayer Definition: 1) fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse 1a) the share which one has in anything, participation 1b) intercourse, fellowship, intimacy 1b1) the right hand as a sign and pledge of fellowship (in fulfilling the apostolic office) 1c) a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship Part of Speech: noun feminine **
**G2168 **χαριστέω eucharisteō **Thayer Definition: **1) to be grateful, feel thankful 2) give thanks Part of Speech: verb

This is my prayer for all of us!
 
If people stopped treating God like a salad bar and stopped picking and choosing the doctrines that best fits their life as oppossed to seeking truth alone there would be but one church.
 
You list “River Brethren” and “Brethren in Christ”. Most “River Brethren” are “Brethren in Christ”…they’re not separate churches…some are Mennonites. What distinguishes “River Brethren” is “trine immersion” for baptism…I did my internship at a Brethren in Christ Church.

Since I was a Friend, they only allowed me to work in the Thrift Store and Home for unwed mothers. I couldn’t do “church work” as I wasn’t baptized.
 
The main difference is that pretty much all protestant denominations hold to scripture as their sole authority. This idea or teaching was not taught by any church for the first 1500 years of Christianity. Only after this teaching came about(was invented) in the 16th century, did we see widespread division in the church.
 
Paris_Blues said:
Why are there many Protestant denominations? I mean, there’s Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, etc.!! What’s so different about them?
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When a people build a house on sand it is not going to stay up very long. And when it comes down they have a few choices.
  1. Go live in a house that has not fallen down.
  2. Rebuild the house.
  3. Redesign the house.
Protestants are redesigning the house and since there are plenty of designs and plenty of crashes there are plenty of protestant churches.
 
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