How do non-denominational Christians pick a church?

[Xavierlives]

I am not sure that is the intent, but I have been trying to get across the point that your understanding is what is being heard.

I appreciate your voice. I do.

 

[MariaG]

What would be your criteria for a denomination? How disparate should their doctrines be? If a subgroup separates over a group over doctrinal issues, and wishes to be considered a separate denomination, will you still consider them the same denomination?

Depends on what the list was being used for. I think those who made that 40,000 list also separated out the different Rites within the Catholic Church into different “denominations” which makes a completely misleading statement about the Catholic Church.

So with that in mind, I would not separate them out unless that group wishes to be considered a different denomination instead of a variation within that denomination.

But I would probably never make a list in the first place:shrug:

 

[MariaG]

Mormanism is based on a false prophet, Proven false by God, By history, by science, they spread the lie that satan first told in the garden that man would be like God. It is very insulting for you to put my faith in the same category.

Can you see my point now PRmerger? Can you see that by lumping non-Christians and Christians together makes non-Catholic Christians feel?

And can PRmerger see that to insist that one can lump them together it gives credence to those who are saying you don’t think anyone who is not Catholic is a Christian?

 

[MariaG]

I apologize sincerely, Brother and Friend.

Yes! I am so happy you can finally see this

 

[PRmerger]

Depends on what the list was being used for. I think those who made that 40,000 list also separated out the different Rites within the Catholic Church into different “denominations” which makes a completely misleading statement about the Catholic Church.

Let’s just keep in mind that I am not making up statisics off the top of my head. I am citing a reference (and I am quite eager to learn of some sort of contradictory documentation that provides a more “valid” accounting.)

Originally cited by Dave1988: (bold and BB codes mine) How many of the “denominations” listed by Barrett fall into this category?** I’m betting over 33,000**. Let’s look at it this way, of the 33,000 that Barrett classifies, which ones refute the pillars of Protestantism shown above? (a) Catholic Church, (b) Oriental Orthodox (5th century schism), (c) Eastern Orthodox (11th century schism). Any others? Perhaps I’ve missed a few. Even if you break apart the Orthodox Churches into separate Patriarchates (Bishops), that doesn’t reduce the BIG number of 33,820 by very much, does it? Some would say, “well that number is completely inflated” based upon Barrett’s fuzzy definition of “denomination.” On the contrary, [SIGN]I would say that it is a MUCH LARGER NUMBER of denominations using Webster’s definition of "denomination[/SIGN].

I am willing to concede that we can remove “Mormons” and “JWs” from the list, as well as separate the 242 Catholic denominations into one–thus lowering the final count for today from 41363 to 41,119.

Still an obscenity. Still a paradigm created in hell, IMHO.

But I would probably never make a list in the first place:shrug:

As is your preference.

I, however, would like to know now many Protestant denominations there are, and I find this number staggering, obscene and proof of the disastrous effects of Sola Scriptura.

 

[MariaG]

I appreciate your voice. I do.

:tiphat:

 

[MariaG]

I am willing to concede that we can remove “Mormons” and “JWs” from the list, as well as separate the 242 Catholic denominations into one–thus lowering the final count for today from 41363 to 41,119.
…

I, however, would like to know now many Protestant denominations there are, and I find this number staggering, obscene and proof of the disastrous effects of Sola Scriptura.

I believe you could remove many more. But as long as you remove non-Christians from the list and stop saying they have as “valid” a right to be on the list as Christian groups just because they both use Sola Scriptura to reach their beliefs, I will have to content myself.

God Bless All
Maria

Woohoo post #1100

 

[Donaldway]

All people should pick a church that follows the Bible and follows the statements and teachings of Jesus. Not to be picking a church based upon the individual teachings of a Pastor. Jesus said unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you with not have life within you (John Chapter 6). And then they left Him because they could not believe this. Jesus did not give an explanation to this - like explaining a parabel - and He did not beg them to come back.
So any church you select should be based upon this - and other saying like "Whose sins you hold bound are bound and whose sins are released are released. So can you tell me who holds sins bound ? What church on a person by person basis holds sins bound?
Also, if you believe in the presence of God in the temple, and the temple was destroyed, do you now believe in the physical presence of God where? Did God go backwards and remove his physical presence from man ?

 

[MyRdmrLvs]

It’s not the fact that the person is/was a pedophile but that he teaches that it is okay to do so.That’s what the issue is: and this man claims to be christain just as do the mormons and JWs do.
Do you feel that The Christian Scientists are christians or not?

I have studied many different religions and cults but I know nothing about Christian Scientists
No Bible believing protestant church teaches that it is ok to rape children.

 

[MyRdmrLvs]

Personally i don’t care for using any number other that 2. Because of the fact that there is more than 1 other protestant “releigion” shows to me that protestantism is a failed experiement.

if a difference in belief denotes failure you need look no further than your own church, as I have learned here on this forum there are all sorts of disagreements among Catholics.

 

[jmcrae]

yep i agree that god intervened , just not in the same way … jesus soul was that of god not of a man. the physical body was concieved in the normal way but his spiritual side was from much higher as he was god placed into the body of a man and so god on earth and the son of god.

spiritually he was concieved in mary in a way unlike how everyone is as it wasnt the soul of a man but of god. the physical side of it was just like any other.

This sounds a whole lot like the heresy of Arianism. The idea of the separation of body and soul was condemned by the Early Church at the Council of Nicea, which is also famous for the Creed that they gave to us, to remind us of the essentials of the Christian faith.

god is not limited but man is therefore the physical limits of mary were the same as any other woman and jesus human form was concieved as any other would be but it is in the non physical where the difference of between being man and being god come about. then as he had the soul of god he was able to do things on earth that man was not able.

God is the God of all that is seen and unseen, both physical and spiritual. There is no difference, for God, between physical things and spiritual things. We see that in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, in which God creates the physical universe, and pronounces it “Good.”

 

[jmcrae]

Well 2 is closer to 1 than 41,363.

(although I disagree with the “failed experiment” part.)

No one was more astonished than Martin Luther was, when, instead of taking him as a leader of the Church in substitution for the Pope, the Protestants started imitating his example, and starting up their own religions.

The disagreements among Catholics are within broad boundaries of permitted belief, if you are contrasting, say, Franciscans with Dominicans, and there is always a standard that tells you where the boundaries are, as well as what makes you a Dominican, as opposed to a Franciscan, or a Jesuit, or a Carmelite, etc.

 

[jmcrae]

if a difference in belief denotes failure you need look no further than your own church, as I have learned here on this forum there are all sorts of disagreements among Catholics.

In the cases where Catholics are disagreeing with Church teachings, there is a standard by which they can measure themselves, whether or not they are orthodox. The dispute does not remain unresolved - the Church tells you whether your beliefs are heretical, or permitted. There’s no sort of “well, as long as we believe in some kind of undefined “essentials” it’s all okay,” or “Well, we can never know in this life who is right or who is wrong.”

We have a way of knowing who’s right, and whose teachings are safe to follow.

 

[PRmerger]

I believe you could remove many more.

This is what puzzles me about this entire conversation: I have provided a reference with a detailed explanation of how the Christian denomination accounting has been achieved.

You reject it because it contains Mormons. Ok.

Now you’re proposing that you “believe” you could remove many more? Based on what?

I “believe” I could add many more. In fact, based on the above rationale, I “believe” I’m going to add aussie-jaz’s quasi-Christian belief system to the count and amend the statistic from 41,119 to 40,120.

 

[MyRdmrLvs]

I would like to see documentation for what you believe is the valid list.

[SIGN1]What’s the correct number of Christian denominations?[/SIGN1]

I have made no claim of such a list of denominations. There is only one list that matters the list of names written in The Lamb’s Book of Life, May the grace and mercy of our Lord place our names on that list. that list of names makes up THE ONE TRUE CHURCH the people on it are brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

[MyRdmrLvs]

In the cases where Catholics are disagreeing with Church teachings, there is a standard by which they can measure themselves, whether or not they are orthodox. The dispute does not remain unresolved - the Church tells you whether your beliefs are heretical, or permitted. There’s no sort of “well, as long as we believe in some kind of undefined “essentials” it’s all okay,” or “Well, we can never know in this life who is right or who is wrong.”

We have a way of knowing who’s right, and whose teachings are safe to follow.

You do your best and I will do mine, there are things we will agree on and things that we wont. Jesus will judge, but in the mean time we should be joined in condemning the molesting of children not using pedophiles to smear either your faith or mine.

 

[tweetymom]

So rather than concluding that this list is not a valid list, you then connect my faith to the faith of this pedophile. very nice. I refuse to hold your faith responsible for pedophiles who are ordained by your church. I cant believe you would through that stone.

You know thw saying, people who live in glass houses.

 

[Xavierlives]

Let’s just keep in mind that I am not making up statisics off the top of my head. I am citing a reference (and I am quite eager to learn of some sort of contradictory documentation that provides a more “valid” accounting.)

I am willing to concede that we can remove “Mormons” and “JWs” from the list, as well as separate the 242 Catholic denominations into one–thus lowering the final count for today from 41363 to 41,119.

Still an obscenity. Still a paradigm created in hell, IMHO.

As is your preference.

I, however, would like to know now many Protestant denominations there are, and I find this number staggering, obscene and proof of the disastrous effects of Sola Scriptura.

Well, I find it obscene that you would rather perpetuate disunity. I would rather find reasons to bring us together, you would rather find ways to separate us.

 

[Xavierlives]

No one was more astonished than Martin Luther was, when, instead of taking him as a leader of the Church in substitution for the Pope, the Protestants started imitating his example, and starting up their own religions.

The disagreements among Catholics are within broad boundaries of permitted belief, if you are contrasting, say, Franciscans with Dominicans, and there is always a standard that tells you where the boundaries are, as well as what makes you a Dominican, as opposed to a Franciscan, or a Jesuit, or a Carmelite, etc.

Maybe that is because Protestants don’t want a relationship with the clergy or the pope. They want a relationship with Christ.

 

[jmcrae]

Well, I find it obscene that you would rather perpetuate disunity. I would rather find reasons to bring us together, you would rather find ways to separate us.

Before we can truly become unified, we need to know how much distance there actually is between us.

I agree with you that the particular source of statistics seems suspect - however, it’s also true that no one seems to have come up with anything more accurate.

How many different versions of Protestantism are there, exactly? I actually think that no one knows, for sure. I also think it’s probably true that the number fluctuates from Sunday to Sunday, depending on who gets mad at their pastor and starts up a new religion in response, and how many smaller groups simply die away for lack of interest, and how many get absorbed into a larger organization, for various practical reasons.