Protestants, How do you know which one is right?

[Mike_D30]

"The doctrine of private judgment has resulted in an enormous number of different denominations. According to The Christian Sourcebook, there are approximately 20-30,000 denominations, with 270 new ones being formed each year. Virtually all of these are Protestant. "

With so many different protestant denominations out there, how do you know which one to follow? It seems like mass confusion to me.

 

[Kevan]

The only way to know for sure is to ask me

More seriously, we don’t consider that to be an important question. In fact, we usually assume that all groups have some errors in their doctrine and/or practice. That’s because they’re full of humans.

If the Bible is considered to be infallible truth, teaching no error at all (which is what Christians have always believed), then Christians should stay away from any church which doesn’t accept the Bible in this way.

If the church tolerates gross, outward sin among its members, rather than excommunicating such (as St. Paul instructed the Corinthian church), then Christians should not go to such a church.

That cuts the “30,000” down quite a bit. Eventually, though, a Christian is going to have to seek God’s will with a humble heart when he decides where he will cast his lot. He will serve God for just a few years, then he will die and stand judgment. We don’t expect God to say “You didn’t quite find the best church in your town.” Instead, we expect questions regarding love, mercy, forgiveness, mission, etc.

That’s why we don’t consider the OP’s question to be important.

 

[Contarini]

"The doctrine of private judgment has resulted in an enormous number of different denominations. According to The Christian Sourcebook, there are approximately 20-30,000 denominations, with 270 new ones being formed each year. Virtually all of these are Protestant. "

With so many different protestant denominations out there, how do you know which one to follow? It seems like mass confusion to me.

How do you decide whether to be a Roman or Byzantine or Maronite Catholic?

No, I’m not claiming that Protestant denominations are exactly like “sui juris churches” within Catholicism. Some of them are (the numbering you give certainly includes churches that are in full communion with each other), but others do have serious disagreements. However, if you use the 20,000 figure, I’ll give it the answer it deserves.

Edwin

 

[Della]

Kevan and Edwin, I think you’ve missed the point. It doesn’t matter if there are 20,000 Protestant denominations or only 20. Even one is more than the one Christ founded is too many, and yes I am aware there are other bodies that have claims to ancient lineage, but they aren’t Protestant churches in relation to the Catholic Church but sister churches that differ in such minor things as to be practically non-existent.

Every day the Catholic Church, with all its legitimate rites, is in serious dialog with these other bodies in order to bring about perfect unity. Jesus prayed that we all be one. Paul declared one faith, one baptism, one Lord, one body of Christ. It’s we men who have fractured it, and it is we men who ought to be trying to mend it instead of starting yet another “church” or sect that is, finally, going to “get right” what they think no one else yet has. It’s an illusion because it already has been gotten right, but men have done their best to spoil it. What God is going to ask us is, “Did you seek out the truth with all your heart and soul in order to be one with Christ’s true Church, or did you just slide by thinking it ‘didn’t matter.’”

 

[exoflare]

Kevan:

If the Bible is considered to be infallible truth, teaching no error at all (which is what Christians have always believed), then Christians should stay away from any church which doesn’t accept the Bible in this way.

I’m afraid Christians didn’t “always” have a Bible. How could they have “always” believed in the infallibility of a compilation of books that was not even established until some 300+ years later? Besides, the books that even belonged in New Testament scripture were disputed by many for some time… tell me, where does Jesus give the apostles a divinely inspired table of contents?

 

[Mike_D30]

Contarini:

How do you decide whether to be a Roman or Byzantine or Maronite Catholic?

No, I’m not claiming that Protestant denominations are exactly like “sui juris churches” within Catholicism. Some of them are (the numbering you give certainly includes churches that are in full communion with each other), but others do have serious disagreements. However, if you use the 20,000 figure, I’ll give it the answer it deserves.

Edwin

Well I would say it’s easier between Catholic Chruches, and many follow the same Pope as “first among equals”. And Catholic’s agree there is but one Catholic Church, Roman Catholic’s are of the Roman Rite. There’s Eastern Catholic’s but they’re still Catholic’s.

What I mean is with so many Protestant Churches, there’s so many ideas towards eschotology (pre-trib/post-trib), salvation (you can lose salvation/you can’t lose salvation), baptism is a requirement/baptism isn’t a requirement, Communion is just a piece of bread and wine, Communion is Jesus body mixed with the bread and wine (consubstantiation). The list goes on and on. How do you know what’s the correct teaching.

Ealier I posted my story how I investigated many protestant Churches, and I can say that they contradicted each other on many major doctrinal issues.

I loved a lot of things about the Protestant Churches, they weren’t afraid to sing first off, they fellowshipped a lot more, and I loved the focus on a relationship with Jesus. However I could never reconcile such different teachings about the things I listed.

 

[aurora77]

Kevan:

That’s why we don’t consider the OP’s question to be important.

But, how can it not be important? I know many protestants who are devout, wonderful people, but their churches all interpret the Bible differently. How can that be the case? If one church is just as good as another (providing your qualifications are met), then what is true? How can finding the true faith of Christ not be important?

 

[BrianH]

aurora77:

But, how can it not be important? I know many protestants who are devout, wonderful people, but their churches all interpret the Bible differently. How can that be the case? If one church is just as good as another (providing your qualifications are met), then what is true? How can finding the true faith of Christ not be important?

Many(most?) denominations have an official stance on scripture that they espouse. Yet, the laity do whatever they wish. I do not see this as a Protestant only issue. You would agree? Disagree?

To answer the OP question though, I think the vast majority of Protestants do not feel like a particular denomination is the “true faith of Christ”. They feel like Gods universal church is not bound to a specific denomination. Like probably the majority of any religion, they stay within the perimeters of what they are raised. Not always…but most often.
BH

 

[aurora77]

BrianH:

Many(most?) denominations have an official stance on scripture that they espouse. Yet, the laity do whatever they wish. I do not see this as a Protestant only issue. You would agree? Disagree?

I agree that it’s not a protestant only issue–it’s a Catholic issue as well. If the laity, of any faith, do whatever they wish, does that mean that what is being taught is not true? There are many people in this world that don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God made man, does their unbelief mean that He is not?

BrianH:

To answer the OP question though, I think the vast majority of Protestants do not feel like a particular denomination is the “true faith of Christ”. They feel like Gods universal church is not bound to a specific denomination. Like probably the majority of any religion, they stay within the perimeters of what they are raised. Not always…but most often.
BH

So, people stay with their religion/church due to inertia, not because that particular religion/church has the truth? The problem, I have, is that if, “God’s universal church is not bound to a specific denomination” as you say, then how do we know what God teaches, what precepts we are to follow? If any religion is just as good as any other, what can we know to be true? If there is no set truth, then anything can be true. I can selectively interpret the Bible to mean anything I want, does that mean that that’s what God intended?

 

[flameburns623]

aurora77:

The problem, I have, is that if, “God’s universal church is not bound to a specific denomination” as you say, then how do we know what God teaches, what precepts we are to follow? If any religion is just as good as any other, what can we know to be true?

Prptestants speak generally of a core of essential Christian truths which one MUST accept to be a Christian, to have any real hope that one’s faith in Christ is a saving faith in Him and in the Gospel He taught. These generally are said to be summarised in the Creeds.

Apart from those ‘essential truths’ are a much larger body of issues which are conceded to be ‘important’ and worthy of debate and discussion, but which Protestants feel do NOT affect one’s salvation. One simply is not assumed to be going to hell if one is a Calvinist versus an Arminian; if one sprinkles or pours rather than dunks; if one believes in some sort of actual presence of Christ in the elelments of Holy Communion rather than believing that the elements are symbolic. And so forth. In a few cases, some Protestant sectarians insist that everyone who does not believe the way they do is damned–though this is less common than a lot of Catholics seem to think. (Sectarian rhetoric often runs white-hot but if you really unpack what is being said–the sectaries usually stop short of saying that division on the peripheral doctrines always-and-everywhere leads souls to perdition).

Protestants in previous generations usually hoped the dialogue amonst themselves would one day lead to a visible restoration of union of Christians. Many Protestants today do NOT expect such a thing and consider the multiplicity of denominations to be a part of God’s plan for evangelizing the world in a way which accomodates various cultural and individual differences. Behind the apparent visible divisions, most Protestants deem there to be an invisible unity, sort of a '‘mystical union’ to borrow a largely Catholic phrase for a moment. Of course–put a Baptist and a Campbellite together in the same room for awhile and you generally do get problems:

Tired:

I was walking in San Francisco along the Golden Gate Bridge when I saw a man about to jump off. I tried to dissuade him from committing suicide and told him simply that God loved him. A tear came to his eye.I then asked him,
“Are you a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu, or what?”
He said, “I’m a Christian.”
I said, “Me, too, small world. . .Protestant or Catholic?”
He said, “Protestant.”
I said, “Me, too, what denomination?”
He said, “Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too, Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Baptist.”
I said, “Well, ME TOO, Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”
I said, “Well, that’s amazing! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist or Northern Conservative Reformed Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist.”
I said, “Remarkable! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Eastern Region?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region.”
I said, “A miracle! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”
I said, “DIE, HERETIC!’ and pushed him over the rail.

Mark Twain:

Among my experiments was this. In an hour I taught a cat and a dog to be friends. I put them in a cage. In another hour I taught them to be friends with a rabbit. In the course of two days I was able to add a fox, a goose, a squirrel and some doves. Finally a monkey. They lived together in peace; even affectionately. Next, in another cage I confined an Irish Catholic from Tipperary, and as soon as he seemed tame I added a Scotch Presbyterian from Aberdeen. Next a Turk from Constantinople; a Greek Christian from Crete; an Armenian; a Methodist from the wilds of Arkansas; a Buddhist from China; a Brahman from Benares. Finally, a Salvation Army Colonel from Wapping. Then I stayed away for two whole days. When I came back to note results, the cage of Higher Animals was all right, but in the other there was but a chaos of gory odds and ends of turbans and fezzes and plaids and bones and flesh-not a specimen left alive. These Reasoning Animals had disagreed on a theological detail and carried the matter to a Higher Court.

 

[BrianH]

aurora77:

I agree that it’s not a protestant only issue–it’s a Catholic issue as well. If the laity, of any faith, do whatever they wish, does that mean that what is being taught is not true? There are many people in this world that don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God made man, does their unbelief mean that He is not?

So, people stay with their religion/church due to inertia, not because that particular religion/church has the truth? The problem, I have, is that if, “God’s universal church is not bound to a specific denomination” as you say, then how do we know what God teaches, what precepts we are to follow? If any religion is just as good as any other, what can we know to be true? If there is no set truth, then anything can be true. I can selectively interpret the Bible to mean anything I want, does that mean that that’s what God intended?

You raise good points. But a decision must still be made either way. How do Catholics know what precepts to follow? The make a decision to follow the Catholic faith. How do they know it to be true? The have faith or study history that from their perspective this is what
Christ instituted(although Orthodox disagree obviously), faith involves a decision to believe or not, and they go with it. As much as you try, EVERYONE makes a personal decision. Dont they?
BH

 

[tom4JC]

"The doctrine of private judgment has resulted in an enormous number of different denominations. According to The Christian Sourcebook, there are approximately 20-30,000 denominations, with 270 new ones being formed each year. Virtually all of these are Protestant. "

With so many different protestant denominations out there, how do you know which one to follow? It seems like mass confusion to me.

I asked myself the same question when I left the Catholic Church. So far I’ve been in only 3 different denominational churches. What I personally look for first and foremost in a church is

1. Are they founded upon the Rock of Jesus.
   2.Do they teach the Bible.
2. Does their doctrine comply with the Word of God.

For me, those are essential.

 

[Neithan]

BrianH:

You raise good points. But a decision must still be made either way. How do Catholics know what precepts to follow? The make a decision to follow the Catholic faith. How do they know it to be true? The have faith or study history that from their perspective this is what
Christ instituted(although Orthodox disagree obviously), faith involves a decision to believe or not, and they go with it. As much as you try, EVERYONE makes a personal decision. Dont they?
BH

There’s nothing wrong with personal decisions. Without personal decisions we simply would not be persons.
The problem is private interpretation. Do you follow your own, private interpretation, or that of an authority, the Church? You need to make a personal decision between these two, but it is obviously not the personal nature of the decision itself which is the problem, rather that of the interpretation.
When I converted to Catholicism from Lutheranism, there were many Catholic doctrines which confused me, and–on the surface–seemed to contradict Scripture. Rather than rejecting them in favour of a private interpretation, I studied the Church’s interpretation further, until I understood and accepted it fully. This effect was repeated many times over, which cascaded into a general acceptance and trust in everything the Church taught. The fault lies not in making a personal agreement/decision/acceptence, but in the source of the interpretation. My entire religion is built with faith in the authority of the Church’s interpretation, not on my own private one.

Note: When I was a Lutheran, I also did not practice private interpretation. I accepted the authority of Luther, the Book of Concord, the ELCC (equivalent of ELCA in Canada) Synod, and my pastor. Not all Protestants use private judgement; Luther himself was certainly no advocate of it.

 

[BrianH]

Neithan:

There’s nothing wrong with personal decisions. Without personal decisions we simply would not be persons.
The problem is private interpretation. Do you follow your own, private interpretation, or that of an authority, the Church? You need to make a personal decision between these two, but it is obviously not the personal nature of the decision itself which is the problem, rather that of the interpretation.
When I converted to Catholicism from Lutheranism, there were many Catholic doctrines which confused me, and–on the surface–seemed to contradict Scripture. Rather than rejecting them in favour of a private interpretation, I studied the Church’s interpretation further, until I understood and accepted it fully. This effect was repeated many times over, which cascaded into a general acceptance and trust in everything the Church taught. The fault lies not in making a personal agreement/decision/acceptence, but in the source of the interpretation. My entire religion is built with faith in the authority of the Church’s interpretation, not on my own private one.

Note: When I was a Lutheran, I also did not practice private interpretation. I accepted the authority of Luther, the Book of Concord, the ELCC (equivalent of ELCA in Canada) Synod, and my pastor. Not all Protestants use private judgement; Luther himself was certainly no advocate of it.

Everyone makes a decision as to what “denomination” to follow.I think we agree.

I did not convey my point precisly enough, my apologies. I did not intend to mix the two from the OP together. I see “doctrine of private judgement” and which denomination you pick as two seperate issues. Everyone who follows a churches authority must decide to do such.

BH

 

[Contarini]

Della:

Kevan and Edwin, I think you’ve missed the point. It doesn’t matter if there are 20,000 Protestant denominations or only 20.

If it doesn’t matter, why are Catholic “apologists” so wedded to these high figures?

I don’t think it matters either. But many folks on this board sure seem to.

Edwin

 

[Giovanni]

I believe the word satan or devil in greek means to divide, so here is where I am going with this.
When a pack of wolves or wild beasts attack their prey when in a heard, they search out the weak and separate them from the group, thus killing the animal and devouring it, this is how I have just come to see our protestant brothers and sisters. All the different churches that have been separated from the main body, the Catholic Church, without the sacraments and many graces that we are so blessed with, thus we remain strong, and I believe they are much weaker, fighting their battles against our enemies so valiantly with so much less. I say pray for them that they may come to the full Glory of our Lord.

Peace of Christ be upon you

 

[Singinbeauty]

I guess my question would be this…

If the church proclaims to follow Christ as the Son of God born of the virgin Mary. Strives to do it’s best to follow in His Holy footsteps. Why would it matter how they interpret things that have no dealings with salvation? We differ on worship. That’s about it.

When you think about it, a catholic may say protestant but that clumps mormans, jehovah’s witnesses, and other extreme non-christian groups with those who strive to follow and proclaim Christ as Lord of All. It’s almost as if the catholic view of protestant is if it ain’t catholic it’s protestant no matter what god you follow. By definition, isn’t CHRISTIAN supposed to be a religion based on CHRIST? So if your religion isn’t based on Christ then how can they be lumped in with the protestants?

To answer the OP I would say that I know for myself that if I can go into the service of a church and not be distracted by certain ‘practices’ or ‘wording’ and if they seem to follow the same guidlines that I feel the Holy Spirit is giving me then I know I am in the right place. If they preach that Jesus Christ IS the Son of God and that He died for my sins I know I am in the right spot. If they teach that I should follow all that Jesus laid down for me I know I am where I should be. I go to church to be challenged to live a better life for Christ. To feel closer to Him and those who follow Him. shrug I dunno… Bombs away!

 

[LegionofMary]

This is an article written by John Henry Newman. It is not a ‘quick read’ but it is well worth taking the time to print it out and read over the course of a few hours or couple of days. Perhaps a slight detour from the direction of this thread presently, but it may prove to guide our thinking more clearly. It is titled, “Faith and Private Judgement”.

ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/JUDGMENT.TXT

In the hearts of Jesus and Mary

 

[Mike_D30]

Singinbeauty:

When you think about it, a catholic may say protestant but that clumps mormans, jehovah’s witnesses, and other extreme non-christian groups with those who strive to follow and proclaim Christ as Lord of All.

I don’t think Catholic’s lump Protestants together with Mormons, Jehovas Witness, or Seventh Day Adventists. Most Catholics realize those are essentially (I hate to use the terminology) cults from the burned over district during the 1800’s.

If Joseph Smith, Ellen G. White, Charles Taze Russell were begining their movements today, no doubt we would label them cults.

I don’t view your typical Lutheran or Methodists this way at all. Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists etc… are all Christians as they follow the teachings of Christ and the Creeds founded by our Early Christian Church Fathers. That’s a completely different story than Mormons or Jehova’s Witnesses who alter the nature of God, and even deny the divinity of Christ as in the Jehova’s case. If anything Catholic’s get lumped in with Mormon’s on Evangelical sites.

The biggest problem I had with Protestant Chuches was the differing teachings on eveything. Salvation, Baptism, Eschotology, Nature of God, everything. I got very confused and worried about which Pastor do I go with?

For instance I went to a Bible study when I was in the Marines, where the Pastor essentially said if you don’t believe in the Rapture pre-tribulation you are in trouble of losing your salvation. I was like what in the heck is this guy talking about…

I did love the services though, they were fun, and I envy the way a lot of Protestant Churches fellowship. The Catholic Church has definitely lost its footing in this regard, and needs a bit of a revival amongst Americas young Catholics.

 

[Kitty_Chan]

in truth protestant and catholic could learn from each other if each wasnt so hung up on being the “right” way.

The reason protestants bring it to a nutshell with believing in Christ and the bible or something like the Nicene Creed is to avoid any extra bits being added in. A core of belief if you will, If these examples are poor sorry its late. but a core that is unshakable and the rest is important but not like the core.

What about the seven churches?? Christ had pros and cons to say to each of them. He didnt say be the same, only follow Him.

Besides how can we be the same when we are not created that way? Are your children alike as they grow? Different church “groups” for different personalities all trying to achieve the same goal, to honour the Lord Jesus.