[muawiyah]

There are "branches" that predate Protestantism ~ Mennonites, for example, claim their origins among the Apostles themselves. So did the Cathers before they were exterminated.

[iconoclast]

Mennonites, for example, claim their origins among the Apostles themselves.

For heaven's man where do you get such nonsense?

There was no such thing as a Mennonite until the middle ages when Germanic tribesmen were converted to Christianity by Catholic missionaries.

For better or worse they chose to take off on their own path and remain in their chosen lifestyle to this day.

[InterestedQuestioner]

There are "branches" that predate Protestantism ~ Mennonites, for example, claim their origins among the Apostles themselves. So did the Cathers before they were exterminated.

There's no way that I will have time to read through this whole thread, so please forgive me if this has been corrected already.

The Mennonites were founded by Menno Simons, sometime during the 1530's. Menno was a former Catholic priest.

[wideawake]

So did the Cathers before they were exterminated.

The Cathars sometimes made that claim - yet at the same time they rejected certain portions of the New Testament as non-Apostolic.

The Cathars also believed that the God described in the Old Testament was a demon and that the Old Testament is not Scripture.

These views are irreconciliable with Christianity in any form, let alone classic Protestantism.

[george wythe]

There are "branches" that predate Protestantism ~ Mennonites, for example, claim their origins among the Apostles themselves. So did the Cathers before they were exterminated.

So do the Jehovah's Witnesses and other sects, but do the facts back their claims?

At any rate, you're setting up strawmen and fighting them all by yourself.

I wrote that Christianity has three main branches, since I'm aware of several other minor branches.