Replies

"And I asked that you put your unstated beliefs on the table for all to see. "

I can think of a number of hypotheses about why Christians are so divided, and why those divisions persist despite the belief by many Christians that their beliefs are based upon the bible. I already put my central belief on the table at the start of the thread; namely, no Christian sect is actually based upon the bible alone.

I'm interested in seeing the various opinions discussed. As I'm reading through this thread, I think I see three hypotheses so far. I can think of at least three more that I haven't seen yet. This is an important topic to take seriously, and it's important for the conversation to be advanced beyond a point of denial or easy polemic.

There are two great scandals to modern Christianity. One, the poor example of Christian behavior, and two, the many competing and disagreeing sects within Christianity. The author of the opening piece sees the thousands of bible based denominations as the fruit of a faulty doctrine; namely, sola scriptura. It's a reasonable hypothesis. We can accept it, or we can disagree with it. It's a hard to disagree with it, however, if there are not reasonable alternative explanations. As you can see, there is a strong tendency to simply duck the question. That we must overcome.

The rest of your questions are excellent ones.