But these variations cross denominational lines. Protestant sects are rleigious parties akin to the Pharisees and Sadducees, and not to "churches." Thus you have about 10% Southern Baptists who are "Reformed" (Calvinist) just as as Presbyterians who can be Calvinist or closer to Episcopelians in their views. Yet Calvinist Baptists who deny the free will have no issues with non-Calvinist Baptists who believe in free will and worship together.
Protestant "theology" is personal opinion based on reason. But faith based on reason is man-made naked rationalism. Which is why logic plays such a prominent role in many of these "theologies," especially in legalistic Calvinism.
Protestants belong to denominations based on personal and politcial factors as well. I know a couple in Virginia who changed from a Methodist church to a Presbyterian (USA) church because the spouse's ex-husband still goes to the Methodist church! And the current husband used to be Pentacostal and has no problems now sharing his divergent theology with Prebyterians, nor does his Methodist wife ("raised Methodist, bene Methgodist all my life" to quote her) have probles being with Presbyterians either.
One of the Freepers on this forum stated that he would switch to a Calvinist church in a heartbeat if one opened next to his (even though he doesn't believe in 'baby splashing'—a Baptist euphamism for infant baptism)
This shows that there is no "church" per se, but different assemblies to which people flock for many reasons, mainly personal. They also go "church-shopping" a lot. It's always about "me" and what fits "my notion of God" as "I understand it." So, people look for like-minded communtiies and call them "churches." Which is what this whole thread is really about. :)
Some Protestants have stable views just as some people have stable views on different subjects, say a cosmologist on the necessity of "dark energy" to exist in order for the equation to work. But in either case it's a man-made system, stable as it may be.
However, If you compare the views of two or more such individuals you will find divergence on key issues (Christology, Trinity, free will, etc.) even though thye may worship in the same denominational community thye call a "church."
Your thesis makes a lot of sense.
It does explain the church shopping phenomenon amongst many of my Protestant friends. One of my engineers back in Indiana changed churches every few years - a strong fundamentalist, he liked the various forms of the Church of Christ, but had been to some fundamentalist evangelical and independent churches; I believe that he had some conservative Baptist roots as well. A disagreeable and pushy person, he would inevitably get in to some sort of dispute with either the pastor or the managers of the church and leave in a huff.
Specific denomininational rules and such really didn’t come into consideration for him, now that I come to think of it. My mother’s parents were out of the Methodist and United Church of Christ denomination; yet my uncle, his wife and my grandmother wound up at the Salvation Army.
You have a very convincing argument that I find myself in agreement with. I wonder if our Protestant brethren will weigh in.
While I have no idea to which Freeper you are referring, I would imagine the reason is that for Baptists, as well as Calvinists, baptism itself is not salvific in any way. IOW, it has no where near the importance that Apostolics place on it. Therefore, it would not be a "compromise of faith" to go from Baptist to standard Reformed.
One difference between Bible-believing Protestant churches and Apostolic churches is a matter of freedom. Either the Holy Spirit is free to lead as He sees fit, or He is shackled under the authority of a particular group of men. I might add that for you and Mark, you disagree on which group of men should be followed. If following men first was proper, how could any of the rest of us know which group of your men was right?