Posted on 08/24/2015 8:30:26 AM PDT by damonw
When someone ask the question WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CHURCHES they usually are not interested in seeking an honest answer to the question. But rather they ask the question to go on to say (1) Christianity is divided. (2) God wants unity in His church not division (3) and their group is the Only True Christian Church. This is the case with the video above and the website WhyAreThereSoManyChurches.com that is produced by the hardline Church of Christ (CoC) organization World Video Bible School. This site seeks to examine that video and it’s exclusive claims and inferences in detail. (Please note: Not all congregations in the CoC denomination believe they are the One True Church. The ones that do are called “hardliners” among the CoC’s who do not say the CoC is the One True Church)
SO WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DENOMINATIONS?
In case you have not viewed the 26 minute video above that we are about to examine, the video starts off with 5 interviews where people ask certain loaded questions about denominations and churches. The narrator, Don Blackwell, then starts off by asking a series of more loaded questions. Those questions follow and we will look at and answer a couple of them first before we look into some of the false claims made in the video.
(Excerpt) Read more at whyaretheresomanychurchesanswered.com ...
I would defend the C of C. We are PART of Christ’s church, which by scriptural definition, is THE ONE TRUE CHURCH. I do not join my brethren in World Bible School saying that ONLY members of the Restoration movement, specifically those calling themselves the Church of Christ, will be going to heaven. God knows his children. I will not judge another man’s servant (Romans 14).
There were at least seven *denominations* mentioned in the book of Revelation.
And there were many more churches planted around the area.
Of those seven, they were all chastised and commended for different issues.
There was not one indication that they were all under one central leadership organization.
Excuse me but individual churches (and rev does say Church not denominations) does not constitute denominations
Slipping into my internet vestments, I’ll give you a pretty good clue as to what G-d may think, as well as pointing out the obvious: what christians sui generis think about themselves.
In no particular order: Jehovah’s Witnesses. Catholics. Presbyterians. Lutherans. Mormons. Episcopalians. Methodists. Unitarians. Baptists .... and on and on and on.
This is what they call themselves and what others call them.
Setting aside their literalist dogma, stubborn faith and eschewing, almost Amish, lifestyles—the fire and brimstone sermons: hair-raising things to experience—what do members of the Church of Christ call themselves?
Christians.
I agree that some CoC’s are a PART of the Lords church. But those hardline CoC’s who insist they are the One True Church and the only ones saved are not.
No, hardline CoC’s call themselves the ONLY (real) Christians. That is why they should be called a cult.
This isn’t about the United Church of Christ, is it? Because that organization has pretty much become apostate, supporting homosexual unions and pretty much every new age doctrine, as far as I remember. I know there is another organization that carries the Church of Christ identifier, which also is known as the Disciples of Christ I believe.
As I recall, one of these organizations makes it a big doctrinal point not to use musical instruments in worship. Now, I don’t think whether or not you use musical instruments in church has any bearing on salvation, but I always found that a strange teaching, especially in light of all of the verses in the Old Testament that associated the playing of instruments with worship.
The world’s many religions are actually theories and philosophies of the anatomy and physiology of the human spirit and its development process. Einstein once stated that, “A problem is not solved at the level of consciousness at which it was created.” This is a very true statement as when one raises their consciousness to a higher level by understanding the anatomy and physiology of the human spirit; all religions suddenly make sense without discounting any one of them. (Loving God in prayer is the best way to raise us up.)
There is an old Hindu parable of the five blind men who are led to an elephant for the first time. One gets hold of the elephant’s trunk and proclaims “An elephant is like a python.” A second man gets hold of the tail and proclaims “You are wrong. An elephant is like a rope!” A third gets the leg and proclaims “You are both wrong. An elephant is like a column in a building!” The fourth man gets the side and proclaims “No! An elephant is like a stone wall.” And the fifth man gets an ear and proclaims that “An elephant is like a palm tree.” These men argue and fight over who has the correct description of an elephant. All are correct, but no one has the complete picture to determine this and bring all into agreement.
So it is with the world’s religions. Everyone understands a part of the spirit and argues that their theories and philosophies are correct for the whole spirit. While the anatomy & physiology of the human body is not disputed as its ability to be physically examined has resolved many of the discrepancies, the consciousness of the spirit has not been able to be physically examined. That is until now. By raising consciousness to a higher level, just as Einstein stated, the problem can be solved by perceiving the greater picture.
When this happens, you suddenly realize the accuracy of the Bible, but you also realize the accuracy of the other religions of the world.
I once ask an old woman what religion she was. She replied “Christian.” She went on to add that her father was in the military and they moved a lot when she was young.
Each time they moved they always went to the church that was closest to their home. After several moves and several churches, she went to her father confused and asked what she should believe. His response, “Isn’t some of what you are learning the same?” “That is your religion, the rest is man made.” There is much truth in his words.
No, It is about the Stone-Campbell restroationist Church of Christ (the hardline/one true church variety). And I agree that musical instruments should not be a salvation issue but hardline CoC’s make it a salvation issue.
Really?
I’m going to demonstrate how enlightened I am by bashing on members of the church?
You can take that as one true church or however you like.
My point: how Christian of you.
I am not bashing anything. I am critiquing a hardline CoC video that claims CoC’s are the only ones saved. And buddy your are not “the church”. So get your panty’s out of a wad. Don’t be trying to feign a moral high-ground around here with me. According to the hardline CoC stance no one else is really Christian (including me) so where do you get off holding me to any kind of standards?
Ironically the same gov’t that crucified Christ is still in power today too.
How old indeed!
I have been active in COC. I am clearly aware of the nature of cults, having been active in several in the 60’s in NE.
COC churches in my experience hold leadership as the center of the group life and hold membership as more important than ethics, Biblical teachings, or faith in Christ. Leadership is based upon obedience to a single authority, not Christ.
That makes these groups a cult and not a Bible-believing church that affirms the historic doctrines of Christianity.
This is my definition of religion:
Acts 17
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
God has stretched his hand out to me. It is my duty inseparable from my honor and desire to reach back to the best of my ability. When you are so blessed with salvation, only a fool would not respond to such beauty to the best of his ability.
My understanding of the Word lies closely with your disparagement of “hardline coC”. We have been given a prescription, formula, and example of worship. I follow it not because I believe I will be saved by works but because it is my duty, honor, and desire to worship the High King to the best of my ability.
I could not be saved being a Baptist or Catholic because it would not be ME worshipping in the best way I understand how to do so.
I would and could not make any assumptions about anybody else.
There is, however, one true church and its members are those people whom have their names written on the Book of Life. Where those one true church members worship on Sunday morning is between them and their outreach hands, and God and His.
There are many churches because there have been many people who were not chosen to have positions of authority in the real church who believed they were entitled to be the head of the church—so they started a church of which they would be the head.
Membership in the body of Christ occurs with surrender of oneself the the spirit of God. Demons accept the reality of Christ but they do not obey Him.
Because Christians together make up the body of Christ. These denominational labels is what is breaking it apart. When we say “We believe the Word of God to be true that Jesus was slain and brought back to life for our sins to be forgiven!” and come into fellowship, there’s the body.
When some say, as an example (fictional) “I agree that such and such denomination is right because purple socks on Tuesdays is the only way to truly believe!” then we the Body begin to separate.
A claim of being the only church because some demand it so kind of reeks of being extra-biblical.
Every New Testament reference of music specifically states you should make melody with your heart.
The first Century church made several changes to worship to distinguish themselves, including worshipping on Sunday. If you want to use the OT as your model for worship, then keep the Sabbath.
As it is, the first century church was indeed a Capella and remained so until Catholics introduced instruments in the 700’s. Research it if you like.
If you want to see the most passionate defenders of a Capella, I would steer you to Baptist ministers of the mid 1800’s.
To your question as I understand you’re using the terms, I don’t believe any denomination of the Catholic is “the one true church”, nor do I believe all of them are, or even a few of them are. I believe God’s word plainly describes who are His ‘church” (gr. ekklesia, common Greek word for assembly of people). Whether one is part of His people, and worshiping with others of His people locally as described and commanded in His scriptures, depends entirely whether that person is following what is clearly written.
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