About

Christianity was born out of the teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. More specifically, his disciples began to spread The Gospel, or ”good news,” of Jesus after Jesus was crucified and resurrected. After Christianity had spread for centuries, Christians began to disagree on certain minute theological beliefs. These disagreements spawned different denominations or branches of Christianity. Each denomination slightly differs from the next based on each one’s theological beliefs. Such disagreements include different beliefs on baptism, the means of salvation, and God’s sovereignty. (1)

According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, there are more than 45,000 Christian denominations globally and more than 200 in the U.S. (2)

Protestantism was born in response to what many saw as the rigid teachings and traditions of Roman Catholicism. The spark that began the Protestant flame was Martin Luther’s “95 Theses,” critiquing the legalism within the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther was a monk who had extensively studied the Bible and Christian tradition. In his view, Roman Catholicism was the antithesis of Christ’s teachings of salvation through grace alone because Roman Catholic church leaders were selling indulgences as absolution to sin. In addition, Luther believed that Roman Catholic leaders were abusing their power and that they had lost focus on the gospel of Christ. After Martin Luther tacked his “95 Theses” on the door of the Wittenberg Castle church, Catholicism would be permanently divided. (1)

Protestantism is non-Roman Western Christianity. Most Protestants are members of a few dozen Protestant denominational families, including Adventists, Anabaptists, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Baptists, Calvinist/Reformed, Lutherans, Methodists, Moravians, Plymouth Brethren, Presbyterians, Quakers. Some of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States are: Episcopal (English), Presbyterian (Scottish), Methodist (English and Welsh) and Lutheran (German and Scandinavian). The Protestant Reformation of 1517 was a major disagreement with the power and practices of the Catholic Church that led to … [many] … different Protestant denominations. From that point forward, many new denominations and splits have occurred. Because the Protestant Reformation justified itself as an effort to correct what it perceived were the errors and the excesses of the Catholic Church, it formed strong positions against the Catholic bishops and the Papacy in particular. The “mainline” denominations, which include Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Lutherans, are considered to be more liberal on a number of moral issues. (2)

There are 24 different Catholic Churches all in union with Rome. They are not ‘sects’ or denominations, but fully Catholic Churches, each with their own hierarchy and canon law. What makes them Catholic is their relationship to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. (2)

The Eastern Orthodox Church is defined as the Eastern Christians which recognize the seven ecumenical councils and usually are in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of Antioch, and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Church, or officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. (2)

My Comments: Obviously, not everyone can be right about all Christian doctrines. Thus, the Christian world is splintered, and some of the true doctrines of Christianity are misunderstood by many, many people. My personal perspective is that the Holy Bible is God’s written Word and guide to life. Period! I also believe that the King James version, though not perfect, is still the closest to the autographs. Understanding correct doctrine requires that one be familiar with God’s Word through reading and study. The more one studies and pays attention to what the Bible says, rather than what tradition and church leaders might incorrectly say, the more accurate our conclusions will be. Many perspectives on some things can run out of control lacking such Bible-based study. Every point of doctrine is important, and every opinion presented by other sources, by people or commentary or “so-and-so said so,” must be checked against the Bible. This website and blog will attempt to dispel many of the errors that people of all faiths entertain.

I must mention several problems with Christianity that seem to be sweeping through all Christian faiths: The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the Charismatic groups, and the Cults such as Mormonism, Christian Science and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. These are New Age aberrations involving spirit guides (demons), channeling, demon possession and eastern things like Yoga. Much of the presentations and discussions will be involving these unbiblical and unholy beliefs.

My personal beliefs come from an Independent Baptist (GARBC) perspective as a PK, childhood influence from Bob DePugh and the Minutemen and then as a young adult the John Birch Society, adult connection with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, now the Church of Christ), membership in a Militia for a very short time, webmaster of the Patriot Knowledge Base website during the ’90’s, and currently an adult preference of the Arminian Free Will Baptists rather than the Reformed Calvinistic Baptists (mostly of the Southern Baptist Convention). I continue now with this website and blog. I recognize problems with ALL religions, some of which I will address here. I hope you learn a few interesting a useful things, as I know I will through associated studies, and I hope you enjoy visiting here!

Source 1: Study.com – https://study.com/academy/lesson/protestant-denominations-list-beliefs-branches.html -Study.com is an interesting information source, as its domain name implies.

Source 2: Google.