What do you think about Christian denominations?

[SarahUmbreon]

So, I actually consider myself to be "Non-denominational" even though I am currently going to a Presbyterian church right now. I kinda know about some of the "denomination stereotypes", but I choose to live life by what a fellow christian friend told me, he said:

"Denominations is like listening to music in a car, we hear something different, but our destination is still the same: Heaven"

So all Christians, no matter what still care about God and the bible...maybe except this church:

(Off topic but I don't watch this YouTuber anymore, but when I saw this video I couldn't believe a church like this exists, it horrified me and made me sad)

 

[Mandy17]

Denominations are just a way for Satan to separate Christians from each other and to cause confusion about God's teachings. If the teachings of the church don't line up with the bible, then it's not of God. Example, Catholicism goes against the bible because it teaches that you have to do man made rituals like praying on rosary beads. Nowhere in the bible does it mention doing this. I'm not saying all Catholics are evil and don't love Jesus, they are just misled in some ways.

The best thing you can do is read the bible for yourself and follow it as best as possible. If there's things you don't understand in it, there's nothing wrong with going to someone else for clarification (that's what Christians are supposed to do, discuss things with each other) but you have to be very careful that people don't twist it out of context.

 

[BlueTheComposer]

Denominations are kind of like musicianship. Some musicians are in brass, some are in the strings section, some are in winds. They each have their own stereotypes, such as brass players and string players dislike each other. While that may be true for the majority of those groups, there's still many who don't fit some of the stereotypes. I'd be willing to bet no one fits all of the stereotypes. It's kind of the same with denominations. Denominations give others a general set of beliefs to attribute to those under it, although many will attribute all of the beliefs to them. They may help people of similar denominations to connect with a sense of camaraderie, while it may instigate a sense of feud with others. Even with the people with whom it helps connect, there may still be differing beliefs that could instill a sense of betrayal when it's revealed, and with people of a conflicting denomination there may be more in common than at first thought. So denominations are basically labels. Sometimes they're helpful, sometimes they're not. And in Christianity since there's so many denominations, some "denominations" are practically their own religion, which in a way is both helpful and not helpful to know about, because then we know they aren't really of the same religion but also because we may start judging them immediately.

Something could also be said about how denominations can have very different internal structures, which would probably be the most helpful information to get out of a denomination since it's generally the most objective. Beliefs are more subjective which is why it's best to learn about someone and their beliefs rather than make assumptions (which could be false) about their beliefs based on their denomination. There's also a lot of sub-denominations that can also attribute to confusion and harm caused by making assumptions.

Those are my current thoughts anyway.

 

[SarahUmbreon]

Denominations are kind of like musicianship. Some musicians are in brass, some are in the strings section, some are in winds. They each have their own stereotypes, such as brass players and string players dislike each other. While that may be true for the majority of those groups, there's still many who don't fit some of the stereotypes. I'd be willing to bet no one fits all of the stereotypes. It's kind of the same with denominations. Denominations give others a general set of beliefs to attribute to those under it, although many will attribute all of the beliefs to them. They may help people of similar denominations to connect with a sense of camaraderie, while it may instigate a sense of feud with others. Even with the people with whom it helps connect, there may still be differing beliefs that could instill a sense of betrayal when it's revealed, and with people of a conflicting denomination there may be more in common than at first thought. So denominations are basically labels. Sometimes they're helpful, sometimes they're not. And in Christianity since there's so many denominations, some "denominations" are practically their own religion, which in a way is both helpful and not helpful to know about, because then we know they aren't really of the same religion but also because we may start judging them immediately.

Something could also be said about how denominations can have very different internal structures, which would probably be the most helpful information to get out of a denomination since it's generally the most objective. Beliefs are more subjective which is why it's best to learn about someone and their beliefs rather than make assumptions (which could be false) about their beliefs based on their denomination. There's also a lot of sub-denominations that can also attribute to confusion and harm caused by making assumptions.

Those are my current thoughts anyway.

Never thought about it from the “Musician point of view”, but it works really well when describing denominations. I just say I’m non-denominational to make it not only easier for me, but I’ve never been to one church all my life. According to my mom, she grew up Catholic but now doesn’t consider herself a “Catholic” but a “Christian”. The only churches I’ve been to are Community (That’s what the church called it), Baptist, and Presbyterian...if my memory is correct, lol 😅

 

[BlueTheComposer]

Same. My mom was raised Catholic but became a born again Christian in early adulthood. We're also non-denominational after trying out a few different churches including Baptist and Nazarene before settling at a non-denominational church. I go to a Calvary Chapel now, but it's pretty close to my previous non-denominational church in being very bible centered.