I was raised Jewish and with my Christian wife's encouragement I have become comfortable and accepting of Christian spirituality. On the other hand, I still have my doubts and am confused by the astounding number of conflicting denominations.
How can I become completely Christian
- Thread starter Larry112
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Christianity is about the salvation of your soul through faith in Jesus Christ. Do you believe?
Judaism encompasses several major sects or movements, with the most prominent being Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Hasidic Judaism. Historically, during the Second Temple period, there were also notable groups such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots.
Different denominations of the church in Christianity are the same reason why the Jews have had different sects.
Some differ on minor doctrines while others differ on major doctrines. The Jesus way is not to major on the minors. To divide over minor doctrines is to simply divide over preference.
Major doctrines are the core Christian beliefs like that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, part of the Trinity, fully God divine in the flesh, perfect, never having sinned, the virgin birth, and the only way to the Father, just to name a few.
If the denominations are in agreement on the majors then they are just as much part of the church but only hold different preferences like building setup, lighting, colors of the walls, instruments, hymns, or contemporary, holy spirit activity, etc.
Obviously, some see a few of the minor ones as majors but to me, a major one must be held to this standard. If you differ on so and so belief, you are not a Christian.
If your doctrine is such a major core belief then that is the standard. Are you willing to say that if others differ on that belief, then they are false Christians?
If you are not willing to go that far, then it is a minor issue.
What number are you thinking?
Denominations: The facts~
There are nowhere near as many denominations in Christianity as some suppose/believe.
The numbers thrown around are a terrible miscalculation based on a
lack of understanding perpetuated by, um, well, a dearth of knowledge.
Many sources say many things and many of those things are blatant falsehoods .
I have posted this before so am simply copy/pasting from an earlier post:
33,000 or 45,000 --- these are false numbers based on an egregious misunderstanding.
That misunderstanding gets thrown around as if it were truth when it is not.
Even under the most liberal definition of what constitutes a denomination, there are
nowhere close to 33,000 - 45,000 denominations. Many of these groups are merely subgroups
of larger denominational groups such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, or Baptists.
Evangelical apologist Eric Svendsen exposes the falsehood of this fabrication. Briefly:
Svendsen shows that the source of this figure is the World Christian Encyclopedia (David A. Barrett; Oxford
University Press, 1982). Barrett cites a figure of 20,780 denominations. Still, not all of them are Protestants.
According to Barrett, Protestants account for 8,196 (and incidentally, Roman Catholics account for 223).
However, even this figure of eight thousand Protestant denominations is misleading, for Barrett defines
"distinct denominations" as any group that might have a slightly different emphasis than another group.
The distinction is made on the basis of jurisdiction, rather than differing beliefs and practices.
Barrett breaks down the Protestant bloc into twenty-one major "traditions" which are much closer to what we usually
mean by the word "denominations." It is interesting that Roman Catholics are subdivided into sixteen such "traditions."
Svendsen concludes, "In short, Roman Catholic apologists have hurriedly, carelessly - and, as a result, irresponsibly - glanced
at Barrett's work, found a large number (22,189), and arrived at all sorts of absurdities that Barrett never concluded." source
^ Gospel of John is often recommended as a great place to start reading the Bible.
This movie is a word-for-Word portrayal of John's gospel.
Also, please check out the Alpha Course.
There are 10 videos total, answering a lot of questions about faith, Christianity historically and in the modern
world, the estate of man, and God's design for humans. I hope you watch them. They could benefit you greatly .
“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone. Mark ch. 10 verse 18 and Luke ch. 18 verse 19 “There is only One who is good.” Matthew ch. 19 verse 17b. There is no one who does good. fr Psalm ch. 14. There is no one righteous, not even one. Romans ch. 3 verse 10. They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good. All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. fr Psalm ch. 53 verses 1-3. Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Ecclesiastes ch. 7 verse 20. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
So you're on a Christian chat website encouraging someone to not be a Christian. Doesn't seem to be a long-term survival strategy.
Hi Larry,
Welcome to Christian Chat.
I understand how you feel.
I was thinking the same thing at one point. That's why I asked God for understanding and discernment. I didn't want just some denomination's dogma and another man's opinion about Heaven and Hell . I wanted God's opinion, His actual truth. That's when I opened up a KJV Bible and asked for His understanding of the verses I was shared. He is not a God Who wants to hide the true from truth seekers. It sounds like you are a truth seeker. I have a video for you and a short one to follow. Please let me know if you have any questions after you prayerfully listen to them.
So this is a site that is only for christians? And what is then the definition of a "christian" ?
So what you say, is that no one is good except God? Isn't that a very pessimistic view of human beings ?
“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone. Mark ch. 10 verse 18 and Luke ch. 18 verse 19 “There is only One who is good.” Matthew ch. 19 verse 17b. There is no one who does good. fr Psalm ch. 14. There is no one righteous, not even one. Romans ch. 3 verse 10. They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good. All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. fr Psalm ch. 53 verses 1-3. Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Ecclesiastes ch. 7 verse 20. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
No, this site isn't only for Christians. It also isn't a place to try to lure people away from Christianity.
Here are the Essential Christian Doctrines
It is not pessimistic but realistic and also Biblical, which I know you do not believe... but I am not sure why you would come to a Christian site and expect Christians not to believe the Bible. It is also understood that we do not curry God's favor by doing good things, or what we think are good things. As the Scriptures say, without faith it is impossible to please God.
So what you say is that no one human being is doing any good, or what are you saying ?
I did add to my post: without faith it is impossible to please God. Man acts out of his nature which is inherently hostile to God... Just like you. And also just like I used to be. And it isn't that man is incapable of doing any good at all, but those good acts will not save you.
become 'completely' christian?
Precious friend, @Larry112, this may be helpful
Complete In Christ!
Amen.
Precious friend, @Larry112, this may be helpful
Complete In Christ!
Amen.