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# of Christian Denominations: 33820
Source: World Christian Encyclopedia
Narrator: Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal and thousands more—one Bible, but so many churches. Is this really the work of Christ? Find out today, on Face The Truth.
Brother Barry Thompson: Welcome to Face The Truth, a program brought to you by the Church of Christ. I am Brother Barry Thompson.
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Brother Barry Thompson
Minister of the Gospel
The Real History of Christianity: Part 1
Brother Barry: Are you Catholic, or do you belong to one of the many Protestant denominations such as the Baptist church, Presbyterian church, Methodist church, or maybe you even call yourself Pentecostal? Now, if we were to mention all these different names of churches under the banner of Christianity, we would be here all day or more. In fact, according to David Barrett and other editors of the World Christian Encyclopedia, a comparative survey of churches and religions, there are over 33,000 separate Christian groups in the world today.
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Source: World Christian Encyclopedia
33,820 Christian Denominations
Brother Barry: Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations. Now, some would say these are the different flavours of Christianity, and many don’t see anything wrong with this. In fact, take a look at this.
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Source: youtube.com
Uploaded by: scriptureseries
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Face The Truth
Why Are There Many Denominations?
youtube.com
Woman: And this video’s entitled, ‘Why Are There So Many Protestant Denominations?’
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Uploaded by: worlddvbs
Narrator: Have you ever wondered why are there so many different churches, practices…
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Uploaded by: Abaddon
Man 1: Why is it that there are so many different versions of Christianity?
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Alejandro Velasquez
New York, New York
Alejandro Velasquez: Well, there’s different religions because there’s different cultures with plethoras of different peoples.
Man 1: We have Catholics, we have [Protestants], who’s divided…
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Tim Hawkins
Uploaded by: xmrshanley
Tim Hawkins: What denomination is this church? You have no idea. You keep coming but they don’t tell us.
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Mark Driscoll
Uploaded by: ruscopoltrain
Mark Driscoll: Because some of us are charismatic, some of us aren’t… some of us are congregationally governed…
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Matt Slick from www.carm.org
Uploaded by: carmvideos
Matt Slick: The reason there are different denominations within Christianity is because the Bible allows for us to have differences of opinions.
Alejandro Velasquez: So, yes, there is one power—one force that got everything here but there’s different views on it. I don’t think that there’s anything better or worse in this view than this view. It’s just different.
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Tim Hawkins
Uploaded by: xmrshanley
Tim Hawkins: Seriously, does anybody know? Christian? Thanks for narrowing it down.
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Brother Barry: Now, as we can see, many people today see all these different denominations or churches as a good thing for Christianity. For them, this just gives people more choices, ”just find the church that suits your taste or liking, and join it”. However, are all these various churches the work of the Lord Jesus Christ or even His apostles? Did Jesus Christ establish many different churches with different names and practices and doctrines? What does Christ, and even history, teach us about Christianity?
Now, we must begin with the founder Himself, for it is His name that many are using as part of their belief. Did Jesus Christ establish a church? And if so, how many? Let’s find out who established the Church. Let’s go to what is written in the book of Matthew 16 and the verse is 18, the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
[Matthew 16:18 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, it can’t be any clearer than this. Christ said, “I will build My church”. So, it was none other than Jesus Christ Himself who established or built His church. Now, when did the Lord Jesus Christ establish His church? Let’s read from the book of Luke this time, chapter 12 and the verse is 32, again from the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
[Luke 12:32 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, here, the Lord Jesus Christ mentions the little flock—speaking to the little flock. What is meant by the term used by Christ as the flock that He was speaking to in the verse that we just read? Well, we have to go again to the Bible for the answer. This time from the Apostles in Acts chapter 20 and the verse is 28.
Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.
[Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation]
So, the flock is the Church Of Christ. This is conclusive proof that Jesus Christ established only one church when He was still on earth, and it was named after him—the Church Of Christ. Now, when we say one church, what exactly does that mean? We will go to the Bible for the answer when we return on Face The Truth.
Brother Barry: Coming up: So many denominations, so many names. They say they all belong to Christ, but do they? Find out when we return on Face The Truth.
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Do all churches belong to Christ?
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Face The Truth
Brother Barry: Welcome back to Face The Truth. Today, we’re talking about the history of Christianity. And according to the Bible, Christ established only one church. Now, when we say one church, what exactly does that mean? We won’t give you our own answer. Let’s just go to the answer given to us by the Bible. What we’re going to read is what is written in the book of Colossians chapter 1 and the verse is 18, this is what the Apostle Paul himself teaches us:
And He is the head of the body, the church,
[Colossians 1:18 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: What exactly is the church? According to Apostle Paul, it is the body of Christ, of which He Himself is the head. Now, how did Apostle Paul describe this body of Christ or the church? Ephesians chapter 4 and the verses are 4, 5 and 6.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
[Ephesians 4:4-6 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, the Apostle Paul identified the characteristics of the true church—the one church. He said there is one body, so there’s only one church. And in that one body or one church of which Jesus Christ is the head, there’s only one spirit guiding the church. The members only have one hope. There’s only one Lord Jesus Christ, and they have only one faith or one set of doctrines, and these doctrines are the doctrines that were taught to them by the Lord Jesus Christ and preached by the apostles. And do you also notice one of the teachings and beliefs that they possess? They possess the belief in one God, who is none other than the Father. And so, to teach anything else other than what Christ and the apostles taught would disqualify any church, any group from calling themselves true. And so, the true church established by Christ is completely united in everything they do—especially their teachings. But is this the case with all the different denominations or churches we see today? Take a look at this.
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Source: youtube.com
Uploaded by: WheelQuestions
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Face The Truth
Practices in Different Denominations
Man 1: Isn’t the fact that there are so many religions basically prove that nobody knows about God or the afterlife?
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Man 2: Denominations is nothing really new. You know, you got the pharisees, you have the sadducees. You know..
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Mark Driscoll: If you walk up to somebody and say, ‘what does it mean to be a baptist? We dunk adults. Anything else? No.
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New Hope Baptism Service 2007
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Man 2: You say who your pastor is. Now, depending on what they might have heard about your pastor in that particular church or your denomination which you all believe, then they can kind of size you up.
Mark: What does it mean to be Presbyterian? We dunk babies.
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Doug from fellowshipofthemartyrs.com
Uploaded by: fotm1
Doug: We use instruments in our worship and you don’t.
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Battlecry part 2 on CNN
Uploaded by: kellycarter07
Speaker: We are out here tonight in San Francisco. We kept the raw passion for God.
Doug: Because we think drums and guitars are from Satan, because syncopated music is of the devil, whatever.
Man 2: But then the tongues, or no tongues, the baptism, the holy ghost.
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Woman: We pray in tongues. Hallelujah, let’s do it. Oh, we love you, Jesus.
Doug: Why do we have 37,000 denominations?
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Matt Slick from www.carm.org
Uploaded by: carmvideos
Matt Slick: It is unfortunate but it’s true. The denominational differences are due to our shortsightedness and lack of love.
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Man 2: How come we just can’t have the big unified, everybody…
Doug: We each have a piece of the puzzle, but we can’t come together, so we can’t see what the picture on the box is supposed to look like. So, none of the pieces really fit together, because we can’t see the big picture. We can’t get an overview of what it is we’re supposed to be doing here.
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Brother Barry: Now, as you can see, what we find today is that the so many so-called Christian churches today are different in many ways. There is no unity. So, they don’t fit the Bible’s description of the true church. The true church established by Christ is completely united in everything they do, especially in their teachings—it’s just one organization. Now, are we the only ones who know and teach this fact that there is only one true church established by Christ, the Church of Christ? We’ll find out when we return on Face The Truth.
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Face The Truth
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Brother Barry Thompson
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Barry: Welcome back. Today, we’re talking about the history of Christianity. Now earlier, we learned that Christ only established one church, the Church of Christ. And we’re not the only ones who teach that Christ established one true church, the Church of Christ.
Why don’t we go to other authorities of other religious groups? Let’s say, for example, the Catholics. Do Catholic priests also affirm that Christ established a church? And according to them as well, what is the name of this church? We’re going to read to you from a book, an excerpt from a book entitled ‘Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma’ on page 274. I’m going to quote what is written.
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In regard to Matthew 16:18, St. Cyprian speaks of the building of Christ of the Church of Christ, and designates the Church the ‘Church of Christ’ and the ‘Bride of Christ’.
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, pg.274
Dr. Ludwig Ott
Brother Barry: So, you’ve seen what the Catholic authorities attest and affirm— that Christ built or established the Church of Christ.
Now, how about Protestants? Do Protestant preachers affirm as well that Christ established a church? And according to them too, what is the name of this church? I’m going to read another excerpt from a book entitled ‘Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible’ by Myer Pearlman on page 349, we quote:
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Christ prophesied the establishment of a new congregation or church, a holy institution that will continue His works in the world. Matthew 16:18. This is the Church of Christ.
Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible, pg.349
Myer Pearlman
Brother Barry: Did you notice that what we’re showing you today is common knowledge among many Catholic authorities and even Protestant preachers—and that is that Jesus Christ established only one church, the Church of Christ.
Now, here is an important question that needs begging for an answer. If Jesus Christ established or built only one church, why then do we find so many different churches existing today? Shouldn’t we all belong to only one true church? Did Christ authorize the establishment of different churches with different names, doctrines, practices, etcetera, etc.? Absolutely not. You cannot read that anywhere in the Bible. And so, what happened? What happened to the one true church, the Church of Christ that He established? When we come back, we will dig through the pages of history to find out what really happened. Stay with us.
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Face The Truth
Brother Barry: Welcome back to Face The Truth. Today, we’re talking about the history of Christianity. Now, we learned Christ established only one church, the Church of Christ. But, what happened to that church established by our Lord Jesus Christ? We told you, we are going to dig up the past or go back in history.
Now, sometimes, when you dig up the past, you might not like what you find. However, this subject is too important, so we must expose the truth because many people want to know it and we need to know it. It may take volumes of books to give all the fine details of church history, but what we will try to do is to give a condensed factual form of what actually happened to the church established by our Lord Jesus Christ in the first century.
Now, what did Christ forewarn His disciples or the members of the church he established? We will read here in Matthew 24, and the verse is 11, the Lord Jesus says this,
And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
[Matthew 24:11 Revised Standard Version]
Brother Barry: Now, Jesus Christ warned His disciples that many of them would be led astray by false prophets. Now, it goes without saying that a true prophet teaches truth, but a false prophet teaches what is false or teaches lies. Now, where would these false prophets come from? Here also, from the Holy Scriptures, Acts chapter 20 and the verse is 30. This time, we’re going to read what the Apostle Paul himself warns the disciples. He says this:
The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers away after them.
[Acts 20:30 Today’s English Version]
Brother Barry: Here now, is a warning of Apostle Paul, and he reiterated the warning of the Lord Jesus Christ to the members of the church then. Apostle Paul warned them that there would be men from their own group or within the church that would tell lies—for what purpose? To lead the believers away after them. So, you have the Lord Jesus Christ, you have Apostle Paul—who else warned about the false prophets or men from within the church who would tell lies to lead the members of the Church of Christ astray? This time, II Peter chapter 2 and the verse is 1, Apostle Peter tells us this,
False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction.
[II Peter 2:1 Today’s English Version]
Brother Barry: And so, Apostle Peter not only confirmed what Christ and Apostle Paul warned. He also mentioned what lies would be told. He said, the false prophets would bring in destructive, untrue doctrines. Now, did the apostles also identify some of the false teachings to be taught by the false prophets to lead the members of the Church of Christ away from the true faith or lead them astray? Apostle Paul says this, in the book of I Timothy the chapter is 4 and the verses are 1 and 3,
Now, the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
[I Timothy 4:1,3 King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, Apostle Paul tells us that in the latter times or the future, some would depart from the faith. Why? Because they would give heed to or listen to false doctrines which he identified as doctrines of the devil. Did he also mention two of these doctrines? Yes, he mentioned in the verses that we have just read— forbidding to marry, and the other one would be commanding to abstain from eating meats.
Now, while this is not a show aimed at attacking others, it is, however, the goal to expose what is false and reveal also what is true. So, we are just going to read the Bible, and then we’re going to let the evidence lead us in whatever direction is necessary. Now, were such doctrines ever taught and who teaches them?
We’re going to read an excerpt from a book entitled ‘The Faith of our Fathers’ written by James Gibbons, a cardinal of the Catholic church, on page 328 of that book, this is what we can read, and I quote:
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The discipline of the Church has been exerted from the beginning in prohibiting Priests to marry after their ordination.
The Faith of Our Fathers, p. 328
James Cardinal Gibbons
Brother Barry: So, we can find within the Catholic church one of the teachings or doctrines mentioned by Apostle Paul in I Timothy chapter 4 verse 3. That is, in the Catholic church, some of their members, namely the priests, are forbidden to marry—even the nuns are not allowed to marry.
Now, how about the other doctrine mentioned by Apostle Paul, that is, to abstain from flesh meat or eating meat? Who also possesses that doctrine? We’ll read an excerpt from another book entitled ‘Manual of Christian Doctrine: Comprising, Dogma, Moral, and Worship’ on page 317 of this particular book, this is what we can quote:
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What does the second commandment of the Church order us to do? It orders us to fast and to abstain from flesh meat on certain days of the year.
Manual of Christian Doctrine: Comprising, Dogma, Moral, and Worship; p. 317
by A Seminary Professor
Brother Barry: So, you have seen what the Bible says. You’ve heard the warnings that Christ gave to His church in the first century. The apostles confirmed the warnings that many of the disciples will depart from the true faith by following false teachings. You have seen some of the false teachings that were taught to the members of the church established by Christ which, of course, led many of them away from the faith. You’ve also seen the evidence of fulfillment. We don’t have to go and explain and look at every single detail, but you have seen it yourself. So, we will leave it up to you to decide if you will accept the truth Christ told us, if you will accept what the apostles warned us about, and what history proves really happened.
However, we’re not yet done with the history, because we only got a part of the story. Christ did not say, if you still remember, that all the disciples will be led astray or away from the true faith—he said many. Apostle Paul did not say all would depart from the faith—he said some. And so, we need to find out what happened to the other members, or those who remained faithful Church of Christ members by not following the false teachings? The truth may surprise you. It may even be painful, but it is absolutely necessary to know this because without it, you will not truly understand why you belong to the church you belong to today. And more importantly, the danger it poses to where you will spend eternity.
Now, the rest of the story, we will reveal to you on our next episode. You don’t want to miss it. Now, the truth, it may be painful at first, but whether we accept it or not, whether we believe it or not, the truth is something we all must face. Thanks for joining us on Face The Truth. See you again next time. God bless.
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