Re: Why Are There So Many Churches (EDIT)

I watched the initial video on why there are so many churches and I don't think it is a good explanation at all. I think the question of why there are so many churches is a very good one and something everyone should ponder. How can it be that there is only one Gospel but so many different churches all preaching the Gospel with slight or sometimes large variations? Yet everyone is so sure of their own understanding and interpretation of the Gospel. It makes things very confusing, especially for someone first coming to Christianity.

My feeling is this: Yes Jesus did set up a church but I don't believe that church endured. Not due to any fault of Jesus, but due to the fault of man. Catholicism basically destroyed anything that was set up by Jesus, but I need to do some serious research on this topic, as it is very interesting to me. What actually did happen to the real Church of Christ that he set up? I don't think the video explains this at all. Basically, what it seems like this guy is saying is anyone who believes in the true Gospel of Christ is in his 'Church', to some extent I do kind of agree with this, but then why do so many of us disagree on what is the true Gospel of Christ? There is not one view but many interpretations which create all the Christian Sects, Why? The answer is because of the imperfection of man. That is why the initial true Church couldn't endure and why today man in his great folly each has his own interpretation of the Gospel. If we are just relying on our own interpretation of the Gospel and not relying on the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit to guide us personally, then we will never truly be saved. In the end, personally I don't think it as important which specific Church you worship in but more important is how you worship, using the Holy Spirit for divine discernment in your own life. In other words, it is not the correct understanding of the Gospel that declares us as a member of the Church of Christ but our complete surrender of our hearts and minds to Christ that makes us a part of his real Church. After we surrender our hearts and minds completely, then the full truth of the Gospel can start to unveil itself to us. When Christ returns, he will destroy all of our silly sects and finally establish His One Church again, which does not exist today, but only exists in the hearts of his true followers.

As far as the issue of the Trinity. I don't know that he said the Trinity doesn't exist. He said that the Catholic church formulated their own specific ideas about the Trinity, in other words the 3 as 1 approach, at a specific time. He also said that he doesn't think we need to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost but only in the name of Jesus Christ. Just another glaring example of how we all have our own interpretation, but I don't think that I read anything about him saying, the Trinity doesn't exist, unless I missed it. People who debate the Trinity and their own personal opinions on the matter are again debating with their own rational human minds, instead of laying down their lives at the feet of Christ and allowing him to show them the true meaning of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Do we have to believe in the Trinity to achieve salvation? No, I don't think so. I don't think we need to understand everything exactly perfectly about the Gospel to receive salvation, otherwise basically no one would be saved. We come to Christ and if you ask with a sincere heart, without our own selfish ego, he will show us the way. We worship at the feet of Christ day and night and he transforms us into something completely different. I think the true power of the Bible is not all of the little specifics, not all of the particular doctrine, the true power of the Bible is to let us to know this person Jesus Christ. Once you know him, then you just kneel at his feet and let him transform you. That is not to say, his Gospel doesn't matter. His gospel is how we know him and we should study it as much as possible, to dispel our misunderstandings, but we study the Gospel to come to Christ, to know Christ better, so we can come closer to him and accept him more fully into our heart. If we think the Gospel will save us, that is where you get into trouble, because our interpretation of all the specifics of the Gospel can be wrong. And even if we had a perfect understanding of the Gospel, if our hearts are filled with pride and ego, we cannot be saved.