So, why doesn't Scripture uniquely endorse a specific denomination ?

[vorlon13]

I note Martin Luther was able to cite Scripture copiously to support his contentions the Roman Catholic Church wasn't, as I like saying, "doing it right" and to use those same Scriptures to base his schismatic church upon.

-however-

as the centuries have passed since Luther's time, even his Lutheran Church has seen fit to 'adjust' Luther's take on things, even repudiating some of his contentions (yet while still maintaining the Lutheran trade mark!) and the Lutheran church itself has spawned numerous schisms of its own.

Is the fault with the people trying to implement Lutheranism, or is it something deeper, a fault, pernicious and saturating in Holy Scripture itself ??

A given person examining Luther's 93 thesis and the history of the church, and then studying the Bible would say, "Well, obviously! The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the One True Faith!" and yet another person, reviewing all the above information would say, "How about that!, Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod has NAILED IT !!! Praise Jesus!!"

Where does this come from? Are my 2 hypothetical individuals screwing up? Or did Luther screw up?


Or is it God ?

[Chad32]

It should be telling that, the longer christianity exists, the further divided it becomes. This is why science is better. It brings people closer together through evidence and concrete facts.

[Whateverist]

Who could have predicted the fracturing? <=> Omniscience

---

Choose one.

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[Minimalist]

Say!  You don't suppose that they are all full of shit, do you?

[vorlon13]

So, a dissident in a religious organization uses Scripture to delineate where his denomination is straying from His Word, and in consideration of that, launches their own schism, ostensibly addressing the faults noted in justification of the schism and 'birthing' a perfected religion.

But then fails to indemnify his branch of Christendom from precisely the same errors that inspired him.

I suppose turn about is fair play, and what's good for the goose, etc., but after tens of thousands of schisms, might someone have perfected the 'art' of schismatism so as to preclude the same techniques they used to justify their split from being used against themselves ??

Lutherans seem bad at this, the Mormons even worse, in their scheme, in less than 2 centuries they've suffered over a hundred schisms of their own.


Why aren't they better at this ?

[brewer]

Inadequate lobotomy application. If they are allowed to think a schism will arise, even within a single church.

[Succubus]

I don't know how I view Martin Luther. He did indeed deliver one mighty hammer blow to the catholic church but the carnage that followed was sickening. Ok, with or without the reformation Christians were butchering one another with reckless abandon but the numbers shot up after Luther.
As for modern day schisms look at the number of baptist denominations in the US, hundreds, thousands? Is this down to new and profound philosophical / theological revelations by devout but misguided preachers that caused the flock to declare: 'this man knows his shit, lets form a new church'. Or is it more likely due to individual wandering con man preachers spotting large crowds outside rural church's. To use F. T. Barnum's line: Every crowd has a silver lining.
No doubt baptist congregations of whatever stripe are indeed most devout but I suspect their understanding of scripture is limited to the platitudes spouted from the pulpit. Like most Christians, they don't know what they believe or why they believe it, if they were to actually study scripture they wouldn't be Christians.

The Anglican church! Much hilarity! What did Avogadro say about diluting stuff, you can only dilute a substance so many times before there's fuckall left to dilute. Same with the Anglican church, there's fuckall scripture left to fall out over. You want to become a member of the Anglican church? No problem, polish your shoes and find a tie, just turn up and you're good to go.

[Godscreated]

I note Martin Luther was able to cite Scripture copiously to support his contentions the Roman Catholic Church wasn't, as I like saying, "doing it right" and to use those same Scriptures to base his schismatic church upon.

-however-

as the centuries have passed since Luther's time, even his Lutheran Church has seen fit to 'adjust' Luther's take on things, even repudiating some of his contentions (yet while still maintaining the Lutheran trade mark!) and the Lutheran church itself has spawned numerous schisms of its own.

Is the fault with the people trying to implement Lutheranism, or is it something deeper, a fault, pernicious and saturating in Holy Scripture itself ??

A given person examining Luther's 93 thesis and the history of the church, and then studying the Bible would say, "Well, obviously! The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the One True Faith!"  and yet another person, reviewing all the above information would say, "How about that!, Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod has NAILED IT !!! Praise Jesus!!"

Where does this come from?  Are my 2 hypothetical individuals screwing up?  Or did Luther screw up?


Or is it God ?

  First let's get this out of the way God never screws up. Second the denominations are man made, mainly through personal interpretation. The only real church is but one, those who believe in Jesus Christ as who He is, we are His bride and He is the groom who has brought us salvation because of who He is. Christianity is simple, God intended it this way for the reason that no one could misunderstand what God's desire for us is. Man want's to complicate things because of their own self righteousness, the original sin.

GC

[Wyrd of Gawd]

I note Martin Luther was able to cite Scripture copiously to support his contentions the Roman Catholic Church wasn't, as I like saying, "doing it right" and to use those same Scriptures to base his schismatic church upon.

-however-

as the centuries have passed since Luther's time, even his Lutheran Church has seen fit to 'adjust' Luther's take on things, even repudiating some of his contentions (yet while still maintaining the Lutheran trade mark!) and the Lutheran church itself has spawned numerous schisms of its own.

Is the fault with the people trying to implement Lutheranism, or is it something deeper, a fault, pernicious and saturating in Holy Scripture itself ??

A given person examining Luther's 93 thesis and the history of the church, and then studying the Bible would say, "Well, obviously! The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the One True Faith!"  and yet another person, reviewing all the above information would say, "How about that!, Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod has NAILED IT !!! Praise Jesus!!"

Where does this come from?  Are my 2 hypothetical individuals screwing up?  Or did Luther screw up?


Or is it God ?

Remember, people were arguing about doctrine three seconds after Yeshua bit the dust.  The Bible has several examples of it.

[vorlon13]