Grace Seeker
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Yes, there are differences among Christians.
Those differences are sometimes seen as divisions: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, asundry diffrerent Protestant denominations. A good study of church history helps to understand how these divisions occurred, they primarily have to do with issues of authority -- that is who can and who cannot speak for others within the church, and with issues of accountability -- that is to whom does one report and who can tell another that he/she is out of line in one's Christian discipleship or ethics. These issues would often flare-up in response to an issue of doctrine, but in reality the root was often about authority and accountablity, i.e. "that other person/group can't tell me what to do", and so individuals or groups would break away going to go off on one's own and not pay attention to the other group from which they broke off anymore.
There is a second type of difference that also occurs among Christians, and this is one that does not follow denominational lines at all. It has to do with how one thinks about the faith personally. Sometimes it is termed a liberal vs. conservative divide. Other times you will hear the media talk about either "born-again" Christians or evangelical believers. But, these terms are used differently by different people so that individuals and churches apply them to themselves differently. Few people can say what those terms actually mean.
For instance, the term "born-again" comes from a reference in John 3:3 where Jesus tells Nicodemus that you must be born-again. But no one ever really defines what it means there, though of course most Christians have an interpretation of its meaning. The term evangelical comes from the Greek word euangelon meaning a good message or "good news" which is also translated by into the term "Gospel". So, pretty much anybody who accepts the Gospel of Jesus might call themselves an evangelical. I could even see some Muslims, who by their understanding believe that Jesus taught the same Injeel message that Muhammad brought, claim to be evangelical.
So, obviously this makes labelling very difficult. One group will see themselves as born-again, saved, evangelical Christians and because of some small point of departure from others deny that another group is and yet that other group would apply the very same label to themselves. By this way of thinking, for instance, there are some protestants who would claim that Roman Catholics are not Christians because Catholics find value in church tradition, not just the scriptures, for interpreting the faith. And by the same token there are some Roman Catholics who would see Protestants as Christian but not a part of the true Church because Protestants only use the Bible and won't accept the teachings of church tradition on par with scripture.
What does all of this mean? Well, for one, that things can easily become confusing and are rarely what they seem at first glance. And in particular, as relates to this board, that the self-described monikers we use to label ourselves as Christian may not tell other posters all that they think it does. I encourage those who post regularly to try to get to know us as individuals. And when one searches the web to find "Christian" sites, be aware that the most extreme views that are held by only an insignificant number of supposed Christians are presented on par with the historically orthodox views that are shared by nearly all Christians. Don't take anything at face value, learn to know the different groups and how they represent themselves, as to whether they fit in the norm or are at the fringes, perhaps even outside of Christendom.
I know that is a difficult task. I struggle with it myself and I have grown up within Christendom; for someone from outside it has to be even harder. Here are some suggestions to help those who care to be able to discern some differences.
First, though I am a protestant pastor, I do recognize the Roman Catholic Church to have been good keepers of the historical traditions of the Church. One of the best sources for information from the Roman Catholic Church is New Advent. The other huge division within Christendom are the Orthodox churches. They are not as well represented in the USA, Latin America or western Europe, but they are huge in eastern Europe and western Asia. A couple of sites for them include: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and this listing of Orthodox Churches of the world.
If interested in protestant churches one does best to study individuals who were major thinkers in the development of the various protestant churches. One site that provides a nice access to some of the major reformers and their works is Reformations: 1453-1800. A disclaimer -- this is a site administered by my denomination, the United Methodist Church; however, I do think it presents a fairly balanced historical view and is a good place to learn about these key figures of the protestant reformation. In addition, if you are interested in other aspects of church history, you can get links to quick summaries of all the periods of church history from its inception right up to the present at the same site. Obviously there is also doctrinal information about my United Methodist Church denomination, which is considered fairly mainline in the USA, so it might even be a good place to look if trying to get a picture of generic protestantism. Another source is Christian Classics Ethereal Library; this source will stear you to the writings of and about major figures in Christendom. In junction with information gained from a timeline (such as that provided in the previous link), you can read the writings of these people for yourself. (And if you read all of them, you'll have a better seminary education than I do.
)
Lastly, in dealing with labels that people apply to themselves today, I recognize that as long as each person decides what a label means for him or herself, they really mean nothing to anyone else. One organization, the Barna Group, has tried to devise some sort of standard for these frequently used labels. You can read more about their definitions of terms here: Survey Explores Who Qualifies As an Evangelical. While I may not quite agree with each of standards, at least their 9 points are an objective starting place:
Barna defines "Born-Again" Christians as
Barna defines “Evangelical" Christians as
Barna does not make being classified as an either a Born-Again Christians or an Evangelical Christian dependent upon church attendance nor the denominational affiliation.
Those differences are sometimes seen as divisions: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, asundry diffrerent Protestant denominations. A good study of church history helps to understand how these divisions occurred, they primarily have to do with issues of authority -- that is who can and who cannot speak for others within the church, and with issues of accountability -- that is to whom does one report and who can tell another that he/she is out of line in one's Christian discipleship or ethics. These issues would often flare-up in response to an issue of doctrine, but in reality the root was often about authority and accountablity, i.e. "that other person/group can't tell me what to do", and so individuals or groups would break away going to go off on one's own and not pay attention to the other group from which they broke off anymore.
There is a second type of difference that also occurs among Christians, and this is one that does not follow denominational lines at all. It has to do with how one thinks about the faith personally. Sometimes it is termed a liberal vs. conservative divide. Other times you will hear the media talk about either "born-again" Christians or evangelical believers. But, these terms are used differently by different people so that individuals and churches apply them to themselves differently. Few people can say what those terms actually mean.
For instance, the term "born-again" comes from a reference in John 3:3 where Jesus tells Nicodemus that you must be born-again. But no one ever really defines what it means there, though of course most Christians have an interpretation of its meaning. The term evangelical comes from the Greek word euangelon meaning a good message or "good news" which is also translated by into the term "Gospel". So, pretty much anybody who accepts the Gospel of Jesus might call themselves an evangelical. I could even see some Muslims, who by their understanding believe that Jesus taught the same Injeel message that Muhammad brought, claim to be evangelical.
So, obviously this makes labelling very difficult. One group will see themselves as born-again, saved, evangelical Christians and because of some small point of departure from others deny that another group is and yet that other group would apply the very same label to themselves. By this way of thinking, for instance, there are some protestants who would claim that Roman Catholics are not Christians because Catholics find value in church tradition, not just the scriptures, for interpreting the faith. And by the same token there are some Roman Catholics who would see Protestants as Christian but not a part of the true Church because Protestants only use the Bible and won't accept the teachings of church tradition on par with scripture.
What does all of this mean? Well, for one, that things can easily become confusing and are rarely what they seem at first glance. And in particular, as relates to this board, that the self-described monikers we use to label ourselves as Christian may not tell other posters all that they think it does. I encourage those who post regularly to try to get to know us as individuals. And when one searches the web to find "Christian" sites, be aware that the most extreme views that are held by only an insignificant number of supposed Christians are presented on par with the historically orthodox views that are shared by nearly all Christians. Don't take anything at face value, learn to know the different groups and how they represent themselves, as to whether they fit in the norm or are at the fringes, perhaps even outside of Christendom.
I know that is a difficult task. I struggle with it myself and I have grown up within Christendom; for someone from outside it has to be even harder. Here are some suggestions to help those who care to be able to discern some differences.
First, though I am a protestant pastor, I do recognize the Roman Catholic Church to have been good keepers of the historical traditions of the Church. One of the best sources for information from the Roman Catholic Church is New Advent. The other huge division within Christendom are the Orthodox churches. They are not as well represented in the USA, Latin America or western Europe, but they are huge in eastern Europe and western Asia. A couple of sites for them include: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and this listing of Orthodox Churches of the world.
If interested in protestant churches one does best to study individuals who were major thinkers in the development of the various protestant churches. One site that provides a nice access to some of the major reformers and their works is Reformations: 1453-1800. A disclaimer -- this is a site administered by my denomination, the United Methodist Church; however, I do think it presents a fairly balanced historical view and is a good place to learn about these key figures of the protestant reformation. In addition, if you are interested in other aspects of church history, you can get links to quick summaries of all the periods of church history from its inception right up to the present at the same site. Obviously there is also doctrinal information about my United Methodist Church denomination, which is considered fairly mainline in the USA, so it might even be a good place to look if trying to get a picture of generic protestantism. Another source is Christian Classics Ethereal Library; this source will stear you to the writings of and about major figures in Christendom. In junction with information gained from a timeline (such as that provided in the previous link), you can read the writings of these people for yourself. (And if you read all of them, you'll have a better seminary education than I do.
)Lastly, in dealing with labels that people apply to themselves today, I recognize that as long as each person decides what a label means for him or herself, they really mean nothing to anyone else. One organization, the Barna Group, has tried to devise some sort of standard for these frequently used labels. You can read more about their definitions of terms here: Survey Explores Who Qualifies As an Evangelical. While I may not quite agree with each of standards, at least their 9 points are an objective starting place:
Barna defines "Born-Again" Christians as
1. people who say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today. AND
2. people who indicate they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
2. people who indicate they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
Barna defines “Evangelical" Christians as
1. people who say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today.
2. people who indicate they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
3. people who say their faith is very important in their life today.
4. people who believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians.
5. people who believe that Satan exists.
6. people who believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works.
7. people who believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth.
8. people who assert that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches. AND
9. people who describe God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.
2. people who indicate they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
3. people who say their faith is very important in their life today.
4. people who believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians.
5. people who believe that Satan exists.
6. people who believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works.
7. people who believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth.
8. people who assert that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches. AND
9. people who describe God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.
Barna does not make being classified as an either a Born-Again Christians or an Evangelical Christian dependent upon church attendance nor the denominational affiliation.
