The Many Faces of Christianity

One of the more puzzling aspects of Christianity, a religion that claims to possess the truth, is the huge level of disunity among the believers. Some estimate that there are more than 30,000 different Christian denominations but this presents a somewhat exaggerated picture of the religion in total. The bulk of the varying denominations can be traced to about eight traditional origins: Latin Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran Protestantism, Calvinist Protestantism, Anglican, Pentecostalism, Restorationist, and liberal theologists. One way to view the differences is if they have murdered each other over doctrinal differences those differences must be significant enough to draw lines of distinction.

When asked to explain why there are so many variations of the Christian religion, apologists typically discuss the politics of the Roman Empire, the reformation and simple differences of opinion about doctrinal issues. Tracing the differences to political divisions seems to gloss over the heart of the divisions. A protestant fundamentalist explanation at least presents a definitive answer. The divergence of Christianity is the work of Satan who seeds confusion in order to conceal the truth.

At its core, Christianity has a message that a great many people find as appealing today as the earliest Christians. The disunity rests with the problem that both Jesus and his most prominent adherent, Paul taught a message of apocalyptic revolution that proved wrong. Rather than give up on the religion they found so appealing, they developed hundreds or thousands of explanations to explain this contradiction. Two thousand years of Christian doctrine has been about rationalizing the basic errors inherit in an apocalyptic foundation that didn't get its apocalypse. This forms the bulk of Christian theology, namely a set of explanations for why everything did not work out properly in the beginning.

Roman Catholicism maintained its preeminence and its adherence to one single set of explanations for 1500 years thanks to its reliance on ignorance, illiteracy and intimidation. When this began to show cracks it became more rigid and dogmatic. As soon as the gates were opened by Martin Luther the varying explanations began to pour out. Within a very short time there were dozens, then hundreds of new sets of explanations. Very quickly Protestantism had to cope with the problem that Catholicism was well aware of for centuries. If everyone is allowed to interpret the Bible as one sees fit then everyone might come up with their own doctrine. In large part, this is what occurred.

Through all the divisions among Christianity; dating back to the first century and continuing forward to the present, two basic themes emerge. One is the Kingdom of God view which is best espoused by the Roman Catholic Church. The other is the apocalyptic Christ return view espoused prominently among the more fundamentalist segments of the Protestant faiths, and all of the "Left Behind" adherents.

As the Church in Rome began to stabilize as the dominant force in early Christianity the first concept that had to be jettisoned was the imminent second coming message that had galvanized the earliest followers. If everyone was simply waiting for Christ's return there would be no reason to build a stable church.

Jettisoned by Catholicism, this ball was picked up by various Protestant communities who used it to gain membership in much the same fashion as the Apostle Paul used it to win early converts. It worked for Paul and it has been successful for many Protestant groups as well.

The variety and imaginative explanations for the errancy of the initial message is why Christianity has splintered into so many variations. It is manmade rationalization that has produced the diverse doctrines that make up denominational Christianity. The religion has stood up in the face of the errancy because at the core is the passion narrative. The depiction of Jesus' last hours possesses such a power emotional component that it alone keeps the followers believing. The Christian religious perspectives are simply the various and differing means for explaining away all the falsity so the message of the passion can be preserved.