Summary of The Origins of Christian Denominations

00:00:00 - 00:20:00

The video discusses the origins of Christian denominations, and how they may have originated from a merger between two different churches. It also discusses the different divisions between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, and how they have existed for a longer time than commonly believed.

• 00:00:00 These denomination origin charts have at least one big issue: they are often inaccurate or misleading. For example, Wikipedia's chart has this issue. Before we go back and look at one of the major divisions in Christianity, let's look at relatively recent times to notice an issue with talking about the origin of denominations. Here's a new denomination, Sovereign Grace Churches, which was formed in 1982. However, before 1982, it wasn't there. So on Wikipedia for example, it's clearly listed that 1982 is the origin, while if you go to Wikipedia and look up the Presbyterian Church USA, you'll find that it is one year newer, the origin is listed as June 10, 1983. So if you want to attend the more historic of these two denominations, you should go to SGC (the Presbyterian Church USA).
• 00:05:00 This video discusses the origins of Christian denominations, and how they may have originated from a merger between two different churches. It also discusses the different divisions between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, and how they have existed for a longer time than commonly believed.
• 00:10:00 The video discusses the Protestant Reformation, which began with the stated goal of reforming the Church rather than dividing it. As time went on, it became apparent that the Catholic Church was not enthusiastic about some of these reforms, and Protestants started to leave the structures of the existing church. They claimed to leave the Catholic Church, but in reality, the true Catholic Church contained many Church structures within it. Lutheranism, which split from the Protestant Reformation relatively peacefully, is different from Anglicanism, which split from the Protestant Reformation more violently. Methodism, which split from Anglicanism, is also different from Lutheranism. Restorationism, which is a movement within Methodism, is problematic because it claims that members of other denominations (such as Pentecostals and Mormons) come from within Methodism itself. Charts like these can be helpful, but they should be used with a healthy dose of skepticism.
• 00:15:00 This video explains the origins of Christian denominations, including Seventh-Day Adventists, Baptists, and Churches of Christ. It points out that, while there was no single event that led to the formation of these denominations, many factors contributed to their development, including the spread of new theological beliefs that borrowed heavily from other groups. While some Baptist churches may have split from Anglicanism, the origins of Baptistism as a whole can be traced back to John Smith, an Anglican who later became an Anabaptist.
• 00:20:00 The origin of Christian denominations is contested, with different theories suggesting they came from different groups of people.