[genny]

From the talk in the threads Happy New Year and Internet Tree of Knowledge about denominations, I thought it would be good to continue that discussion in its own thread…

I'm especially curious about this now, after reading comments like these from our wmscog friend, 144000 (taken from those two threads, bolding done by me):

It would have been better for you if you reccomended your own "Zion", but few to none of you have one, exposing the falsehood even more. In fact more often than not you people admit your confusions about the bible and how you don't think any of the denominations have it right (which is the exact same thing we claim, barring ourselves! How we should be in agreement!) Forgive me for speaking in general about all of you as a collective.

But the truth is revealed by so many of you who cannot even say which church is the true church. There is no truth here, only falsehood and men stumbling from place to place, from a famine not of food, but of the word of the Lord.

By the way, I can't think of too many people here who "don't think any of the denominations have it right," rather many have said that there is no single denomination that is the only true church.

Questions for discussion: How would you define a "true church"?  Is there specific criteria you would use?  (Don't just say one that follows the Bible–too vague.)

It would be better for you if you proclaimed that your own Zions were the true church, and that all the others were false. Instead you put up with each other, where, if you truley believed what you believed, then you would believe that they are the product of the evil one just as much as we are. The bible was right to say "for you put up with it easily enough" and rebuked the different gospels, which are relaly no gospels at all.

But you do not believe that, or if you do then your actions aren't proving it.

And if you are about to reply that it isn't technically a "different gospel" and that you all "believe in Jesus" let me save you so time, to do so is to deny the word of God almighty, who promised the abundance of different gospels and misinterpretations of Christ. We see its fulfillment in hundreds of different denominations.

This is reference to 2 Cor. 11:4, "For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough."

Questions for discussion: What exactly do you define as the gospel, and how would you know if it was a "different gospel"?

Go and learn what defines a same or different Jesus. He isn't rebuking pagans, he's rebuking churches of Christ who deviate from commands, such as the viel for women "we have no other teaching" nor does the true church of God! "I follow peter" and "I follow paul" the mere existence of differnt denominations is rebuked, Such people are not one in Christ and you are cruelly teasing them if you are telling them they will share in his great reward.

Questions for discussion: What does define "a same or different Jesus"?  Do all teachings of different churches have to be exactly the same in order to be "one in Christ" or are some differences allowed?

All these questions are related and can meld into one discussion.  And like I said, I'm especially interested in the wmscog's perspective on all this.

[Simon]

[Simon]

so true so true

[emil]

Good post Genny.