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Are You Aware That There Are 33,000?

Different denominations of the Christian faith. Each and every one of these denominations believes that all other denominations are wrong and that it is only their denomination that is going to heaven.
Christian church or tradition or religious group or community of believers, within a specific country, whose component congregations and members are called by the same denominational name in different areas, regarding themselves as one autonomous Christian church distinct from other denominations, churches and traditions. As defined here, world Christianity consists of 6 major ecclesiastico-cultural blocs, divided into 300 major ecclesiastical traditions, composed of over 33,000 distinct denominations in 238 countries, these denominations themselves being composed of over 3,400,000 worship centers, churches or congregations.” (Barrett et al, volume 1, page 16, Table 1-5, emphasis added)
Independents (about 22000)
Protestants (about 9000)
“Marginals” (about 1600)
Orthodox (781)
Roman Catholics (242)
Anglicans (168)
So the 33,000 number is from the total of these 6 mega-blocs:
Do you know there there are significant dogmatic differences between these religions. Do you realize that the Christian religion has never been unified
African Independent Apostolic
Black American Apostolic
Filipino Apostolic
Indian Apostolic
another 8 groups have “Apostolic”
African Independent Charismatic
Black American Charismatic
Chinese Charismatic
another 14 groups have “Charismatic” or “Neocharismatic”
African Independent Full Gospel
Black American Full Gospel
Chinese Full Gospel
another 10 groups have “Full Gospel”
three have something-”grassroots”
another 20 groups have “house-church network” or “cell-based network”
five have “Messianic”-something
another 14 are something-”neocharismatic”
another 12 are something-”Oneness pentecostal”
another 18 are something-”pentecostal”
another 12 are something-”radio/TV believers [or "network"]” (i.e. the “pastor” for these independent Christians is some personality on radio or TV)
final 2 on page 17 are something-”Spiritual”
then we have a couple deliverence/pentecostal groups
Word of Faith / Prosperity groups
a couple of “mixed traditions”
some “Zionist” groups
Independent Anglicans or Anglo-Catholic groups in both Catholic and Protestant directions
Independent Adventists
apocalyptic or eschatological (“end times”) groups
Independent Baptists
British-Israelites
Hidden Buddhist believers in Christ
some Independent Orthodox groups
independent Christian Brethren (Plymouth Brethren)
schismatic Conservative Catholics
Independent Congregational, Congregationalists
Independent Disciple, Restorationist, Christian
Independent Dunkers (Tunker, Dipper)
Independent Exclusive Brethren (Closed, Strict)
episcopi vagantes (“wandering” bishops-at-large, very small under 100 members)
Independent Estonian Orthodox
Independent Anglican Evangelical
Independent Fundamentalist
Gay/Lesbian homosexual tradition (i.e. so-called “gay churches” such as Metropolitan Community Churches)
Independent Greek Orthodox
Hidden Hindu believers in Christ
Holiness or Conservative Methodist (non-Pentecostal)
Independent Hungarian Orthodox
Independent Jehovah’s Witnesses
Messianic, Jewish-Christian congregations
Independent “Latin-rite” Catholics
Independent “Liberal” Catholics (Theosophical, Masonic, Gnostic)
another seven Independent Protestant or Orthodox churches
Hidden Muslim believers in Christ
Independent Assyrian or Nestorian
No-Church Movement
Non-denominational (no church or anti-church groups)
Old Believer, Old Ritualist
Old Catholics (i.e. split from Rome after Vatican Council I)
Old Calendarist (Authentic Orthodox)
various schisms from Orthodoxy, in Protestant directions
Orthodox sect/sectarian
Independent Friends (Quakers)
three indy “Reformed” groups (Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox)
more Independent Reformed or Orthodox
Independent Spiritualist, spiritists, occultists
Traditionalist Anglicans
True Orthodox (Conservative Russian Orthodox)
Independent Ukrainian Orthodox
United church (various united bodies)
community church or union congregation
ethnic or monoethnic denominations
independent evangelicals (dispensationalist)
marginal independent Christian (Black / Third-World)
isolated radio churches (unorganized)
single autonomous congregations
65 Filipino Charismatic
70 Chinese neocharismatic
71 Chinese Charismatic
78 Black American pentecostal
82 Holiness (Conservative Methodist, non-pentecostal)
86 Afro-Caribbean Oneness pentecostal
92 Latin American Charismatic
92 Anglican/Independent Eva

  1. Timothy Jul 29th, 2010 @ 04:58 | #1

    Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 1 Cor. 1: 20. Why do we have all these churches? Because we all like our itching ears scratched. Today we have a variety of churches for a variety of people and for various reasons. O.K. we feel comfortable in our church it feel perfect to us. These are their church not Gods’.
    If I say all denominations are wrong. Then I would be saying baptisms of water and fire is a false teaching. If I say only water baptism is important and the other is not or if I say baptism of fire is important and the other is not. Then I’m choosing the one that I believe is fully right. I truly believe in sound doctrine so of course I will say both baptism of water and fire makes the sound doctrine complete. Even Jesus was water baptized. Are we greater than him? I ‘m not a pastor, yet I baptized my wife in the ocean. In revelation the scriptures does not say Jesus opened the pastors book he opened the book of life. Did I need a pastor present? Who are greater pastors or Christ? We just need another believer to baptize us.
    The great apostles were so concerned that their pastoral disciples guard the doctrinal integrity of their first-century churches. They believed that our salvation is predestine. For example the Baptise may have gone too far with once saved is always saved teaching and not enough with the gifts of the spirits which the apostles also believed. Let me just say the apostles sound docterine was truly complete.
    Yes practice makes perfect. Yet how long do we need to wait until they get it perfect? I did not practice the gifts I waited for it. The gifts were encouraged but practice of the gifts was not stopped. Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 1 Cor.14: 1-40
    If someone comes to my house to visit me, yet they reject my wife where is my wife to go? If we except God then we need to love all three. Just as a husband and wife is one so is God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit is one. There are three that testify the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree1John 5:6-12.
    I see many best answers that are based on what they like to here not on what is the most truthful. How can we say others are hypocrites when we know we are doing the same?

  2. M (atheist) Jul 29th, 2010 @ 08:44 | #2

    And each one has probably attempted to bring up Pascal’s wager if they ran into an atheist :P :D

  3. godless Jul 29th, 2010 @ 12:48 | #3

    You forgot all the other religions, along with their gods.
    Every one of them is the One True Church ™. What’s your problem?

  4. BrokenEye Faithpalm Jul 29th, 2010 @ 13:47 | #4

    Jesus skullfu’cking Christ!

  5. EddieJ Jul 29th, 2010 @ 17:46 | #5

    It would be interesting to see an accurate matrix to see which ones agree “sufficiently” with others. I suspect a lot of the independent churches, while not affiliated with any others, are mostly the same.

  6. Donny Jul 29th, 2010 @ 18:17 | #6

    “Each and every one of these denominations believes that all other denominations are wrong and that it is only their denomination that is going to heaven.”
    Wrong, there are only a handful out of the over 30,000 that hold to this belief.

  7. nokilleye version 2.0 Jul 29th, 2010 @ 23:44 | #7

    Do you realize in identifying the ‘dogma’, intolerance and hostility of the many evil faces of christianity, you introduce four gross assumptions without any rational basis? How do you think this conduct establishes your apparent ‘position’ as morally or even intellectually superior? How do you think these trivial statistics support your assumptions? What exactly do you think any of this ‘proves’? This is why I have no sympathy for aggressive evangelical atheists. Your tactics, conduct and wishful assumptions are always precisely of the very quality you claim to oppose.

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