This weeks Quick Challenge Question is, Don’t different denominations prove Christianity is false?
Different denominations may hold various views on different non-essentials. Differences like style of worship, how the Church should be run and what day to meet are all open for debate. But in the essentials, they for the most part agree. There is not as much variance on the essential doctrines as many believe.
Christian denominations believe in God, the resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. We believe in the Triune nature of God. We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit. In all these things, Christians are united.
It’s also important to note that just because there is disagreement on some of the secondary issues, it doesn’t prove Christianity is false. There is much debate in the scientific community on how the universe came into being. The fact that there is disagreement doesn’t mean there isn’t a right answer to be found. It also doesn’t mean that we should just conclude that origin research is all worthless because there is disagreement. In the same way, differences in Christianity don’t show that the whole enterprise is false. It just shows that Christians have liberty where non-essentials exist.
This brings to mind one of my favorite sayings on differences among Christians. I first heard it from Hank Hanegraaff. “In the essentials, unity. In the non-essentials, liberty. And in all things, charity”. This is a good reminder that as we deal with other Christians that hold different views, we should be charitable in our conversations. While Christians should argue vigorously for our positions, we should not divide over non-essential issues.
