View on Church organizations:

• ​Jesus comes before the organization; Christians come before the organization. The Church is a local organization led by a "pastor" (a hired shepherd).

Church Government definitions: Sorted by their sphere of influence:

• Roman Catholic government:

  • Papal authority over all other churches. The Catholic church is a variation of the state church and is a region of churches that are unified in doctrine (church under an emperor).

  • The Pope's words are equal to the Lord God's words. The only followers of this are Roman Catholics, as there is no room for others besides the Pope. The sphere of governmental influence is wherever it reaches.

• Episcopalian government:

  • Governed by Bishops, but no head bishop. This is the catholic way (not RCC). I believe this has changed to a more denomination-oriented separation instead of a regional one. The sphere of governmental influence is regional. 

• Presbyterian government:

  • Governed by Bishops or elders. I think this is church-by-church, compared to the catholic region-by-region; there is no "head church". Calvinism is run this way. The sphere of governmental influence is city-level. I believe TruNews is run this way.

• Congregationalist government:

  • Governed by the Congregation. The sphere of governmental influence is community-level.

Group Definitions: ​

• Three main groups: Catholic, Reformed, Evangelical.

• Catholic: Part of a so-called Universal Church. As a general term, this is supposed to includes all Christianity-- especially those which came out of Rome. More precisely, it refers to Roman Catholicism, as anyone who does not agree with Rome is no longer Catholic and must be excommunicated. May have been used before the Council of Nicaea as a general term for the whole body of Christ, this is currently not the case. Evidence for the use of this term representing a group of Christians did not exist prior to the Council of Nicaea. Possible double meaning: Fully-down Church (JK).

  • Types: Roman Catholic; Orthodox Catholic; Protestant Catholic​; Oriental Catholic

  • Orthodox: Catholic Christians who adhere to the Christian creeds.

    • Roman Orthodox: Born out of the Great Schism (A.D. 1054). See Catholic above.

      • Papist: Reformation group: Those loyal to Roman Catholicism, particularly Roman Catholics in another Church's jurisdiction.

    • Eastern Orthodox: Born out of the Great Schism (A.D. 1054). Those churches which came from and out of Constantinople after the Great Schism (1054). The main branch is Greek Orthodox. They are seen as heretics to the Roman Church. They follow the same doctrine and creeds as Rome up to A.D. 1054, and have grown apart from Rome since this point in time.

    • Russian Orthodox: (A.D. 1448) Born out of Eastern Orthodox, but grew separately and became it's own regional Catholic Church. The state church of Russia.

      • The Russian Orthodox Church had it's own schism on A.D. 1653, this split the Church into two factions: the State Church and the Old Believers.​​

  • Heterodox: Catholic Christians who do not follow one or more of the Catholic creeds making themselves a heretic to Catholicism.​

    • ​Nestorians and followers of Arius: Those which did not agree with the majority at the council of Nicaea and were excommunicated by the other Churches. Deemed heterodox.​

    • Oriental Orthodox: Those churches which removed themselves from the Catholic Church at the Council of Chalcedony in 451. They are seen as heretics to both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. They follow the same doctrine and creeds as Rome up to A.D. 451, and have grown apart from Rome since this point in time.

    • Protestant Catholicism: Those that took part in the Reformation, as protesting the Church of Rome. Any post-Reformation denomination that does not claim Catholicism is considered to be Protestant by the world.

      • Lutheran: Martin Luther in Germany attempted to reform Catholicism, his followers are known as Lutheran. One of the denominations born out of the Reformation. This denomination believes in Transubstantiation.​

      • Anglican (State Church of England): England probably has the most varied and volatile Christian history since the Acts. England and her Church became the main battleground on a lot of different topics, they were both persecuted and persecutor, they gave us modern missions, they broke the military arm of the Catholic Church, They caused America to become what it is today. Sometimes Catholic, other times Protestant, at one point free of the throne and it's church; a microcosm of the Reformation.

• Reformation: The beginning of the European congregations parting ways with the Roman Church, this made them heretics to Rome.

  • Information:

    • The date that is credited to the birth of the Reformation is October 31st, A.D. 1517, the day Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Thesis on the door of the local Church.

    • The Reformation gave birth to Protestant Catholics, Reformed Christians and "Free Church" Christians. The Free Church are those who became Evangelicals.

    • There was a large Christian library in Geneva, Switzerland, this is where a lot of reformers and anti-statist Christians learned and stored their knowledge, it is where the Geneva Bible (A.D. 1599) was translated.

    • Some hot topics that formed these new groups: Paying for Grace, Transubstantiation, Baptism, Infant Baptism, Divine right of the Pope, Divine right of kings.

    • The Reformation also led to the Roman Catholic's Counter-Reformation, which clarified some of these concerns.

  • Reformed Groups:​

    • Calvinism: John Calvin in Geneva, state Church of Switzerland.

      • John Calvin was a French Christian who was forced to flee because of his beliefs. He made his home in Geneva Switzerland.​

    • Dutch Reformed: John Calvin's followers in the Netherlands. Persecuted by the government.

    • Arminianism: Jacob Arminius, the Netherlands, critical of Calvinism's TULIP doctrine. He had his own 5-point doctrine.

    • Presbyterian: John Knox in Scotland, state Church, based off Calvinism.

      • Baptist: The ex-Episcopal Baptist, Roger Williams, was the first to promote the idea of absolute freedom of religion, or the separation of Church and State.​ Part of the Free Church groups.

    • Zwinglianism: Huldrych Zwingli in Switzerland. He held different views to Calvin.

    • Anglican: See above in Catholic section.

      • Episcopalian: ​Born on 1776 due to the American Revolution.  Foreign representation of the State Church of England, particularly in the United States. Note: all Catholic groups in the United States are foreign representatives, as Catholics are statist.

    • Free Church groups: Those who did not agree with the Catholic Church at all. They do not claim Protestantism because they never claimed Catholicism. The Pilgrims are one of these groups. Some Puritans groups are the Baptists and Congregationalists. These groups used the opportunity brought by the Reformation to attempt purifying much more than their statist brethren.  Their hope is restoring Christianity to it's New Testament roots.​

      • These groups are politically at odds with the Reformers of their home land, because they set themselves against the state church. This lead to persecution for a lot of the groups. They share many doctrines and concepts with Reformers, but despise state churches.

      • In many ways, the American colony became a means of escaping persecution for these groups.

      • The American colony served the king as a means of releasing "troublemaker" Christians from their nation's statist religion.

      • These groups are all "free" Churches and have been included in the new Evangelical umbrella.

      • American colonies: From Halley's p.794:

        • The United States was colonized: 

          • 1607, by Anglican Puritans, in Virginia;

          • 1615, by Dutch Reformed, in New York;

          • 1620, by Puritans, in Massachusetts;

          • 1634, by English Catholics, in Baltimore;

          • 1639, by Baptists, in Rhode Island;

          • 1681, by Quakers, in Pennsylvania.​​​

  • To help you put the Reformation in perspective: Think of Catholics as a universal church where everybody agrees with the leader. Think of Protestants as renegade Catholics protesting Catholic overreach. Think of Reformers as Protestants that want to reform the state Church into "what it is supposed to be". Think of Puritans and other Free Church groups as Christians taking advantage of their country's split with Rome to continue to remove themselves from their new ex-Roman statist church. 

• Evangelical:​

  • This is a new term created to cover the development of the denominations which came out of the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening. It is the de facto religion of the United States. These groups mainly come from the "smaller groups" mentioned above; those free church congregations against state churches. The term can also include domestic congregations of "statists" (if they request inclusion). Evangelicalism is power through association, creating an alternative that can hold it's own against state churches. This body of Christians is supposed to be easy to join because each denomination has it's own doctrine which is not fully accepted by others. The Evangelical body is common ground, so the independent groups can exist in peace and band together for emergencies and missions of evangelism. The Evangelical body also provides a way for "statists" to be included within the Christian community without actually joining these independent groups and  possibly compromising their doctrine.​

  • Major Denominations:

    • Baptist​

      • Non-Denominational​

    • Congregationalist

    • Quakers

      • Friends

    • Methodist 

    • Amish

    • Mennonite

    • Pentecostal

    • Plymouth Brethren

    • Church of the Nazarene​

  • Who are Evangelicals? (From Joshua Project)

    • Evangelicals are Followers of Christ who generally emphasize the following points:

      1. The Lord Jesus Christ as the sole source of salvation through faith in Him.

      2. Personal faith and conversion with regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

      3. A recognition of the inspired Word of God as the only basis for faith and living.

      4. Commitment to Biblical preaching and evangelism that brings others to faith in Christ.

      • The noun "Evangelical" is capitalized since it represents a body of Christians with a fairly clearly defined theology (as also Orthodox and Catholic bodies, etc.). Evangelicals are here defined as:

        • All affiliated Christians (church members, their children, etc.) of denominations that are evangelical in theology as defined above.

        • The proportion of Christians in other denominations (that are not wholly evangelical in theology) who would hold evangelical views.

        • The proportion of Christians in denominations in non-Western nations (where doctrinal positions are less well defined) that would be regarded as Evangelicals by those in the above categories.

      • This is a theological and not an experiential definition. It does not mean that all Evangelicals as defined above are actually born-again. In many nations only 10-40% of Evangelicals so defined may have had a valid conversion and also regularly attend church services. However, it does show how many people align themselves with churches where the gospel is being proclaimed.

      • In the United States, the term has sometimes been made equivalent to the Religious Right or a conservative voting bloc. On this website (Joshua Project), the term is always intended in its historical and more global definition and does not have political implications.​

      • End of Joshua Project  information.

    • Notes:​

      • All Evangelicals are assumed to be saved --if they agree on the above four points-- but they may not actually be saved. If the denomination adds something to the process that should not be added, for example, Seventh Day Adventists add Torah observance to the outline above, they may remove themselves from the fold of Jesus Christ. This also includes Catholics to some degree, as they agree on the points, but they also believe in other methods that add to or supplant the outline of Evangelicalism.​

      • Evangelicals are accepting of each other because the Gospel is being preached. The hope of the movement is to fix the issues along the way in spite of disagreements, a save first and fix later mindset. The many denominations all disagree on what "fixing" entails, but the individual is saved and he will receive a functioning version of Christianity from his chosen Church. It is a looser interpretation of the Christian walk that uses the Bible as a governor, including a strict understanding of the foundation of Salvation and of Salvation's requirements for entry.

      • The politics and movements of churches can also threaten the individual's standing. You must remember to first keep yourself with Christ and, once you have confidence in your standing, fellowship through the Church to other Christians. The Church exists to help the Christian and the Christian is to use the Church as a helper to meet the needs of any and all Christian opportunities that may come about.

Politics and Movements:​

• Liberalism vs. Fundamentalism​

  • Liberalism a movement that adapts Christianity to be fluid examples instead of solid doctrine, the liberal Christian says it is Christianity that changes with the times, not man changing to Christianity. This group panders to the political left in America and is very accepting of deviants.

  • Fundamentalism is a movement that started as a resistance to liberalism and modernism (evolution, especially). This usually starts with trusting the inerrancy of Scripture and protecting tradition. Fundamentalists are very often some degree of KJV-only. This group can get caught up with patriotism and can get sucked into blind nationalism if it is not careful.

  • The difference between a liberal and a fundamental Christian summed up in a sentence each: The liberal says "The end of religion is to make man happy while he is alive". The fundamentalist says "The end of religion is to make man happy when he dies" --- Source: Revival Hymn; Nearer Prefect​

• Modernism vs. Creationism (Fundamentalism)

  • Modernism is a movement which adapts Christianity to secular Science and Education, where Science takes precedence. It adjusts the Bible according to man's discoveries.​

  • Creationism is a school of thought whose believers claims the world is around 6000 years old (probably not true) and that it was created in six literal days (true). Their deduction comes from assuming the Garden of Eden and Adam are 6000 years ago, so the world must also be 6000 years old. This equation does not work, according to Jonathan Kleck, because Adam was not the first man; Genesis 1 speaks of another man than Genesis 2. Creationism usually goes hand-in-hand with Fundamentalism.

• Unitarianism vs. Trinitarianism

  • Unitarian means you do not believe the Trinity. The truth is found in both Trinitarian and Unitarian viewpoints, but it is hard for man to explain. Unitarianism provides a place for rationalism and other anti-Christian ideas to hide. This viewpoint was popular among the American Founders. Muslims like to claim that Unitarians are true Christians, and Trinitarians are "Pauline" (followers of Paul) false Christians.​

  • Trinitarian means you believe that the Godhead is three and one; three individuals operating as one. The three are God the Father, Jesus the Son, The Holy Spirit. The more divisive (Catholic) way of rendering this would be God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Trinitarianism is closer to the truth than Unitarianism.

  • The Oriental Catholics and the Nestorians became heterodox over these two points when they stood in opposition to the the orthodox Catholics.

• Charismaticism vs. Fundamentalism

  •  Charismaticism believes all Gifts are still in effect and believes in tongues. This is the general term that can be applied to anyone, compare to Charismatic (movement).​

  • Fundamentalism believes that the original "gifts and great miracles" have given way to weaker "general miracles" as the Church needed these great signs in order to establish itself. Now, it is not needed and the Christian is to live more normally without relying on the supernatural.

• Right Dividers

  • "Right Dividers"  is a movement that spans both KJV-only and "original language" groups. They believes the Bible contains everything needed to interpret the Bible. The normal viewpoint is KJV-Only, but the extreme viewpoint is deep-diving into the original language while identifying cultural idioms and figures of speech. The "extreme" version is pretty much a recompilation of the Bible through discerning original languages and translations in order to make "your" translation, while others in the group make "their" translation. This is a solid method of study, but it has some drawbacks. My main complaint is that this sounds like the adherents can figure out the Bible through hard work, even to the point of not needing the revelation by the Holy Spirit. Another concern is that this group seems to focus on the micro (breakdowns and retranslations) to the point of ignoring the macro (big-picture and chain-of-events).Their "favorite" verses are 2Ti_2:15 and Act_17:11 as these are the verses from where they interpret their method. Rightly dividing means using the Old Testament to understand the New Testament, and vice versa. These are not religious KJV-Only adherents, but rather anti-Alexandrian texts (the Westcott-Hort manuscripts).​

• Hebrew Roots

  • The "Diet SDA" denomination. Dangerous; it ties the congregation to the Old Testament law, removing the Christian from the New Covenant of grace and peace through Jesus Christ.​

  • Galatians is written against these groups.

• "Effeminate" Christianity vs. "Masculine" Christianity

  • "Effeminate" Christianity Started in the mid/late 1800s. The church begins to appeal to woman and "gentlemen". This came about due to men ignoring the Church and pastors adjusting their message to appeal to women, who were the larger Christian demographic. Probably a derogatory name given by the so-called Masculine Christians.​

  • "Masculine" Christianity Started in late 1800 to early 1900s as a counter to effeminate Christianity. The Boy Scouts and YMCA were formed because of this movement. This was a Progressive movement. The merger of manliness, sports and religion caused rapid growth, but over time, it's Christian aspect weakened and the social and physical aspects grew in strength. After the first World War, the groups started to separate themselves from the Church. This movement was a Trojan Horse that used Christians as a source of strength and momentum to fuel Progressivism.

• Bless Israel vs. Replacement Theology:​

  • This is a debate over the blessing given to Abraham; was it given to Israel as a nation, or was it given as a prophesy of Jesus, who is the Savior of all nations, who was born from out of Israel.​

  • Those that believe that is is an everlasting blessing for the nation of Israel give the Jews special treatment, even to the extent of absolute support.

  • Those that believe the prophesy points to Christ treat the Jews as any other nation, and attempt to bring the people of Israel to Christ, like they would do for any other nation.