A Devotional Corner

I was talking to someone about the denominations of Christianity. She belonged to Assemblies of God, part of the Pentecostals. I really know very little about that denomination. Or maybe I already know a lot because we believe in the same things. If you don't know much either then maybe it is a good idea to find out more. Apparently they are the largest Christian tradition, after Roman Catholicism. Is this true?

I briefly looked at their Doctrines. These are probably the two that stand out as "extras"
• Jesus the Healer: We believe in divine healing for the sick. -We believe that God is still active to accomplish healing and other miracles.
• Baptism in the Holy Spirit. -We believe that God is willing to indwell and empower believers today.

I think these two statements separate the pents from the "mainstreams".

But why bother? To me, it just creates yet another denomination. Creates confusion, division. If people decide to tag an extra couple of Statements to the "central" one, then isn't the number of denominations going to grow. Doesn't that break the Unity of the church? Each new denomination and each innovation harms us. Should we all tag the couple and join them?

It's kind of like extended families. You don't see them much. Some of them you have little communication with. Others you ignore.

I'd rather one family.

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/char/more/pente.htm

http://www.3ca.org/h/sta.php

Posted by Jot.. on Friday, April 07, 2006 at 12:27 am | Permalink