The questions that distinguish the denominations

I want to ask my generous and well-informed Christian readership here for their feedback on a list of questions.

The task is fairly straightforward to state, not maybe not easy to execute: Formulate a list of questions that is minimally sufficient to investigate where one “fits” within the broad denominational landscape. There are other differences, but they are more minor and they are “redundant” in that where some distinctives apply, others will as well (e.g., if Mary is mediatrix, then Purgatory). The hypothesis is that if one had (as unlikely as this might be) completely satisfactory answers to all the questions, then one would know just where one fit in, denominationally.

Broadest distinctives: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant

These distinguish between Catholics and Orthodox, and between those two and Protestants. Some of these also distinguish between categories of Protestant denominations.

  • What is the rule of faith: sola scriptura, the Church, or something else?
  • Should we affirm sola fide, i.e., that we are saved by faith alone, or do our meritorious works also contribute to our salvation?
  • Can and should we pray to the saints?
  • Is it acceptable to reverence (e.g., kiss, pray before) icons?
  • Is Mary to be accorded special honor above other saints, is she a special intercessor, is she “mother of God,” etc.?
  • Do Communion and Baptism (and others, if considered sacraments) contribute to our salvation?

“High church” and “low church” distinctives

Basically, some churches continue the “high church” traditions found in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. These distinguish, for example, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, and in some cases Presbyterianism, from “less formal” churches.

  • Is the Lord’s Supper symbolically/memorially or really the body and blood of Christ?
  • Is pedobaptism sufficient, or must one be a believer to be properly baptized into the Church?
  • Should church governance be episcopal (bishops), presbyterian (elders), or congregational (local autonomy)?
  • Should worship be liturgical and structured or informal and spontaneous?

Particularly Protestant distinctives

These distinguish between broad branches of, especially, low-church Protestantism, but even these can distinguish, e.g., Orthodoxy (in the case of sanctification and charismata).

  • Does God reprobate the damned from eternity, so that there is nothing they can do to be saved? Did Jesus die for all of mankind or only the elect?
  • Is the Christian life primarily about being declared righteous before God (justification), or about being made righteous (sanctification)?
  • Is the miraculous gifting of the Holy Spirit (e.g., tongues, prophecy, healing) common and expected to be found in the church today, or did it mostly (or entirely) cease after the apostolic age?

Other distinctives

These questions regard innovations unique to the last 150 or 200 years or so of church history.

  • Should explicit creeds be adopted, to distinguish a denomination from others?
  • Can Scripture be mistaken or is it “inerrant in the original autographs”?
  • Is it acceptable to have extremely large churches, with “performances” for “audiences”?
  • Should the Church actively engage in socio-political issues, or is its primary role spiritual?

Caveats: I know there are other questions (many other questions; see the excellent Ready to Harvest YouTube channel) on which denominations differ. There is overlap. Again, a person who answers a certain way about Mary and praying to saints will also answer a predictable way about the Apocrypha and Purgatory. I also ask no questions about pre-, a-, and post-millennialism, not because they are unimportant, but because they are not regarded as primary distinctives (even if they are distinctives in some cases). I also know there are many “What denomination am I?” polls. Most of them aren’t very thoughtfully constructed, it seems to me, so they won’t help. I have taken many such polls, for whatever they’re worth.

If you want to help, here are my questions for you:

1. Bearing the above caveats in mind, would you add any questions to the list, either on grounds of the importance or because they draw important denominational (or congregational) distinctions?

2. Would you revise how I formulate a question (or more than one) in some enlightening way?

3. Do you know of any books that systematically treat of these questions, or a similar list of questions, in a reasonably rigorous way? I do not mean just any old theological text, which do treat of these questions, but they are not focused on them in particular, nor are they designed to help the reader decide between positions on them. I also do not mean books for total beginners. I mean serious books for people who actually read theology.

The task is to make a fairly minimal list of the most fundamental questions and those that mark the differences between the major denominations.


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Please do dive in (politely). I want your reactions!

64 responses to “The questions that distinguish the denominations”

  1. NYC Reader

    The version of the Bible read, and the beliefs of the author of the Biblical commentary, can take a reader in wildly divergent directions.

    For example, Protestant-raised Princeton professor Dr. Elaine Pagels wrote, “Yet even without a partner, Mary [referring to Jesus’s mother] has lots of children. In Mark, Jesus has four other brothers and some sisters, with no recognized father and no geneology.”

    However, bestselling author and biblical scholar Dr. Brant Pitre — whom Bishop Barron calls “one of the most compelling theological writers on the scene today” — attests, “The Gospels themselves explicitly state that the ‘brothers’ [a term he explains was also used at that time to refer to other relatives, such as cousins] of Jesus are in fact the children of another woman named Mary [wife of Clopus].” He explains in his bestselling book JESUS AND THE JEWISH ROOTS OF MARY: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah that when he gives his mother, Mary, to the Beloved Disciple to have as ‘his own’ mother (John 19:26-27), if Mary had any other children at the time of the crucifixion it would have been unheard of — as in an ancient Jewish context, to fail to care for one’s aging parents was a grave sin, one that Jesus describes as a capital offense (Mark 7:9-13)….He is her only son.” Pitre also explains that the New Testament can only be understood in the context of the Old Testament — and that Numbers 30 suggests the overwhelming likelihood that Mary had taken a lifelong vow of chastity, which Joseph had honored.

  2. Don Spilman

    What is the rule of faith: sola scriptura, the Church, or something else?
    What the heck could be “something else”? No really not being facetious, if there is anything else it could literally be ANYTHING. “The people of the book” are so called for a reason, no there is nothing else without the Bible Christianity would not exist with something added it would not be Christianity!

    “Can and should we pray to the saints?“
    Absolutely not what did the “saints” do for us? There is only one God, whom we know in three forms, that is worthy of worship we pray to the Father in the name of His son.

    “Is Mary to be accorded special honor above other saints, is she a special intercessor, is she “mother of God,” etc.?”
    No, Mary was a sweet young Jewish girl whom God chose for His own reasons to be the mother of our Lord. Reverence is for the triune God none other!

    “Do Communion and Baptism (and others, if considered sacraments) contribute to our salvation?“
    Baptism is important to the believer as an act of the sincerity of our hearts and it is very meaningful and memorable. No the blood of Jesus is absolutely all that cleanses the sinner anything added to that diminishes His sacrifice and is abhorrent.

    Does God reprobate the damned from eternity, so that there is nothing they can do to be saved? Did Jesus die for all of mankind or only the elect?
    Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but by me” individual acceptance of Him as your personal savior is the only thing that will keep you from being in hell for eternity.
    There is obviously elect within the group of humankind who become those known as the saved who hear the words of the Christ and accept His free gift He offers to all. The Bible clearly reveals numerous times where our Lord says “I have chosen you”.

    “Is the Christian life primarily about being declared righteous before God (justification), or about being made righteous (sanctification)?”
    God justifies us we live out that justification by being a particular set apart individual in sanctification.

    “Is the miraculous gifting of the Holy Spirit” …. (still miraculous?)
    Did the Holy Spirit die somewhere along the way? “That same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me” Absolutely the Holy Spirit, as a member of the Godhead, most certainly is as alive and active as He ever was to consider less is to believe part of God has passed away!

    “Should explicit creeds be adopted, to distinguish a denomination from others?”
    I left all denominationalism fifty year ago, we won’t be asked what denomination we are at the great White Throne Judgment!

    “Can Scripture be mistaken or is it “inerrant in the original autographs“
    I have read the Bible through in thirteen translations and enjoyed every one of them. There are two main sources for all extant scriptures, Textus Receptus and the the Alexandrian Manuscriptus, I have read translations from both and found the word of God to shine through just fine!

    “Is it acceptable to have extremely large churches, with “performances” for “audiences”?
    I have attend fellowship in every setting available, from small house church to mega church. I have heard the word of God clearly from all, much enjoyed robust, not entertainment, teaching and worship from the big ones and good solid more intimate worship and teaching from all. I rather prefer the smaller ones, and the big ones have their place. I never was drawn to one of the overly showy “entertaining” things!

    “Should the Church actively engage in socio-political issues, or is its primary role spiritual?“
    The church is the eklasia koine Greek for the called out ones. Every member of the church is called to participate in some way for the working of our society as a whole. Absolutely the church must be involved in politics. Let’s put it this way they are involved no matter what they do or do not do. Non response is a response, all the people who do nothing or who just refuse to engage in politics are actually very engaged in the degradation of our society.

    1. Two more common (but heretical) notions include (1) one’s own judgment, dignified, perhaps, as being inspired by the Holy Spirit; and (2) various “prophets” or cult leaders.

      1. Don Spilman

        I’ll tell you what I think of “one’s own judgment” if it doesn’t comply with scripture it’s simply wrong!

        1. Yep. The whole idea that your own notions, dignified as inspired by the Holy Spirit, stand above Scripture is arrogant and dangerous. That’s basically how every cult got started.

  3. Don Spilman

    Over a couple of decades ago I listened to many hours of RC Sproul on the subject of Sola Fide. My conclusion before and after listening is that if one work is required then our Christ died in vain

  4. Tamera Jackson

    Welcome Dr. Sanger! I’m so glad to hear of your conversion to Christianity!

    I cordially invite you and your family to visit my church. I would be glad to accompany you and help answer any questions you have.

    St. Patrick Catholic Church
    280 N. Grant Ave.
    Columbus, OH 43215
    https://www.stpatrickcolumbus.org/parish-schedule

    Also, there are some excellent resources/information about the Catholic Church that really helped me discover the Eucharist and Liturgy, and answered so many questions for me when I converted to the Catholic Faith in 2000.

    Formed.org (register for free using St. Patrick Columbus, OH via
    https://formed.org/signup)

    Catholic Answers (https://www.catholic.com/)

    Word On Fire (Bishop Robert Barron)
    ️https://www.wordonfire.org/about/bishop-robert-barron/
    ️https://institute.wordonfire.org/#checkout

    St. Paul Center ( Dr. Scott Hahn)
    ️https://stpaulcenter.com
    ️https://www.scotthahn.com/

    Augustine Institute
    ️https://www.augustineinstitute.org/

    I’m so happy and excited for you. Please feel free to contact me anytime. I will be happy to pray with you and your family, and just dialog and connect.

    Your new sister in Christ,

    Tamera R. Jackson, BBA, MBA
    [redacted]

  5. Laura

    RC. Sproul is not to be passed over. Also AW Tozer. They did not fully agree. The question that we cannot and do not need to “solve” is if a truly sovereign God “damns” anyone. I think there is a Gospel and he has mercy on whom he has mercy. Some condition of our heart is all we need to pursue. This humility is required of us, painful as it is. It’s why we share and why “church” may never have been meant to be “the right one”…it is impossible. However, the more scripturally accurate, the better.

  6. Luiz Phelippe Fernandes.

    Dear brother, for Catholic questions I strongly recommend the following authors: Peter Kreeft, Scott Hahn and Dave Armstrong. On Ecclesiology and the relationship of the Church with the contemporary world the writings of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) and Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II). Peace of Christ.

    1. Tamera Jackson

      Catholic Answers is another excellent source.

  7. Diane Sperber

    Sorry but the website address was deleted from my previous comment. I was encouraging you to explore The Banner of Truth website, which is banneroftruth.org.

  8. Diane Sperber

    Larry, I hope to encourage you to consider this website . Their theme text is from Psalm 60:4: You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Their objective is the advancement and dissemination of better knowledge and understanding of the history and doctrines of the true Biblical Christian Faith. They also seek to produce material that in God’s providence may be used as a means to bring people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
    I recently have been reading many of their books by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I personally would recommend, Great Doctrines of The Bible, three volumes in one. Michael Haykin, a professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality says that the two-volume biography of Martyn Lloyd- Jones was the most powerful twentieth-century influence on his life.
    At the age of 23 he left a rural background to be the Chief Clinical Assistant to Sir Thomas Horder, the King’s Physician. And then suddenly at 27 he felt called to be a preacher in South Wales. Some regarded his change of career as foolish. But the one thing, Dr Lloyd-Jones was sure was that his settlement amid the industrial depression of South Wales was no sacrifice: ‘I gave up nothing. I received everything. I count it the highest honour God can confer on any man to call to be herald of the gospel’.

  9. Galya

    I think Joshua Charles (https://x.com/JoshuaTCharles) is someone who could be particularly helpful for you in answering question #3 (Do you know of any books that systematically treat of these questions, or a similar list of questions, in a reasonably rigorous way? ): despite the fact that you would currently disagree with his own final choice, he should be a great resource as far as serious books on the subject are concerned, having himself worked through a rather impressive number of them, both from the various Protestant and Catholic perspectives (and starting from the earliest Fathers).

  10. Dr. Nobbo

    Dear Larry, Dr. Gavin Ortlund has recently released a book titled “Why I am a Protestant”.

    The book has a nice / irenic tone to it, as does his YouTube channel / podcast.

    He has recently entered into dialogues with Catholic and Orthodox leaders.

    Gavin is Reformed FWIW.

    OT perhaps, bit if you want philosophical apologetics materials, I would recommend William Lane Craig’s works. He has debated so many big names over the recent decades. The Intelligent Design Movement (hated as it is by many) is also a wonderful source of cutting edge science (informational science connecting to biology etc.) and I would highly recommend Stephen Meyer’s books. He was on Joe Rogan’s podcast about a year ago.

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