Thursday, August 11, 2005
Why We Have Denominations
In his course on the history of Reformed worship last month, John Witvliet quoted the line that Protestantism “started with a schism and made it a habit.” I remembered that when this was linked in the CT Library newsletter this week, from the archives of Christianity Today:
[T]he first clear philosophy of denominations was ... articulated by the Independents (Congregationalists), who represented the minority voice at the Westminster Assembly (1642-49). In contrast to the majority who held to Presbyterian principles and expressed these convictions in the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Independents followed congregational principles. Keenly aware of the dangers of “dividing the godly Protestant party,” these “Dissenting Brethren of Westminster” looked for some way to express Christian unity even in disagreement.
The result was a denominational theory of the church that was based on the following principles:
First, considering the human inability always to see the truth clearly, differences of opinion about the outward form of the church are inevitable. Second, even though these differences do not involve fundamentals of the faith, they are not matters of indifference. Third, since no church has a final and full grasp of divine truth, the true church of Christ can never be fully represented by any single ecclesiastical structure. Finally, the mere fact of separation does not of itself constitute schism. It is possible to be divided at many points and still be united in Christ. ...
Inevitably, immigration patterns and the lack of a state religion led to the flowering of a multiplicity of religious groups—traditional and novel—living side by side in the New World. In such a setting, the denominational theory seemed a plan from heaven. “Denominationalism” came to be set against “sectarianism,” which denoted groups claiming the authority of Christ and truth for themselves alone and believing that they alone constituted the true body of Christ. Against this exclusive connotation, denomination became an inclusive term, implying that any Christian group “denominated” by a particular name was but one member of a larger group—the church.
Interdisciplinary Application • Worshipping Communities • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink