The Spiritual Family Tree
82Church Denominations.
The Spiritual Family Tree.
Oh, the many denominations of Christianity. Let's see, there are the Catholics, the Baptists, the Anabaptists, the Methodists, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, the Chruches of Christ, the Disciples of Christ, the Non-Denominationalists...
That's funny to me, "non-denominational," "We don't want to be in any of your denominations so we'll just start our own." I, of course, can crack this joke because I am one. If you, on the other hand, are a member of a different denomination, you cannot.
The Holy Bible
 | Amazon Price: $17.92 List Price: $27.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $9.98 List Price: $9.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $1.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $1.69 |
We Are All Related.
It saddens me that the purpose of religion should be to unify, but, throughout church history, so much effort has gone into drawing dividing lines. There should be no such thing as division in the church.
Admittedly, there are theological distinctions that can be made between the denominations, but the theology that unifies the church ought to be much stronger than that which divides. I have no problem with the church being organized in such a way that citizens of city "x" or neighborhood "y" are able to attend a local congregation. However, decisions about where, when and how to worship should not be decided based on theological beliefs that separate one denomination from another.
I have often seen humanity "family trees" that make me feel closer to my fellow human being who might look different, or live somewhere else, or be taller, shorter, thinner, heavier, prettier, uglier, or otherwise dissimilar from me. I have prepared a chart that I hope does the same for you spiritually.
Chart of Christian Religions.
The History of Christianity.
- All About Religion
History of Christianity. - History of Christianity - Wikipedia
Free Online Encyclopedia. - Religion Facts
History of Christianity.
Major Christian Denominations.
This chart was intended to include the vast majority of major Christian denominations. It does not include, for example, distinctions such as between the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. If such distinctions are of great importance to you, please forgive me, and I urge you to reread what is written above.
Nor does this chart address the Eastern or Oriental Orthodox churches and their denominations, should they exist. Quite honestly, I am unfamiliar with those organizations. However, I am more than eager to learn. If you have information you want to share, please do so in the comment section below, or, better yet, write a hub and send it to me. If you are not a member of HubPages, you will need to join. It is free and the registration only takes a moment.
How Is Your Relationship With Your Family?
There are serious and deep divides that separate these denominations. I recognize that it is going to take more than an ambitious hub or hub author to bridge those gaps. However, if you find yourself anywhere on this family tree, we are brothers and sisters. Actually, even if you don't find yourself anywhere on this family tree, we are brothers and sisters. Let's try to make "us" one big, happy family again.
Study the Bible Online.
- StudyLight.org
Online Study Bible with Hebrew and Green Interlinears. - BibleGateway.com
Searchable Online Bible with Multiple Translations. - Bible.com
Search the Bible in Multiple Languages and Translations.
Visit My Blog
- Beauty of the Bible
An Exploration of the Beauty of the Word of God.
CommentsLoading...
Thanks, steph. I couldn't resist the topic.
Oh Peter I like that a lot...I too would want US to be a big happy family again.:)
Thanks, ripplemaker. I think it is a goal worth aiming for.
Wow. This is wonderful. I agree with this post (albeit a lot of non-denoms irritate me with that term). Being reformed in faith I view the church as 'one Holy catholic church', not catholic as in the RCC, but in the strict meaning of the term. Theology is a huge reason for division in it, but I'm hoping some day we can reorganize. Of course, scientific law would suggest otherwise since all thing go from an organized to chaotic state.
Thanks, t.keely. I agree that we are one catholic (small "c") church. It's apparent from our family tree. There will be a coming together again, I'm almost sure of it. Thanks.
Indeed we will be, but I don't believe full unity will happen until after the second coming of Jesus. However I too am in pursuit of bringing more unity. I admire your chart that you made and your passion for unity. I have just finished writing a new hub titled "The Key to a Unified Body of Christ" it is the twin of the Call to Unity I have written. In need of editing please to read it when I get it published. I would also like to start something in uniting Christians who support and work towards church unity! If you’re interested I am certain we could make a huge difference!
Thanks Tyhill27. I appreciate you reading and commenting. I will check out your hub(s). I couln't agree more about making a difference.
All it takes is a bit of compassion for all of us to see unity instead of separation - not in spite of our religious/spiritual differences, but actually because of them!
Uh, I assume you are not a theologian. Your family tree is incorrect. The Southern and Northern Baptists Churches are out of the Anabaptist movement and not from Puritanism. The NEW ENGLAND Baptists are the decendents of the Puritan faith. The Puritan faith splintered into the Congregationalists, the Unitarians and the New England Baptist during the 1700s.
This is a wonderful and unique topic to have an article on. This is great to read this article, i agree with you we need to have a humanity family tree. I am also working on genealogy research and i can understand what point you are raising here.
Very nice hub, Peter. Thank you for writing it!
This tree is incorrect and missing so many branches.
Apparently the author thinks that the churches that derived from catholicism did so in the US. 1600 years of so many branches does not exist.
good job,
george h
You mention Methodists and according to the internet there are about 8 million Methodists. Where are the Mormons? There are about 13 million.
? This doesn't make sense. The Eastern Orthodox denomination was founded when Roman Catholic bishops separated from the pope in 1054. The connector should be from Roman Catholic. I know of one famous pope off the top of my head he was around way before the Orthodox denomination came around. Gregory (I) the Great who was a pope in the 500s. The Orthodox are from the catholics too.
stephhicks68 Level 6 Commenter 3 years ago
Very nicely described and set out! I knew you'd be hubbing on this topic! Great job! Steph