Why Don't all Christians
believe the same things?
An Overview of the Problem
Billions of people around the globe claim to be Christians, but there's one little problem: while many of us are eager to identify as Christians, we seem to have a lot of trouble agreeing on what Christianity actually teaches. Making this more confusing is that the overwhelming majority of Christian groups claim to base their doctrines on what they've read from the Holy Bible.
I don't know about you, but this doesn't make sense to me - if everyone is using the same source material, shouldn't we be coming to the same (or at least similar) conclusions?
While there's probably a million reasons this happens, most of them likely boil down to one simple thing: nobody is perfect, and sooner or later that imperfection gets reflected by what we believe.
So instead of pointing fingers, let's re-evaluate ourselves by answering a few simple questions.
I don't know about you, but this doesn't make sense to me - if everyone is using the same source material, shouldn't we be coming to the same (or at least similar) conclusions?
While there's probably a million reasons this happens, most of them likely boil down to one simple thing: nobody is perfect, and sooner or later that imperfection gets reflected by what we believe.
So instead of pointing fingers, let's re-evaluate ourselves by answering a few simple questions.
Serious Questions for Any Christian
Do you believe that Scripture is important?
I'd say that the majority of self-identifed Christians would agree that the Bible is very important to our religion, though I'm much less confident that the same amount of people could explain why it's important. I would answer that the Holy Bible is Christianity's source material; the canon story that everything is built around.
And frankly, if you don't agree with that, then why would you call yourself a Christian?
And frankly, if you don't agree with that, then why would you call yourself a Christian?
Can you find what you believe in Scripture?
Throughout the Bible, there are passages warning people about the coming of false teachers. These are people who twist or lie about what God has said in order to push their own opinions and agendas. Unfortunately, many of these people have ended up with a sizable following, and even if you're not aware of it, your beliefs may have been influenced by what they've been teaching.
Thus, it's extremely important for every Christian to know if their faith is really based on the Scripture or not. These days, we have many different ways to study the Bible and search for topics within it. For example, a quick visit to your favorite search engine can bring up lots of verses and commentaries on just about any topic, so there's no excuse for just blindly following second or third hand claims about what God has said.
Thus, it's extremely important for every Christian to know if their faith is really based on the Scripture or not. These days, we have many different ways to study the Bible and search for topics within it. For example, a quick visit to your favorite search engine can bring up lots of verses and commentaries on just about any topic, so there's no excuse for just blindly following second or third hand claims about what God has said.
Do you study the Bible?
Our Scriptures are compilation of more than sixty separate works. This makes it impossible for a weekly service to cover everything, and it would be unfair to expect them to even try. But if the weekly service isn't going to be enough, then we are responsible for supplimenting our church attendance with some sort of Bible study.
With the modern internet and multitude of apps available for nearly every device and platform out there, it's extremely easy to find a free devotional or reading plan that will fit your schedule. Many of these also are designed to focus on specific topics, which makes it easy to learn what the Bible has to say about nearly anything.
The only catch with something like this is that you need to be sure you aren't just reading the words on the page like you're ticking off an item on a todo list. In order to really benefit from reading your Bible, you need to focus on what's being said, why it's relevant to the topic you chose, and see if there's any way to apply what you've read to your life.
With the modern internet and multitude of apps available for nearly every device and platform out there, it's extremely easy to find a free devotional or reading plan that will fit your schedule. Many of these also are designed to focus on specific topics, which makes it easy to learn what the Bible has to say about nearly anything.
The only catch with something like this is that you need to be sure you aren't just reading the words on the page like you're ticking off an item on a todo list. In order to really benefit from reading your Bible, you need to focus on what's being said, why it's relevant to the topic you chose, and see if there's any way to apply what you've read to your life.
Do you believe the Scripture needs to be updated?
Society has changed a lot in the last thirty years, and as it has grown to be more accepting, there has been a push to correct or update our Bibles. Often, this is done by claiming a verse or passage has been mistranslated or misunderstood. The new, "corrected" translations are usually easier to live with, as they tend to agree with whatever society has currently decided is fashionable.
The major problem with this is that the truth, by definition, cannot change. If something was true hundreds of years ago, then it must also be true today, or it never was the truth to begin with.
In my opinion, it's also very suspicious that these changes never involve something unimportant. Nobody is debating about how many cubits tall Goliath was, what sort of fruit grew on the tree Jesus cursed, which side the disciple's boat the fish were on, or the actual dollar value that window's two coins were worth. Instead, these corrections always contradict some established doctrine or claim that something was never really a sin at all.
It's almost like someone's trying to change the rules rather than change their behavior.
Speaking of which...
The major problem with this is that the truth, by definition, cannot change. If something was true hundreds of years ago, then it must also be true today, or it never was the truth to begin with.
In my opinion, it's also very suspicious that these changes never involve something unimportant. Nobody is debating about how many cubits tall Goliath was, what sort of fruit grew on the tree Jesus cursed, which side the disciple's boat the fish were on, or the actual dollar value that window's two coins were worth. Instead, these corrections always contradict some established doctrine or claim that something was never really a sin at all.
It's almost like someone's trying to change the rules rather than change their behavior.
Speaking of which...
Do you make excuses for your behavior?
If there's anything people are especially good at, it's finding ways to excuse bad behavior, and Christians aren't immune to this habit. One way we do this is to focus on the exact wording of a passage. For example, "thou shalt not steal" is a pretty clear statement, but it's also easily ignored: Perhaps we'll tell ourselves that we're just "borrowing" something, or that since piracy isn't technically stealing, that God's okay with us downloading whatever we want.
In either case, the root of the problem isn't the method we've used to obtain something - it's that we want someone else's property enough that we're willing to just take it. This is called "coveting", which is just happens to also be something Scripture tells us is sinful.
In either case, the root of the problem isn't the method we've used to obtain something - it's that we want someone else's property enough that we're willing to just take it. This is called "coveting", which is just happens to also be something Scripture tells us is sinful.
Do you love your neighbor?
Everything God has asked of us can be boiled down to two simple phrases: Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. This isn't an easy request, so we're lucky that God's willing to be lenient and forgive the mistakes we've made as long as we recognize them and work to correct our behavior.
However, there are Christians out there who prefer to use the Bible to justify their mistreatment of others. If your version of "Christianity" allows you to reject someone's humanity because of their skin color, gender, nationality, or simply because they sin differently than you, then there's a very serious problem with your theology.
However, there are Christians out there who prefer to use the Bible to justify their mistreatment of others. If your version of "Christianity" allows you to reject someone's humanity because of their skin color, gender, nationality, or simply because they sin differently than you, then there's a very serious problem with your theology.