Thanks for coming back for Mondays With Answers! This week’s question topically follows on heels of last week’s question, and I think it is a good progression given that the answer is closely related to some of the issues introduced last week. This week, we explore:
Why are there so many Christian denominations?
Much like last week had a deceptively simple answer that needed to be developed, this week also has an answer too simple to stand alone.
In short, at the heart of this question is a question of authority. The reason why there are so many Christian denominations is because at the heart of each new denomination that was started there was a reaction to a question of authority.
“Ahh, but wait…” you say, “What of Luther? Didn’t he break away from the Catholic Church because of the extra-biblical practices of the Catholic Church? You know, the whole ‘selling indulgences’ and clerical abuses bit?”
Indeed he did. However, what makes Luther different than, say, St. Benedict of the 5-6th Century, St. Gregory the Great of the 6-7th Century, or even St Gregory VII of the 11th Century, who each experienced their own forms of abuses of their own times? What is the difference between him and a whole host of “reformers” that preceded him; men such as Ximenes de Cisneros, John Colet, John Fisher, Gasparo Contarini and even Erasmus of Rotterdam. How about St. Ignatius of Loyola who’s work was in the heart of the Protestant revolt? We will explore that in a little bit.
If you haven’t in a while, read through Luther’s 95 Thesis. It is a relatively quick read.
Isn’t it interesting that the substance of Luther’s 95 Thesis actually presumes the authority of the Papacy and, by extension, the clergy while at the same time presupposes the validity of many of the Catholic practices not found in modern-day Protestantism? To those who say that Luther changed and later developed his views that are different than what the Catholic church teaches, again I say I agree. In fact, I agree to such an extent that the degree to which Luther’s views diverged so much from the church that he no longer recognized the validity of the Catholic Church or authority of the Pope is the point of which Luther ceased to be part of the ancient church and found himself part of a new, and in his view “restored,” church. Which takes us back to the heart of the issue: by what authority? Whatever answer to that question you have defines the rational for whatever group you may find yourself, and the question itself explains why – at least in that brief time with just Luther – there were two different ‘denominations’.
What of Henry VIII?… Need I explain? The question of authority seems self evident given Henry crowning himself the prince of the Church of England when he wouldn’t be issued a decree of divorce by the Church Universal.
And John Calvin? His Christianae Religionis Instituitio – better known as Institute, and to borrow from Hilaire Belloc’s words – produced a “church, a creed, a discipline, which could be set over against what had been for all these centuries (and what still is) the native church, creed, and discipline of Christian civilization.” In other words, Calvin created a framework from which the Protestant worldview can have recourse to authority. This is a framework that currently exists today even if tenets of Calvinist thoughts aren’t devoutly followed.
Each split ceased to recognize the authority of the parent group, and often the very justifications for such a split was used to justify further splinters still.
The issues leading to the Protestant revolt, and the circumstances during, are complicated. In fact, it can be argued that the conditions that allowed for a prolonged and persistent revolution was an inability of many of the church leadership to recognize their faults and with humility work to resolve the legitimate issues that were brought up. Hilaire Belloc (quoted above) gives an excellent cursory review of this period in his work How the Reformation Happened.
So, this brings us back to St. Ignatius et al. What sets them apart from Luther, Henry VIII, and John Calvin? Each one of them recognized something wrong with the Christian Church – from Ignatius to Calvin, and Gregory to Luther. Each one of them fought hard to reform and correct the injustices. What sets Ignatius et al. apart from Luther et al. is that St. Gregory’s reforms didn’t result in a new “church” or new “denomination.” St. Ignatius et al. worked within the Catholic church to accomplish the reforms that were needed – much like Luther originally set out to do. Ultimately what sets Luther et al apart from the former is that each ceased to recognize the authority of the parent church and set out on their own authority to “restore” what they thought should be the church.
Each succeeding denomination hinges its establishment on this question of authority.
I hope you find these Mondays with Answers worthwhile! Please, if you have any questions, feel free to post comments.
God Love You!
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