Richard Hollerman

We realize that there are a massive number of people who follow these posts. And some are Protestants. Others are Catholics. And we suppose that there are some who are those of non-Christian religions or no religion at all.

For those of you who are Protestants of various kinds, we offer the following.

Protestantism comes from the fact that these people “protested” against the prevailing Catholicism of the age. We know that some of them also rebelled against Judaism and other religions, but Protestantism would be the chief reason for their existence. Of course, we are not endorsing Protestantism in general for there were many inconsistencies and wrong beliefs among them but the fact that they opposed Catholicism was right, as far as it went.

According to reliable numbers, there may be 30,000 groups in the United States and many more if we were to include false sects and churches around the world. Many are found in Africa and other portions of the world, for it seems that this continent abounds with these false groups. Although the number of Protestants may be 800 million to one billion adherents, we know that there may be 2.5 billion people who claim to be Christians, worldwide.

Beginning at the time of the Protestant Reformation, about 500 years after Christ, until the present time, there have been many, many groups claiming to be “Christian” in one way or another. At least since the time of Augustine (400 AD) and including the time of Constantine (about 300 AD), we know that apostate Catholicism has offered many, many different beliefs and practices that differ from the ancient way of doing things. There have been numerous blasphemies, promulgated by apostate Catholicism and apostate Orthodoxy (which would be a play on words, for “Orthodoxy” was not at all “Orthodox”) that have invaded the scene. They have offered “Christian” (or more accurately, anti-Christian) views.

We are not referring to various anti-Christian religions, such as Hinduism (with its 333 million different “gods”), or Buddhism, with its atheistic philosophies, or atheism (per se) and agnosticism, with their “no-God” and idolatrous views, or even Judaism (with the several branches), with a total of about 14 million adherents , but the whole world religions. So whether we refer to Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or anything like them, they are wrong, utterly wrong.

For example, Lutheranism is scattered around the world, especially in Scandinavia, but it is made up of various sects and churches, and they all believe in false teachings of various degrees. Begun by Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon in Germany in the 1500s, we know that this communion is beyond the pale of true Christianity.

This is what we discover about the membership in these countries:

Germany

Ethiopia

Tanzania

Sweden

Indonesia

India

Madagascar

Finland

Norway

Concerning Lutheranism, we discover that this communion, by numbers, would be:

Germany (11,440), Ethiopia (7,886), Tanzania (6,531), Sweden (6,116), Indonesia (5,552), Denmark (4,361), India (4,081), Madagascar (4,000), Finland (4,950), Norway (3,762), the United States (3,563), Nigeria (2,321), Netherlands (1,849), Papua New Guinea (1,349), and Namibia (1,239). We know that there is a bit of duplication here but it does make sense. And, this would be in the “millions” and not merely thousands. This would be a total of 73 million.

These nations would be listed by membership and the numbers. There would also be various other communions. This is what we discover: The  Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) is in full communion with various liberal groups, such as The Episcopal Church, the Moravian Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America, the United Methodist Church. We also find that the ELCLC is in “full communion” with the Anglican Church of Canada. All of these would be in blasphemous communion with other churches that are anything but Christian in character.

For example, we find the Presbyterians and there are many different kinds of these members as well. Begun in the 1500s by John Calvin, from France, and then Switzerland, and then Farrell and finally John Knox who went to Scotland, but today we find many different kinds of Presbyterians. The area to the West in Pennsylvania was largely Presbyterian in nature. Although there are many different kinds of Calvinists, they basically subscribe to the Belgic Confession and Westminster Confession, but we also find the conservative Missouri Synod Lutherans and Wisconsin Synod Lutherans as well as much more liberal members, who believe in divorce and remarriage, sodomy, feminism, and all sorts of moral compromises.

There would also be the case of various branches of Methodism (such as the United Methodist Church), with a great amount of feminism, infant baptism, false organization, and other abnormalities. Begun in 1700s in England, it has spread around the world. In America, it became the Episcopal Church, an ultra-liberal denomination that is hardly worthy of the Christian label. Of course, there would be the Free Methodists, and others.

Even the various Anabaptist Churches (of which there are many) are not exempt. They all need to come to Jesus and His salvation.

Of course, with some 30,000 or 40,000 members, scattered around the world, we find many different sects involved.  When we say “sects” we refer to different churches or groups of churches.

In fact, we find many different “cults” involved in this (although these groups do not like this designation). We find the Seventh-day Adventists from Battle Creek, Michigan (that I visited years ago), begun by Ellen G. White and her associates. There was also the Christian Scientists of Boston, Massachusetts (that I also visited years ago, visiting their “mother” church there), with Mary Baker Glover Patterson Eddy as the founder.

Then there was the Mormon Church, begun by Joseph Smith until he was killed in Illinois, and then it was taken over by Bingham Young in the 1800s, and transferred to Utah. (I visited this denomination also when I was in Salt Lake City.) There would also be the so-called Jehovah’s Witness cult of Charles Russell, begun by Russell in Pittsburgh, Pa. but now found in many areas of the world. Years ago I went to the yearly meeting in downtown Fort Worth, but it would be found in many other areas as well.

We can see why you might wonder why there are 40,000 different groups around the world, each calling themselves “Christian” in some manner. Some are Pentecostal or Jesus only, others are baby-baptizers, and still others are feminist in theology and morally unsound and evil. They all claim to be “Christian” but are far, far from this. Many of them are heretical and utterly wrong. Some are wicked and wrong, and others are partially wrong and evil.

So even though Catholicism (begun perhaps in 300 AD) or Orthodoxy (begun at the same time, and then there was the “Great Schism” of 1054), we find that Protestantism that began a few years later, are all wrong and sadly thy all are heretical and evil.

This is not what God intended. It is not what Jesus planned. But we discover that there are various churches and groups that call themselves “Christian” but they are far removed from this label.