Bulletin 91

        Unity in faith, doctrine, and practice is impossible if men follow a standard other than, or in addition to "the apostles' doctrine." The contradictory religious creeds of denominationalism are a major cause of the skepticism and atheism among people in the world. Do you doubt it? Read on!
        Charles Darwin was once a seminary student at Cambridge who was preparing for the clergy in the Church of England. He disagreed with the creed of that church and could not go into "Holy Orders." He later became an unbeliever whose name is most known for its connection to the theory of evolution.
        Charles Smith, the first president of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, became an atheist after his Methodist pastor denied the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus as the Bible teaches.
        Robert Owen, a European of the 19th century, became an atheist after investigating the writings of a number of theological creeds.
        This list of names could be easily multiplied! In each of these instances, it was not "the apostle's doctrine" which led these men of the past into atheism. It was either a man's denial of that doctrine, or the contradictory theological and denominational creeds that produced skepticism, agnosticism, and atheism.
        I could add to this list of atheists and agnostics by mentioning people I have either known or visited. Not one of them attributed their unbelief to "the apostles doctrine." They always mentioned the contradictory beliefs and practices of denominationalism for their unbelief and skepticism! Accepting and following "the apostles' doctrine" alone leads to unity in faith, doctrine, and practice among believers, while embracing other religious standards produces division which leads people into skepticism and atheism. Friend, atheism is just another bad fruit on the "tree" of denominationalism! That's not good!

The Fruit of Confusion

        It is strange to me that defendants of denominationalism believe it is a good thing. Their thinking is that, because God made each man different, we all have preferences, likes and dislikes. Consequently, denominationalism provides a way in which people can choose the church that matches their personal preferences and beliefs. Some even say that God established denominations in order to accommodate man's different preferences. There are serious problems with this view!
        First, what the apostles taught in one church, they taught in every church (1 Cor. 4:17; Col. 4:16). This produced unity in faith, doctrine, and practice in all of the churches - not denominationalism (division) that catered to subjective personal preferences or to beliefs that contradicted apostolic doctrine.
        Second, "God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (1Cor. 14:33). Religious confusion necessarily results when those who claim to believe in and worship the same God believe and practice things that contradict one another, as well as things that contradict "the apostles' doctrine." Seriously consider this - since denominationalism causes confusion, and God is not the author of confusion, then we can be absolutely certain that God is not responsible for, nor does He approve of denominationalism! Friend, confusion is another bad fruit on the "tree" of denominationalism! That's not good!
        Realizing that Jesus said, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit," we have briefly considered just a few of the many bad fruits on the "tree" of denominationalism. At the very least, this "tree" produces the fruit of division, the fruit of atheism, and the fruit of confusion. No matter where we may pick from the "tree" of denominationalism, we will only get bad fruit
        So, "What are our choices?" We can ignore these facts concerning denominationalism and say, "It doesn't really matter." Or, we can have the courage to stand against denominationalism and follow the way of Christ without denominationalism, just like we find it in the Bible. We can seek unity in faith, doctrine, and practice based only upon "the apostles' doctrine," regardless of what others are doing. Friend, the choice you make really does matter!
        Which choice will it be for you?