At some point in your life – or perhaps several times – you may be wondering which church to attend, or whether to attend one at all. If someone isn’t knocking on your door, or a friend concerned about your spiritual health inviting you to accompany them to their church, you may just feel a need on your own.
The need or compulsion to connect with the higher power we call God is certainly nothing new. It’s a pretty good bet that human beings have felt that urge ever since they became self-aware. It is equally likely that the frustration with seasons, droughts, floods, death and natural disasters would force even the earliest humans to seek relief and answers from some higher power.
In today’s world the spectrum of spiritual choices remains vast. For those of us who most clearly identify with Christianity, it comes down to which church doctrine we feel most comfortable with for our inspiration.
Which church is right? The answer may surprise you.
In the earliest days of the movement we have come to call Christianity, there immediately came dispute and division. Even the major figures in the Christian movement, Peter and Paul, had a degree of disagreement. As the word spread, different groups made slightly different interpretations of the message.
Combine that with the fact that the earliest efforts were probably strictly verbal, it is easy to see how variances and distortions could occur. The result was the creation of a number of Christian churches, each with its own unique twist.
Two thousand years later, many of these versions of Christianity remain, and more have been added. So, which church is the correct version?
If God’s plan was to give the world hope through one, true religion, why would He allow so much diversity? Why, after all He had done to establish Christianity, would he tolerate the variety of interpretations that created different versions of His message?
Perhaps that was His plan, all along.
Once again, we are confronted with the logic that a Creator who gave mankind free will, might also incorporate into his plan an allowance for the character and personality differences that free will would enable.
He might have allowed for different personality types to have a choice that best suited them as long as the results were the same.
If we were to analyze the differences between different Christian churches, would we conclude the that core message was still preserved? Would we also recognize that many of the differences are merely man-made rituals that evolved over the centuries?
If we strip away the trappings, would we recognize the core message is the same in all branches of Christianity?
Is it possible that God’s plan was always to cast a net so diverse that it would appeal to all?
Perhaps which path we take isn’t as important as the destination. Maybe we need to worry less about which is the “right” church, and focus instead on the core message.