How can this be?

I was recently reading about a US religious survey which indicated that as of 2022 there we over 40,000 different nondenominational churches in the US. This number greatly exceeds the number of mainline Protestant churches (about 200) in the US.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/n...sus-nondenominational-church-growth-nons.html

My question is this. Today we have thousands of Protestant churches, all claiming to guided by the Holy Spirit, and yet all teaching something different.
How can this be? Either the Holy Spirit is very confused (Not likely), or these churches are confused. Which is it? How do I answer this question?

"For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not carnal?" 1 Corinthians 3:4

Sectarianism is a manifestation of spiritual immaturity. And from the looks of it, there are a whole bunch if immature Christians out there. Just calling yourself "nondenominational" doesn't mean you're not sectarian. All the different groups have their pet teachings that they think makes them more "authentic" than the others; and more special I suppose.

You are correct. There are probably no more than 30-50 denominations (including mainline denominations), all others simply being slight offshoots. But it served the Catholic Church well to spread some disinformation about non-Catholic denominations, so that they could continue to claim that they are the "one true church" (even though the Greek Orthodox Church would have a prior claim).
The Holy Spirit guides into all Truth only those who adhere strictly to the written Word of God, "rightly divide the Word of Truth. and listen to what the Holy Spirit says. To adhere strictly to the Word of God means to abandon all man-made ideas and the doctrines of men. Unfortunately this has not always been the case. And then there have been false pastors and teachers misinterpreting and misrepresenting the Word of Truth.

A good example is whether water baptism is essential for salvation. It definitely is not but many churches teach this false doctrine. On the other hand some reject water baptism altogether, others teach baptismal regeneration (claiming that "water" in John 3:5 is the water of baptism).

Great question, how can this be? It shouldn't but Satan is doing to us today what he did to Eve.

The first thing I see is everyone calls themselves by something different to set themselves apart. Christ is not divided. Paul makes that clear. He is the head of the church. He purchased the church with His blood. Shouldn't His name be on the sign out front? Is there another name by which we are saved? Who chooses the different name or omits His name from the sign? Is it ok to be a hyphenated Christian? Dual loyalty?

Many sources say many things and many of those things are blatant falsehoods .

I have posted this before so am simply copy/pasting from an earlier post:

That is a false number based on an egregious misunderstanding.

That misunderstanding gets thrown around as if it were truth when it is not.
Even under the most liberal definition of what constitutes a denomination, there are
nowhere close to 40,000 denominations. Many of these groups are merely subgroups
of larger denominational groups such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, or Baptists.

Evangelical apologist Eric Svendsen exposes the falsehood of this fabrication. Briefly:

Svendsen shows that the source of this figure is the World Christian Encyclopedia (David A. Barrett; Oxford
University Press, 1982). Barrett cites a figure of 20,780 denominations. Still, not all of them are Protestants.
According to Barrett, Protestants account for 8,196 (and incidentally, Roman Catholics account for 223).

However, even this figure of eight thousand Protestant denominations is misleading, for Barrett defines
"distinct denominations" as any group that might have a slightly different emphasis than another group.
The distinction is made on the basis of jurisdiction, rather than differing beliefs and practices.

Barrett breaks down the Protestant bloc into twenty-one major "traditions" which are much closer to what we usually
mean by the word "denominations." It is interesting that Roman Catholics are subdivided into sixteen such "traditions."

Svendsen concludes, "In short, Roman Catholic apologists have hurriedly, carelessly - and, as a result, irresponsibly - glanced
at Barrett's work, found a large number (22,189), and arrived at all sorts of absurdities that Barrett never concluded." source

It's a shame that so many can't get along. It's like pulling teeth to get a baptist to have a coordinated event with a charismatic. But the Bible says there must needs be divisions to see who's approved. Who do you see as approved? Who's growing? Who's winning souls? Maybe that could be looked up.

Who are the most full of themselves? Let's look that up while we're at it.

According to various scholars and sources, Pentecostalism is the fastest-growing religious movement in the world; this growth is primarily due to religious conversion to Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity. According to Pulitzer Center 35,000 people become Pentecostal or "Born again" every day

Rapid growth doesn't necessarily mean a healthy body.

Don't be envious we're winning

This was a written prophecy and earning 1900 yrs ago by the apostle Paul this has happened

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;

but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4:3-4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

as time went on people began to live away from Jesus eternal doctrine and teach lies and deceptions replacements for his doctrine fables they call the gospel .

The apostle peter also foretold this

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2:1-2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

many today will not accept what Jesus taught but teach a different doctrine all together maybe Moses law maybe hypergrace that has no law whatsoever. But the truth is the gospel the lord spoke while he was here among man and sent to all people to believe and be saved

mostly church are based on each denominational belief and the differences between they and others each have their own ideas and bits and pieces but won’t let the gospel be the teacher about God the father and his chosen by faith children and thier eternal kingdom together forever in peace

the gospel is gods doctrine , but many churches won’t accept the gospel that’s written and presented instead tbey create a dirivitive of the gospel and present that so it’s always a bit different

if we don’t go beyond what is written we’d all be looking at the same doctrines

Matthew 7:13-23

[13] “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. [14] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

[15] “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? [17] So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. [18] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

———

The majority of people who profess Christ are actually on the broad road, they may think it’s the road to heaven but in reality they’re hell bound.

Depends on what the differences are, really. If they're aligned on core issues, like salvation, I can see it. Imperfect people get in the way, and remember, we see through a glass darkly. We're not all going to see the same thing in that murkiness.

Yes. That is a good criterion. But also grounding the new converts properly in Bible doctrine and Gospel truth. If this were happening routinely, there would be real Christian growth in the churches. We still have Christians on this forum who cannot grasp the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer.

The problem is that people are at different places spiritually. There is a place in Christ called "The knowledge of the truth". (1 Timothy 2:4). Many Christians study God's word from a purely intellectual standpoint. This means that they are easily misled because spiritual things are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Real trouble arises when people latch onto teachings that suit their predisposed biases and create a doctrine out of it. A good example is the prosperity gospel. God does not fit in our mental boxes. Some Christians are very well off and spiritual as well. Some are poor and immature. Some are spiritual but struggle financially. In my own experience, financial woes brought me closer to God.

Division over minor matters of doctrine is wicked. At least one church divided over whether a person should be baptised going backwards or forwards. Satan loves division. It gives the world ample excuse to reject Christianity.

As soon as someone starts promoting "isms" they are wrong even if they are right. Christianity is not an argument. It is a relationship with God through Christ. The sooner we get back to the fundamentals the better.

As you know, scripture speaks more of remnants, the few whom God keeps, rather than following the majority.

That being said, Catholicism is the largest, Pentecostalism is the fastest growing and these two are becoming fast friends over the past decade. No surprise really, water always seeks its own level.

Growth isn’t the standard for judging who’s “approved”, it’s a gage for who the world loves.

op: How can this be?
All I know is:

+

Amen.

That is about as nonsensical a statement as you can find anywhere. "But GROW in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" totally refutes what you stated. Furthermore "And the Lord added DAILY to the church such as should be saved" is a further rebuke to your Calvinistic nonsense. Adding daily to the church meant daily growth in numbers.

Nobody is talking about Calvin or anything even related to soteriology so where did that come from? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks and yours is looking for a fight apparently. Once again your hatred for Calvin(ists) reveals your ignorance.

To the rest, claiming the most popular denomination may be doctrinally correct simply because of its popularity, is anti biblical.

Scripture teaches us the world hates the light, hates the truth, they gather to themselves false prophets, liars and apostates, NOT the doctrinally correct who tells them the truth.

So if you really wanted to use popularity as a gage to who has correct doctrine (which I don’t necessarily suggest) the more biblical approach would be to see who is least popular.

THERE IS NEVER ANYTHING WRONG, BAD, CONFUSING, INDIFFERENT, NEGATIVE OR SINFUL ABOUT GOD, JESUS OR THE HOLY SPIRIT! God is omniscient, omnipotent & omnipresent. perfect always. beware of polls, especially these days where anyone can post anything about anyone or anything! 1st John reaches to discern the spirits, who's teaching what, if it's truth or fiction.