We all are familiar with several of the largest denominations of Christianity: the Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, etc. Several sources claim that there are approximately 45,000 denominations in Christianity, 200 denominations in the U.S. alone. Do a quick Google search and you'll see what I mean. If this is true, this is certainly astonishing and quite worrying as a Christian. Jesus sincerely desired to unite all believers as one body under God. As you read about His prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane, you could tell that Jesus wouldn't be quite pleased with the massive number of denominations we have today. >**John 17:20-23 (NKJV)** > >20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; **that they also may be one in Us**, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, **that they may be one just as We are one**: 23 I in them, and You in Me; **that they may be made perfect in one**, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Every denomination differs in terms of doctrine, rituals, eschatology, style of music for worship, Bible translation -- if they are all given the same Bible passage, every one of them will give a different interpretation. Is the Christian community truly so fragmented?

> Gen. 10:25 > > And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. Through some simple math, we know that Peleg was born 101 years after the flood. I had assumed that this verse meant a demographic division, but I don't think there could be that many people on the earth yet (assuming only 8 survived the flood). I got this idea from v. 32: > These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood. I understand that the name Peleg has some relation to division, but I'm not too well-versed on the original Hebrew meaning. Does this verse signify a physical division (like breakup of Pangaea), or something more like a demographic division?

In Luke 12:51-53 Jesus said: > Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but > division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against > each other, three against two and two against three. There must have been a larger point to this. What was the *division* that he spoke of? I can't imagine it's as simple as separating the "good" from the "bad" since he often made it clear that God holds no distinction between those two types of people, and loves everyone equally and unconditionally.

1 Corinthians 11:18 > In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, > there are **divisions** among you, and to some extent I believe it. My question is already there by reading verse 18. However, after reading the next verse, 20 to 21 : > So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat. > For when you are eating, **some of you go ahead with your own private > suppers**. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets > drunk. From the bold sentences, my guess of the divisions is something like this :
*There are some who agree to "go ahead with their own private suppers",
but there are also some who don't agree to "go ahead with their own private suppers".
The group who agree, don't care to the hungry (the poor).
The group who don't agree, care to the hungry (the poor).* But since I realize that my guess above is only my own imagination, that's why I post this question. Thank you.

Those of us who care to look into history even the slightest can see that both devout Christian laymen and Christian leaders have been make scientific strides for almost two millennia. Some examples will be sited below. In spite of these facts, I often hear claims from secularists along the lines of "Christians may donate to [insert medical cause here], but an atheist is the one who finds the cure to [insert modern medical issue here]." And, similarly, but not the same: "Medieval Christians are responsible for a lack of scientific advancement in that era." So, if people like Gregor Mendel (https://www.google.com/#q=Gregor+Mendel) and Georges Lemaitre (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre) were doing scientific work, why is there this huge misconception that Christianity was against and/or is currently against Scientific discovery? Specifically, my question is, which recent (last 300 years or so) writings can be attributed to creating and perpetuating this divide in spite of historical evidence which supports that devoted Christians did important scientific work in their day, and how have they been so convincing for the general public (on both sides) in spite of all of this readily-available historical evidence? Note: Perhaps the second part of my question is more opinion-based, but I am interested in some speculation as to why these writings would have such a powerful effect, whether from S.E. users or from another source.

I have seen the word "heresy" used on this site a lot recently *(and have used it myself a couple of times in jest)* but I was wondering if someone could explain the meaning of this term as it is used within Christianity? - Does "heresy" simply mean "I believe that view is false", or is it something stronger? - Does "heresy" mean "If you believe in that, then you are not my brother in Christ", or something less severe? I understand each Church will have a different take on whether or not a particular doctrine is heresy, but I am curious if there is a generally agreed-upon "definition" for the word as it is used within Christianity? If the modern usage is different than the usage in previous church eras, please indicate this in your answer. Thanks! *(I didn't want to merely take a secular Dictionary's definition, since at times they miss the mark of the usage within a subculture like Christianity.)*