The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations: Understanding the History, Beliefs, and Differences

by Ron Rhodes

Do you ever wonder what the difference is between one denomination and another? Why are there so many kinds of Baptist or Presbyterian or Lutheran churches? Where do those names come from, anyway?

You can find answers in this concise but comprehensive guide. Learn about the leaders, teachings, and history of most of the church families in America. In addition to membership statistics, you’ll find…

a brief explanation of how the denomination began a short summary of its teaching on God, the Bible, the church, and other important topics a quick overview of some of its distinctive characteristicsWhether you’re looking for a new church or enriching your fellowship with believers from other traditions, you’ll be much better prepared with this revised and expanded edition of The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations.

Genres: Religion, Christian, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, Reference, Faith

450 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Ashur · Rating 3 out of 5]

tl;dr version: Should've been called the Evangelical Apologists' Complete Guide to U.S. Christian Denominations.

This is my own fault (not knowing anything about the author prior to reading), but I was anticipating a text from an academic perspective - this book is NOT that. The author has a particular sort of Christian in mind as his audience. While I was not able to suss out Ron Rhodes' particular denomination, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary, which is evangelical, conservative and espouses Dispensationalism. He runs Reasoning from the Scripture Ministries, which appears to be devoted to apologetics and features texts on how like-minded people can go about conversing with (with the goal of converting) members of certain types of other denominations and/or religions.

The text has a lot of good and useful information; however, it is liberally interspersed with Protestant-canon-only scripture-based guidance, which I found jarring. Again, I was expecting a text without an agenda.

In one of the appendices, Rhodes elaborates messily on his interpretation of what a "cult" is; this includes LDS and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Curiously, he also includes "New Agers" (which are not really a group), the Baha'i and "Hindu cults". Given none of those groups typically claim ownership of the term "Christian", I found this odd and poorly-substantiated at best. His definition of a cult seems more to imply "Christianity-linked heterodox group that espouses new revelation", rather than the use of "cult" that I'm more familiar with (https://culteducation.com/warningsign...). Please note that neither of these definitions are the academic definition of "cult".

I am one of those people who is frustrated when people give a book a negative review simply because it's not what they expected. As such, this book is a mixed bag - useful in terms of brief histories of the major Christian denominations in the United States and specific differences between them, but also obviously has an agenda beyond simply presenting factual information. As a reader who isn't receptive to Rhodes' message, it was somewhat uncomfortable.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking for a informational book that gave the black and white comparisons and contrasts of the many denominations of Christianity. Instead I got a watered down version of the denominations that was written from by a evangelist apologists.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview into Christian denominations. I found a lot of substance in this book.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference book. It lists over 17 denominations giving a brief explanation of how the denomination began, a short summary of its teachings on God, the Bible, the church and other important topics and a quick overview of some of its distinctive characteristics. It also lists a website if they have one.

[Kaitlynn Scribner · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who has ever driven past a Seventh Day Adventist church and wondered what the hell they were all about. Very informative and informational without being too boring.

[Jarrel Oliveira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Dr. Rhodes' work. It was a phenomenal body of work to introduce us to the varied (mostly, if not entirely European and North American) stratification of Christian denominations. I would have given this 5 stars but I'll settle for 4 because Rhodes does not include how often race and chattel slavery played a pivotal role in the formation, malformation, or reunification of a number of denominations and/or how social political undertakings in Europe shaped or mishaped* certain doctrines which are now considered essential in historic Christianity. Too often we believe that men like John Calvin just happened upon Protestant ideas, absconded to Geneva, and became the greatest intellectual of his time without being influenced by the social and political upheaval of statist Europe; which I believe pushed Calvin, a lawyer, to view God and the world, in such extremes in an age of so many uncertainties. And these influences gravely influenced his theology and his theology heavily influences Reformed and Presbyterian Christians today.

But I digress. Perhaps I expected more from this book but that was not the author's original intent.

If you're curious about the formation of denominations and what a denomination even is, start here. You'll be grateful. But, do not stop here.

[Multis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ron Rhodes-an American author brings to us a comprehensive! guide to various denominations in the Christian faith.

The book is structured into 17 chapters- one chapter for every denominations, sorted alphabetically. They are further divided by the sub-sects/denominations. Unfortunately they are not organised by any single factor.JW and Mormons are not given the space fro being a cult which makes sense.

While it did help me understand the issues surrounding the differences a little, it has nothing much to offer besides a brief biography of the founders. All the information provided is available for free on wikipedia. If the point of the work was to organise into a easy to use manner it spectacularly fails in this project. It is tough to follow the development through time due to the the way chapters are structured.

But coming to the most glaring example of shoddy workmanship- It only covers American churches! I feel this bit of information would have been extremely useful to point out in the title.

One thing I liked were the random Fun Facts table.

I would not recommend this book to anyone 1/5

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't bad. I was looking for a broad survey of Christian churches, and it filled that purpose. I think it could have been organized a bit differently and gave a little more information on the organization of each church (i.e., how they are run), and maybe some more critical analysis. But, some of that may have offended some readers. They did do an excellent job of being very neutral, no favorites.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had been on my shelf for years. I finally got around to looking at it. The sections on each denomination are small and if you are looking for a lengthy discussion this is not the book for that.
I especially wanted to read about The United Methodist, where I worship now, and the Church of Christ that I grew up in.
This author makes a point to say he did not include the Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses as he does not consider them Christian churches but believes that they are cults.

[Yitbarek Yigezu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book you will come to know the history of christian denominations as they exist today. It is an exciting journey to realise the difficult journey Church fathers and other notable Christians gone through in standing for the truth they have found it to be true. You will also appreciate the variety of believes we have with the commonality of doctrines among most of them.

[Dave Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight into different Christian denominations - but very repetitive.

[Pamela Goode · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough. Interesting reading.

[Minister Jane Trivigno · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book going over the differences and history of christian denominations. 400 pages long but packs quite a bit going over 17 denominations

[Carson Knauff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great resource but don’t recommend reading cover to cover. A perfect book to have on a shelf to reference but since it lacks a narrative it does fall short on what I hoped it would be.

[Anna Theodore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was such a great tool on my current faith journey. I analyzed all these different dominations finding their similarities and differences. It is good to gain understanding on the purpose behind different denominations, be able to respect other churches, and know where you can comfortably find your people.

This book and perspective has taught me how to respect others more as well as stand firm in my beliefs. Now knowing what I know, I feel confident in finding and exploring churches wherever I may end up.

[Garrett Rupp · Rating 2 out of 5]

My denominations rankings

1. Baptist
2. Christian
3. Fundamentalist / Bible / Conservative Evangelical
4. Presbyterian
5. Congregational
6. Lutheran
7. Reformed
8. Methodist
9. Brethren
10. Mennonite
11. Pentecostal
12. Orthodox
13. Adventist
14. Holiness
15. Episcopal / Anglican
16. Friends / Quaker
17. Catholic

I refuse to defend these rankings.
This book is too long, but I’m glad it exists.

[Juicy_Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really would have liked it if the author included the Unitarian Church,Unitarian Universalism,and Oneness Penacostal.I got this book from my library because I wanted to learn about those three and I was very disappointed hat they weren't included.

[S.J. Millman]

I didn't like some of Appendix B because it labelled some legit religions as cults but I loved the postscript. I learnt heaps and that was the main aim of the book I believe. That the world of Christianity, too can be as diverse as the many different types of people in the world.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is average, but the book is informative and accessible.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical and doctrinal overview of denominations.

[Brad Hart · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is meant to give the reader a general introduction to the many denominations of Christianity but it leaves out key details of history. In addition, the author takes some dirty shots at both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, calling both "cults." He tries to justify his nonsense by defining cults as simply anti-trinitarian churches but his explanation, like this book, falls flat on its ass. I'm the first to admit that Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses have their problems but the way this author singles both out for a blatant slap to the face reveals his biases. Don't bother with this waste of paper.