Church History

The church’s response to heresy shaped Christianity for centuries to come. False teaching didn’t wait for the church to mature. Deception appeared almost immediately after Pentecost. The apostles spent much of their time correcting errors and defending truth.

This early battle against heresy explains much about how our denominations formed. The church’s defensive strategies—some brilliant, others problematic—echo through history to today.

Understanding this struggle helps us appreciate both our theological heritage and our current divisions.

Why do thousands of Christian denominations exist when Jesus started just one church? Jesus prayed for unity among His followers. He asked His Father that believers “may be one” (Jn 17:21). He wanted this unity to convince the world of His divine mission. 

Yet today, Christianity fragments into countless denominations. This division confuses outsiders and weakens our witness. Instead of showing the world a united body so that “the world may believe” (Jn 17:21) we’ve often displayed the opposite. Some people reject faith entirely because Christians can’t agree among themselves.