Because there are different interpretations of the Bible.

Interpretation.

oh come on you guys!!

;)

Seriously...I think there has got to be better answers than this! I hear time and time again from Christians that they are directly inspired by G-d...in some case they've even heard the voice of G-d. In your language, it's often "the Spirit led me"...or "guided me"...or some such thing. Now, if that was true, then more of should agree than disagree. Granted, maybe those who actually heard G-d didn't *really* listen (hence the freewill explaination is on more solid ground), but that seems pretty lame to me.

I gotta say, I don't think Christians have a good explaination for this. It boils down to the fact that a very small minority of you are actually on the right track and the rest are simply deluding themselves. You heard the voice of G-d...oh please, I don't think so! From my understanding, there are some major disagreements amongst my dear Christians. Is that not the case?

As a scientist and Christian, I see it this way: the only objective thing we have is data. In the case of Christianity, you can probably break it down into what Scripture says and experience. Everything else is theory, which is basically how we logically connect the data.

So Christian A may have had experience X and read verse V which made him come to conclusion 1 about a doctrine. Christian B may have had experience Y and read verse W which made her come to conclusion 2 about a doctrine.

These inconsistencies occurs in all forms of human ideas, whether they be ideas about love, ideas about how the world works (even scientists disagree with other, sometimes vehemently), and ideas about what God is like. Our experiences influence how we interpret the data, and the amount of data we've encountered influences how we interpret our experiences. There's a lot of fluidity there.

Why are there differences within Christianity? I think it all boils down to pride. I remember listening to the testimony of a man who was a baptist preacher and became a Catholic priest. He began his story by talking about his home town in Alabama where there was one Baptist church. By the time he became Catholic, there were a dozen. Nearly all of them came about over a disagreement between some members and the pastor over certain scripture passages, then when neither side would budge on their interpretation there was a split, and then another, and so on. It breaks my heart. But when there is no central teaching authority within a denomination, it is no surprise that things quickly break down.

My focus lately has not been on our differences but on our likenesses.  What do we have in common.  Jesus is Christ the risen Lord.  He died and rose again.  Do you believe this and confess this to God and are sorry for your sins.  The rest are people's own interpretations of what they believe scripture is telling them.   Some of those people I agree with others I don't. 

Because the less logical/consistent something is, the less consensus there will be amongst its followers. 

From the moment God breathed spiritual life into earth creatures until now, He has been revealing Himself to us progressively.  Human beings are incapable of receiving all that God has already revealed about Himself, much less keep up with all He is presently revealing to others all over the place.  And the most exciting truth is that God is still in the process of creating man in His Own Image!  The Lord Jesus Christ is our prototype!  The rest of us are still being molded, but individually.  And so long as we're contained in earthen vessels, we seem prone to bicker about our progress. 

@musterion99@xanga - Maybe you live in a different area than me, but I see that to many Christians the differences *are* essential to salvation. Especially Protestant vs. Catholic.

To me, if you guys cannot even agree within yourselves what is correct and just, then why should I belive anything that your religion says is truth.

Because it's comprised of people who have different opinions and expectations. The Bible gives an outline, and people seem to like to try and find ways to add their own touches to it. Some people like to dig deeper, some like to stay on the surface, and others are happy somewhere in between. Any group comprised of people will have differences. What matters is the heart. Where do they stand when you get down to the basics, like the fact that Jesus is God's Son, whom has always existed with God and the Holy Spirit, whom came to earth to save us because we couldn't save ourselves... He came and lived a sinless life for us so that he could be our atoning sacrifice, so that we could live a life pleasing to God, because that is in our best interest anyways. :) He was died and was rose again, to show how God wants us to rise again from our sinful lives to live pleasing to him. The choice is each persons.

So long as the heart is the same, that's what's important, I think. :)

@TheNewSeminarian - Hey curtis how ya doin'?

Because not everyone believes in the same thing, for example Jesus and his mission.