An abundance of Christian leaders and denominations claim to be heaven’s best spokesperson and a representative of the church most approved by God.

Some claim authority by having been in direct conversation with God as a prophet. Others as having restored pure original Christianity in our day from their superior interpretation of the Bible, possessing new holy books, tracing lines of succession back to the 12 Apostles, or more faithful adherence to statements of faith written in the 16th and 17th centuries.

There is no universally accepted collection of religious truths or method of finding it. There are many ways of designating one institution or person as the paramount font of true doctrine and practice. There are a least nine grounds for asserting authority: leaders, prophets, personal experience with the divine, rational thinking, correct interpretation of the Scriptures, conscience, appointment by person previously in authority, election by the laity, long history of the same doctrine and practice, adopting the church of one’s family and neighbours for the sake of peace and fitting in (community standards). And varying combinations of each. How can an individual Christian decide which is the most important consideration? There is no general rule, and Christianity has no supreme court to decide which is more important than another.

Difficult questions arise, beyond simple answers: How can authority be gained and increased? Can authority be delegated, limited or lost? Can church authority be divided or shared, as in a secular federal union? Who can punish those who abuse their authority? Who today possesses the powers of Jesus that He did not specifically grant to the apostles? The answers to these questions, each in a different way, account for there being 30,000 Christian denominations, each claiming to possess the best and highest truth.

Thus, there is no universal agreement on the highest and best authority in Christianity, and there is no rule for singling one out as acceptable to all. This accounts for the phenomenon that one person researches the teachings of many denominations and chooses a particular one as the only true or truest, while another seeker makes the same study and joins a different denomination.

Instead of searching for a neutral and uncluttered authority that might never be found, a more practical approach is to accept the guidance of a church near enough to your home that you can attend and participate in readily. As well as geographical proximity, the church should provide opportunities to help others, support for your spiritual and moral growth, regular worship services, Sunday school and other Christian training, and personal meaning in its particular worship format (liturgy).

This is the situation in which you live and need to search for spiritual and moral guidance, rather than researching the doctrines and claims of thousands of Christian denominations.

David W T Brattston (abridged)

Nova Scotia, Canada.