Historic Christian orthodoxy — what the church has confessed from the New Testament and the early creeds. The fixed reference, not one opinion among several.
Denies the Trinity and/or Christ's full deity. Not a variety of Christianity — a different religion using Christian words.
Affirms the Trinity and Christ's deity, but adds to Scripture's authority or to Christ's finished work for salvation.
Movements inside Protestant/evangelical circles that quietly reshape the gospel from within, rather than rejecting it outright.
| Group | Authority | Trinity | Christ | Salvation | Man & Sin | Afterlife | Sacraments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic Orthodoxy | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tier 1 — Off True | |||||||
| Jehovah's Witnesses | ~ | ✗ | ✗ | ~ | ~ | ✗ | ~ |
| Mormonism (LDS) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Oneness Pentecostalism | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ |
| Christian Science | ~ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Unitarian Universalism | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tier 2 — Leaning | |||||||
| Roman Catholicism | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Eastern Orthodoxy | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Tier 3 — Drifting | |||||||
| Prosperity / Word of Faith | ~ | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Progressive / Liberal Christianity | ✗ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
Confessed from the New Testament · articulated at Nicaea (325) and Chalcedon (451) · held by Baptists as consistent with the Baptist Faith & Message
This isn't one denomination's preference among many — it's the consistent confession of the church across every major branch of historic, creedal Christianity, tested directly against the text.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8–9 (LSB)
These groups use Christian vocabulary but reject what the earliest creeds identified as non-negotiable: that God is triune, and that Jesus Christ is fully God. By that historic standard, they are not variant forms of Christianity — they are different religions.
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society · founded 1870s, Charles Taze Russell
The whole system rests on denying that Jesus is eternally, fully God — but Jesus applies God's own covenant name to Himself, centuries before His birth as a man.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” John 8:58 (LSB) — echoing Exodus 3:14
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · founded 1830, Joseph Smith
Scripture claims to be complete and closed, and God declares Himself the only God there has ever been or will ever be — not one god among a divine family that others can join.
“...before Me there was no god formed, and there will be none after Me.” Isaiah 43:10 (LSB)
e.g. United Pentecostal Church International · emerged 1913–1916
Modalism was identified and rejected as heresy in the early centuries of the church precisely because Scripture shows Father, Son, and Spirit present at once, as distinct persons, in the very same moment.
“...he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him, and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’” Matthew 3:16–17 (LSB)
Church of Christ, Scientist · founded 1879, Mary Baker Eddy
The gospel depends on Christ's death and bodily resurrection being real, historical events — not illusions of the mind to be reasoned away.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (LSB)
Merged denomination, 1961, from separate Unitarian and Universalist traditions
Removing Christ's unique deity and the necessity of Him as mediator removes the gospel's central claim — that reconciliation with God comes through Him alone.
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.’” John 14:6 (LSB)
These are historic, creedal branches of Christianity — Trinitarian, confessing Christ as fully God and fully man. Where they lean is authority and salvation: adding church tradition alongside Scripture, and ongoing human cooperation alongside Christ's finished sacrifice.
Traces continuous institutional identity to the early church; papacy as currently structured formalized across the medieval period
Making ongoing sacramental cooperation necessary for justification blurs a finished work into an unfinished one — Scripture says Christ's single sacrifice fully and permanently accomplished what it set out to do.
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14 (LSB)
Traces continuous identity to the early church through the seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787)
Theosis-as-process blurs the clear, once-for-all forensic declaration of righteousness Scripture describes — God justifying the ungodly the moment they believe, not merely the devout as they progress.
“...to the one who does not work, but believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” Romans 4:5 (LSB)
These aren't separate denominations so much as tendencies that show up inside otherwise Protestant and evangelical churches — including Baptist ones. They rarely announce a doctrinal break; they just quietly redraw what the gospel promises or requires.
20th-century American movement, spread widely through radio and television ministries
Scripture's own faithful — including Paul — suffered without the healing or relief the movement promises is guaranteed to strong faith.
“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (LSB)
Rooted in 19th–20th-century theological liberalism, still active in parts of mainline Protestantism
Once Scripture's full authority and Christ's substitutionary death are treated as optional, the ground the gospel actually stands on is gone.
“Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that having died to sin, we might live to righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 (LSB)