Christian Denominations... ???

Denominations have always confused me, and seemed quite pointless to me. I mean, if we're all Christian, and we all believe that God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, and that Christ rose again three days after His crucifiction, what's the point in dividing ourselves? Why should we put more labels into the world? Especially if they don't need to be there? I've attended a Baptist- Fellowship church all my life, but if you asked me to define a baptist church, I wouldn't be able to go much farther than saying Christians. I've attended other churches on occasion, and have regularily attended youth groups at churches of otehr denominations, but I still don't understand the differences, or the point.

Now, I don't know a lot about the technicalities of the denominations, but I know there are differences. From what I've heard, however, these differences seem meaningless to me. I've read that some denoms don't allow their people to outwardly worship God in ways like dance, loud singing, etc. Some don't believe you should eat certain foods, some believe you should only dress a certain way, and so on. My main problem with denoms is not the rules or restrictions they place on people. It is the fact that we are dividing ourselves from each other.

I'm writing about this today, because of a passage I came across while reading my bible. 1 Corinthians 10:17 reads as follows:

"I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe's household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters, Some of you are saying, "I am a follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter," or "I only follow Christ." Has Christ been divided into fractions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don't remember baptizing anyone else.) For Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to praech the Good News - and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power."

Now, I don't know how you interpret this. But when I read this passage, the first part in particular, I start wondering if denominations are really such a good thing. They put up walls between believers, and separate friends. I don't think it's that great to give this world more labels to put on people. I personally think labels suck. I guess what I'm trying to say is, should our denomination really matter? Should we place extra labels on ourselves, or just call ourselves believers of Christ? Should Christians be Baptist Christians, Adventist, Alliance, etc. Or, if we all believe in the same thing, shouldn't we just be Christians?