The Testimony of Jesus: Past, Present, and PromiseWhat is Authentic Christianity? Currently, there are approximately 40,000 different Christian churches and denominations. If you go back only 500 years, most of what you regard as Christianity would not have existed. If you go back earlier still, your Christian belief (including the current form of Catholicism that is practiced) would be regarded as heretical by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Merely 500 years ago, the only authorized forms of the Bible