What makes a Christian a good Christian?

[LucyDuke]

I'm not a Christian and I don't really know a whole hell of a lot about Christianity. My impression is that "be like Jesus" is the overriding theme of being a good Christian. If that's the case, what does that mean? Love your neighbors, raise people from the dead, be a carpenter, get books written about you? Or is it something other than (or more than) be like Jesus?

What makes a Christian a good Christian? What about a bad Christian?

Also it would be really cool if nobody got into a flamewar calling each other bad Christians for disagreeing with what other people think makes a good Christian. I dunno about being a good Christian, but I know that being a good person involves not being a dick. Let's not make it personal, k? Thanks.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Being a Christian, full stop, is about believeing Jesus is the Christ.

Being a good Christian is about doing what Jesus told us to do.

So if I say Hitler wasn't a Christian, that is because his beliefs didn't seem to match up. Nothing to do with killing Jews. If he was a Christian, of course, Jew-killing and various other crimes made him a bad one.

 

[Bigfoot3814]

Or rather, being as much like christ as we can.

 

[LucyDuke]

Being a Christian, full stop, is about believeing Jesus is the Christ.

What's a Christ?

Being a good Christian is about doing what Jesus told us to do.

What did he tell you to do?

 

[puglover]

In Jesus' own words...

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.

 

[Elrohir]

Christianity is about becoming more like Christ, and being a better Son (Or Daughter) of God. The first step towards doing that is being saved by accepting Christ - after that, you do it by doing things that make you closer to God.

The thing is, though, those things can vary quite a bit. Not everyone is called to do the same thing - for one person, going and being a missionary doctor to poor Africans is what God wants them to do. For another, maybe they're supposed to stick around here in the US, and raise a godly family, present a good example for others, and stuff like that. There isn't one set path for being a "good Christian," and no two Christians are supposed to have exactly the same path.

I think it's kind of dangerous to make a list of things that a "good Christian" does, or doesn't do, because that often leads to legalism and the like. So while we can argue specifics - appropriate level of drinking alcohol? Does a good Christian swear? and so on - I think generally it can be boiled down to a pretty simple thing: a good Christian humbly pursues the will of God in his life, and does what God wants him to do to the best of his ability. It's not a matter of checklists or tangible achievements; it's about heart attitude and pure desires. It's not even really about good deeds - because if you are truly saved, and truly seeking to follow God, then you will want to do good deeds naturally.

That's my take on it, anyway. And I'm sorry if it wasn't quite was you were looking for, Lucy.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

What's a Christ?

Hard to be precise actually. I would say anyone who believes the following about Jesus of Nazareth:

1. He had a particular relationship with God that other people don't.
2. He rose from the dead.
3. He atoned in some way for our sins and is the path to return to God.

Is a Christian.

What did he tell you to do?

There is certainly a lot of disagreement about this.

 

[Zarn]

It means don't be mean, but joking around is fine.

In terms of different versions of Western Christianity: Looking at it from a historical perspective, a Roman Catholic would see Protestantism as something a perversion of the Christian beliefs for political or some other worldly issues (the opposite of religion in China- China is affected politically by religious influences). A Protestant could see the Roman Catholic Church as a corrupt organization, and since it is corrupt, it cannot be the true faith.

 

[Red Door]

Being a Catholic.

 

[warpus]

What about following the 10 Commandments?

 

[Luckymoose]

Being a Catholic.

Very true. All of the other groups are not Christian.

 

[Zarn]

What about following the 10 Commandments?

That is more of a Jewish thing, not that they are completely irrelevant.

 

[LucyDuke]

I think generally it can be boiled down to a pretty simple thing: a good Christian humbly pursues the will of God in his life, and does what God wants him to do to the best of his ability.

No, that's exactly what I'm looking for, but I'm going to keep pestering you with questions.

How do you know what God wants you to do? Is it in the book, or did he tell you at church, or what?

 

[Masquerouge]

Atheist point of view:
my personal view of a Christian is someone who believes that Jesus is the son of God, rose from the dead and atones for the sins blah blah.
My personal view of a good Christian is, as you said in your OP, a Christian who's not being a dick

 

[Bigfoot3814]

How do you know what God wants you to do? Is it in the book, or did he tell you at church, or what?

First of all, God does not only exist in church. God exists in everyone, and one of our goals as Christians is to see God in everyone.

Jesus said "Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there as well." So it doesn't have to be in a church.

 

[Zarn]

Jahveh (or perhaps Jehovah in Elrohir's case) would probably want each person, Christian or not, to ask themselves if what they are doing is right? Would it be right to steal? Most Christians would say no. In the end (whether Jahveh wants it or not), the moral beliefs based upon the believer's own moral reasoning becomes what they think what Jahveh wants from them. For some people that means allowing gay marriages. For others, it means banning them in a constitution.

 

[Elrohir]

No, that's exactly what I'm looking for, but I'm going to keep pestering you with questions.

How do you know what God wants you to do? Is it in the book, or did he tell you at church, or what?

OK!

I think there's a variety of ways. He gave us the Bible, yes - he also gave us consciences, that can tell us right from wrong. He gave us logic, we can use for reasoning things out. And yes, he did give us the church, other believers, who can help keep us on track.

As a semi-Protestant (I'm not a member of any Christian denomination, but the churches I attend are Protestant, and my beliefs are mostly Protestant) Of those, I'd say the Bible is the most important. Logic and reason is just as important, in a way, but I think it should be used to explain, expound, and build off of Scripture, rather than try to find alternate moralities. (I'm speaking as a Christian here - all you pagans and Satan worshipers can do what you want ) Consciences can be valuable as well, but what you feel isn't always accurate, and can be tampered with by upbringing or stress or just plain human fallibility; guilt or the lack of it doesn't always mean much for determining morality. And the church, of course, can be wrong. And aside from all of these, I would include personal revelation - spiritual inclinations, ideas, experiences, that you believe are from God, and tell you how to live your life.

It may look like I just shot down most of my ideas, but really, I didn't. I think you need to balance all of them with each other. Ignoring any one is dangerous, and can lead to disaster - all of them are valuable, and all of them are necessary. Because while it's impossible to lead a perfect life, or make perfect choices all the time, or have perfect theology, we should strive to have best theology and the best lives that we can. We know we are forgiven for our imperfections - but we should seek to be as close to perfection, to Christ, as possible, because that is a large part of our purpose.

Make sense?

 

[scy12]

A good Christian is a Christian who is a good person.

 

[Bigfoot3814]

And aside from all of these, I would include personal revelation - spiritual inclinations, ideas, experiences, that you believe are from God, and tell you how to live your life.

I agree with this. To me the Bible is less of a rule book and more of a source of inspiration, or an example to strive towoards.

 

[Perfection]

Good Christians are Ex-Christians