What makes someone Christian?

Stylesjl

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I think that a beleif in Jesus being the son of god and the bible being the divine word god is the minimum bar needed for christanity? Or am i way off?
 
I consider myself a Christian, and I don't believe the Bible is the divine word of God... though I do believe it was divinely inspired.

I think the "minimum" is that someone believe that Jesus was the Son of God and died for our sins.
 
The way I see it, what is required is a belief that Jesus of Nazareth has a relationship with God that no other person has, and that he in some way redeemed or will redeem us from sin.

Belief in the Bible is irrelevant. One can be a Christian without believing a word of it if one is so inclined. In fact, the early Christians didn't believe in the Bible because it didn't exist until about the 5th Century.
 
For me, I do not dispute the existence of Christ or his relationship to God. I do not dispute the history as told by the scholars. I acknowledge Jesus Christ as the example that all should live by. That is good enough for me.
 
Perfection said:
Ingesting little crackers on a weekly basis.

Hey, free wine and crackers. I'll take every free meal I can get, right now. ;)
 
IMO, you are a Christian if you believe that Jesus was the son of god, and died for our sins.

@Perf You don't know what your missing. I swear that the wafers made by the Catholic Church are made out of cardboard mmmm...
 
malclave said:
I consider myself a Christian, and I don't believe the Bible is the divine word of God... though I do believe it was divinely inspired.

I think the "minimum" is that someone believe that Jesus was the Son of God and died for our sins.


Yeah, thats the key.


And I've had many kinds of wafers, some are good, some not so good.
 
This guy will make you into a christian! - If you like it or not!

Empire%20Crusader.jpg


:D
 
Abgar said:
IMO, you are a Christian if you believe that Jesus was the son of god, and died for our sins.

I think this is close, but I would also include the requirement that you also accept Christ as your savior and king, and worship God, not just believe in God and Christ's existence.

Consider this. Someone acknowledges that God exists, that Christ is his son, and that Christ sacrificed himself for our sins. However, this someone for whatever reason chooses to reject God. Your criteria are met, but I don't think the person could be called a Christian.
 
CurtSibling said:
This guy will make you into a christian! - If you like it or not!

Empire%20Crusader.jpg


:D

Ouch! I'd better convert

Just kidding i'll get a firearm
 
I wasn't sure about the second part the bible bit, but now that its been clarified that the first 500 years of christianity were without a bible i can see that acceptance of jesus and his divinity, son of god, died on a cross for our sins, etc and acceptance of god are the minimum requirements
 
Belief in a dude nailed to a cross as your personal saviour, I'm sure I've said that before somewhere. The answers in the title 'Christian', see.:)
 
Acording to the definitions i see here, i am bordering christianity. :D

Chukchi Husky said:
I was told that even if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins you're still not a Christian.
But that is what the apostoles and the early christians believed.
Of course this definition is very broad. I am sure that if i'll ask a priest "What makes someone christian" he would add some more stuff to the definition.
 
Is it not to be good to other people as you would wish them to be towards you.

And most importantly, towards your enemies as well. ( I have this feeling that that is the main difference between Cristianity and Judaism/Islam, i.e. them not being benevolently inclined towards their enemies)

As J. H. Christ was on the cross, asking God to forgive his tormentors.

At least this is what the Bible preaches.
 
Abgar said:
IMO, you are a Christian if you believe that Jesus was the son of god, and died for our sins.

I'm not a Christian, but this is what I've always viewed as being the requirement.
 
Right, you can't just believe, you have to accept. Satan believes that Christ died for our sins, does that make him Christian?

And by the way, Mormons use little pieces of bread (store-bought) instead of crackers, and regular tap water in tiny paper cups.
 
Pokurcz said:
As J. H. Christ was on the cross, asking God to forgive his tormentors.

:confused: pardon my ignorance, but what does the H stand for? :confused:

Everyone is saying that a belief that he was/is The Son of God is required. While I think that's true, I don't think it is necessarily a requirement for a Christian, simply recognize that he had/has the authority to save you. So I would term it:

Believe and accept that Jesus Christ dies for our sins, and has the authority to cover all of our wrong-doings.
 
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