Comments | humanistj: What is a Christian, anyways?

humanistj

What is a Christian, anyways?

Jun 02, 2005 16:05

A few months ago, i read a book entitled "Crimes against Logic" by the philosopher Jamie Whyte. It's a great read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in logical inconstistencies (I'm looking at you Mark). The book covers a wide variety of topics and is quite accessable ( Read more... )

Comments 3

kellyjoy15 June 4 2005, 13:09:41 UTC

The problem is that there are so many definitions. I can't say any of them are incorrect, because it is just a matter of language. Here are a few distinct definitions that I can think of. I am defining nouns, but the adjective usages follow from the noun definitions. The first one is the one that I use.

1. One who has accepted Christ as their Savior, one who has been born-again.
2. One who is Christ-like.
3. Someone from a "Christian" nation.
4. A "good," moral, or charitable person.
5. Someone who attends church, or says their religion is Christianity.
Are there more? . . .

People who say that Catholics are not necessarily Christian are using definition 1. I would say that Christians 5,3, and even 1 are not always 2 or 4. Again, it's just a matter of language. To clear things up, when I mean 1, I usually say "believer" so that my meaning is more clear. Especially here in the Bible belt, a lot of people hear Christian and think 3 or 5. Hope this helps!!!

PS I'm going to respond to your other comment in my LJ soon!

constantmark June 10 2005, 01:58:47 UTC

I am constantly baffled by how often people miss-use the term christian. Unfortunately, language is a dynamic entity, and if enough people miss-use a word for long enough, eventually it will become accepted, (ir)regardless of the fact that most of the people are still wrong ( ... )

humanistj June 10 2005, 15:44:24 UTC

This was really my point. That to be Christian, all that is required is a belief in Christ as the messiah. I read the Webster's Dictionary (short version) definition as well. I find it amusing that some consider Catholics to be non-Christian. Considering that the most popular religion in the world is Catholicism, to say that Catholics are not Christian would make Christianity as a whole to be a small minority among religions of the world. I think two-thirds of all Christians are Catholic.