How would you define a "Christian"?
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My husband preaches surmons like these, very good question. Well, Christian by definition is: to be Christ like. Which we all fail at sometimes.\n\nHow will people know? Jesus said "By this they (meaning the world) will know that you are my disciples, because of the love that you have for the brethren." Meaning the way christians are "suppose to" treat, and show love toward one another, should be a difference, unconditional, than the love of the world, which is, conditional. You know what I've found out though? That there is a lot of the world in the church now- a-days!\n\nThe evidence would be the "fruit that you bare" meaning that a corrupt tree can't bare good fruit, neither can a good tree bare corrupt fruit. Salt and fresh water, can't come out of the same spout, it's either salt or fresh, so if a person is a christian then they will be governed by the word of God. You should be able to see jesus, in there actions. \n\nA very small example of this would be if somebody does something to you, and you know they were wrong, yet, you make the first step and apologize even if they don't. Not because you did something wrong, because they did. But you try to make peace, where ever possible, and take the first step. People will think your a fool, but see, that's the worlds thinking, to be christ like you would give up your right to be right, and apologize just to reconcile with them. Even if they don't.\n\nOur philosophy is different and causes a person to have to die to their flesh, or themselves, or their pride. \n\nTo really make a difference a true (well actually a mature christian, because you can be a true christian that hasn't matured yet, it doesn't mean that your not saved, it takes time for a person to grow to the level of humility, and not always trying to make a name for themselves or be popular in this life!) must be a humble christian, meek, not weak, you can stand up for what's right, but , if humbling yourself will make a difference for the better in the end, then do that, rather than prove your point. \n\nYou'd have to use discernment and wisdom in order to know the difference at that time.
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YES.  According to the good ol' American Heritage Dictionary, a Christian is one who professes "belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus."  I'm a Catholic, and I know this describes me, as I'm sure it describes you as well.\n\nI have come to understand a bit more about why sometimes Protestants say Catholics aren't Chritistian, however.  Hopefully, these will help you understand your friends' logic:\n\n1. The Saints.  It's thought that by praying to saints, Catholics are worshiping them.  This isn't true, of course, for reasons I won't get into here - I'm sure you know them - but you can see how people might think you're not Christian if they thought this was true.\n2. The Bible.  Because Protestants don't have a Church structure the way Catholics do, Protestants often end up paying a lot more attention to the Bible, memorizing passages etc.  It seems to them that Catholics ignore the Scriptures and so the word of Christ.  This isn't true either, but it's a not-infrequent misconception.\n3.  The Eucharist.  Catholics say that the Eucharist is the essence of Christ, present with us.  We worship Christ in and through the Eucharist.  If you're Protestant, you (generally) think the Eucharist is bread, symbolic of Christ, but not actually Christ.  So if they see us worshiping God in the Eucharist, they think we're bowing down to a piece of bread.  You can see how this would seem sacriligious?\n4. Salvation.  Generally, Protestants believe that salvation can only come from accepting Christ as your savior.  Essentially, no matter how good a person is on their own, because they're not perfect, they wouldn't be able to make it to heaven if it weren't for Chirst's sacrifice.    Catholics believe this is true, but that you also have to 'walk the walk, not just talk the talk.'  Salvation is based on the acceptance of Christ as savior combined with good works.  The reason some Protestants have a problem with this is because they're thinking we're discounting the importance of Christ's sacrifice and that we think we could get into heaven on our own. \n\nSo you see, the concept of Catholics not being Christian is generally based on misconceptions.  Try explaining these concepts to your friends (without proselytizing) and try to find out why they think Catholics don't count as Christians.  We all believe in Christ as the source of eternal life.  Maybe you can help them see this.
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I think you are a Christian if you think you are.  I guess I could ask: do you believe in God?  Do you believe Jesus Christ to be God's only Son and the Savior of the world, who died that the sins of the world could be forgiven?  If you do, you're a Christian as far as I'm concerned.\n\nThere is much more you could do, I'm sure.  But I think believing and having faith are really what matters.
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I did not say it is no christian. In fact quite the contrary. It is a typical christian
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Depends on who you are asking in Christianity.  Many that go to church are just religious and go there religiously and are sometimes serious about religion.  Here we come into conflict with religion,  The Bible says you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God..  The Bible says you must have the spirit of God in you and guiding you.  When people say that God speaks to their heart and tells them things, it is the Holy Spirit.  Religious people don't understand that.  You say that the Bible speaks to you, and religious people don't get it, and some of them read the Bible.  The term Christianity needs to be defined as to what the Bible says it is and not what the dictionary says.  The Bible started the whole thing anyway.\nChristians try to do what the Lord wants, Religious people end up trying to keep rules and regulations and find it a burden.  Christians love it and it is an adventure every day.  To be a Christian is JOY and Security in Jesus Christ and not a burden.\nYou man never understand what I am saying but one day God himself changed me inside and I don't want to do anything bad ever again, and I understand how much he loves me and always cared for me, even when I was making fun of him before I was a Christian.  IT IS TRULY A RELATIONSHIP AND NOT A RELIGION.  I hope this helps.
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A Christian is one who follows Christ. Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholic. A Christian can be Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc.
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A Christian is one who believes in Jesus as God and accepts Jesus as his/her personal saviour. As such, Catholics ARE Christians. The Roman Catholic church is said to have started with Peter, to whom Jesus said,\n\nMatthew 16:18-19\nAnd I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.\n\nRoman Catholics say they have a direct line of Popes starting from Peter, to the Pope of today.\n\nThen along came King Henry VIII, who liked to chop and change, as it were. He took issue with the Christian doctrine of not being allowed to divorce and remarry, so started his own church: the Church of England - the first form of Protestantism. "Protestant" comes from "protest" as they were protesting against the rules of the existing Church. According to my year eight history teacher (oh so long ago!) any Christian denomination that isn't Roman Catholic, *is* Protestant by definition due to the origins of the term "Protestant." And on the story goes, with different sects popping up along the way.\n\nCatholicism does tend to be a bit more "flowery" and ornate than other denominations of Christianity. I grew up in the Roman Catholic church and changed to Pentecostal fundamentalism later on. I did the rounds and tried nearly every denomination out there to see what felt right for me. My experience has been that while basically the same overall, the Catholic church tends to be far more formal where other churches are a little more laid back. Catholics have a set hierarchy, where many modern Christian denominations have lay people participating at higher levels than in the past, and women being more involved in church leadership. I'm not saying this is either good or bad; this is just an observation. Other than that, there aren't many differences in core beliefs. \n\nSome people do argue that Roman Catholics "aren't really Christians" because of different rituals and practices, such as confession and penance. However, it's not about receiving forgiveness from a Priest instead of God. It's about confessing your sins as the bible instructs Christians to do - it's about the act of confession and the Priest affirming forgiveness from God. Some people find this helpful; others don't. Certainly, praying specific prayers as a form of atonement may seem strange - but think for just a minute: who are the prayers really for? God can't benefit from anything we do. The prayers are for the benefit of the person who is praying, and no one else. There are reasons behind things that people who have never been Catholic won't understand. It may seem strange - but *anything* that isn't understood seems strange, whether that be religious ritual or otherwise. Scripture to support this is:\n\nJames 5:16\nConfess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.\n\n1 John 1:9\nIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\n\nAnother thing that can be seen as strange by non-Catholics is the fact that priests and nuns don't marry. The explanation for that is quite simple: they used to. Way back when, when priests had families and they died, they left everything to their families. Unfortunately, the Church at the time didn't like this. Priests usually lived on the church property, causing a problem for the Church. It was a question of financial gain, rather than anything religious, and so the church banned priests from marrying. This way, even if they had a child, it would be out of wedlock - making the child illegitimate (by their standards) and consequently the chil
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I would say that a "Christian" is a person who reads the Bible, praises God, and lives a "good" life by his/her religions standards. A "Hell-fire Christian" is one who is "on fire for God". They believe anything a preacher says, anything the Bible says, and translates the Bibles words in the most literal sense. They see anyone that is less than perfect, even though they are as well, as heathens and try to bring the word of God to them at all costs.
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Being religious doesn't make you Christian.  Religious people do just about everything anyone else does, so I wouldn't let it shock me.
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Christian.\nI don't defend my Faith.\nI have a GOD that defends me.\nMY God needs no defense.\nIt's false gODS that needs defending.\n\nI will STAND AND DEFEND CHRIST.I WILL DEFEND CHRIST NAME. CHRIST WILL STAND AND DEFEND ME ON JUDGMENT DAY.\n\n\nGOD Bless You.  Have a nice week.\n\n.
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Let's see... what century is this? A real Christian never got divorced, way back when. A real Christian had nothing at all to do with worldly things, including politics, in the long ago. A real Christian believed the Sun revolved around the Earth, and rejected all that heretical astronomical stuff, a couple of centuries ago. A real Christian never wore cosmetics or dressed in a provocative way, once upon a time. And a real Christian woman wouldn't have been caught dead wearing trousers or jeans. A real Christian never would have bought a Powerball ticket or gambled on the lottery. A real Christian wouldn't have flown in an airplane, a few decades ago. \n\nThe definition changes.
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Christian, but not the "We are better, so fuck you all" kind. I follow the doctrines of universal reconciliation, theistic evolution, universal correctness, and eternal salvation.\n\nI also believe in infinite universes and cryptozoology.
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Faith is what you believe in and have a "sense" that it sits squarely with you.\n\nReligion is however you act out your worship of God; which denomination fits the most closely to how you think is the correct way to worship Him.\n\nSome Christians think you MUST be baptised by immersion.\n\nSome Christians think you MUST be able to speak in tongues.\n\nSome Christians think you MUST follow a certain code of ethics.\n\nSome Christians are so liberal you can't separate what they believe is right from what non-Christians believe is right.\n\nI believe a person must find the "religious" practices they most closely feel right about and go for it.....because:\n\nThe Bible says all Christians are a different part of the body of Chirst. The hands, the feet, the eyes, the ears.....we all serve a very different and very important purpose. \n\nHope this helps.
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The word "christian" means literally "disciple of christ" or "christ-like"... look at the right-wing republican fundamentalists in this country who call themselves christian, then look at what Jesus actually taught. there is very little similarity....I consider myself a christian, but because of people like pat robertson, jerry falwell, fred phelps, etc. etc. etc., I'm embarrased to call myself a christian.
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A Christian is only a name.\na believer is a follower of Christ.\n\nA follower will not doubt after life.\n\nIf this person does..is he a "follower".?
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Christian\nBecause it says so  in the Bible
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Christianity started in the Middle East in Israel, where there are still Christians to this day. It is the world's largest religion and can be found all over the world. As you know from the terrorist movement among some Islamic extremists, the name of any religion can be abused by evil men. A TRUE Christian is someone who has the love of Jesus Christ in his heart. This comes from a conscience that is at peace with God. This peace can only be procured by faith that Jesus Christ took upon Himself the punishment of your sins by dying on the cross. If you confess to God that you are a sinner who can't save yourself by your own inadequate efforts to meet His perfect standards, but instead you humbly accept what His Son Jesus did as payment for your sins, you will be saved.