If you are a Christian already, why aren't you an Eastern Orthodox Christian?
474658
I live in the United States and the Eastern Orthodox churches are few and far between. Besides, I did a little research on their beliefs and I'm not to impressed. They are very big into icons and I know that that can lead to other things. Other then that i respect all Eastern orthodox Christians. In fact, I hope to one day actually go to one of their services and see what it's like.
996684
Why? Can a Pagan not follow Christ's teachings? Seems to me they can if they want to do so. Lots of people consider themselves 'christian' and probably are not. Who are we to judge?
306731
As far as not believing some doctrine of God?  Yes, you can still be Christian.
155557
Probably because Christians like you have no clue.  You READ the Bible, you practice Christianity.
808510
An essential part of being a Christian is being a =community=, i.e. the Church.  Christianity is not simply a set of beliefs.  The community of the Church, in all its diversity, has a common history and part of that history is the canonization of its Scriptures.  IOW, at a point in its existance (about 300 years after Christ) the Church came to recognize certain writings as sacred and others as not.  Though this was not universally agreed upon (some parts of the Church recognize the inter-testament books, some times called the Books of the Apocrypha), for the great majority of Christians in the West the canon is closed.\n\nRe. the Gospel of Peter, earlier does not necessarily mean closer to the truth.  FWIW, the Gospel of Thomas is gaining authority among moderate/liberal Christians.\n\nBTW, many of the church "fathers", Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, et al., raised serious questions about what the canon included. \n\nGood question!
760935
I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian.  And you know very well what is up with the Pope, you remember that little thing called the Great Schism in 1054? \n\n We Orthodox Christians have to support our church financially, so I don't understand.  Beeswax candles cost, so does it cost to feed a Priest and his family.  You just can't make a bunch of money off of people or it isn't christian.  \n\nConcerning your comment, about all Christian religions should just unite, and go over the whole bible together....well, then you would have a mess.  Protestants are attempting to do this, but the more they go over things, the less they have in common.  Why not go with the Church that wrote the bible, and assembled it?  The Apostles were all part of our One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, and they passed on many things that were not written down.  Without tradition, and Apostolic Succession, you are merely someone who has an opinion about God.  Who wants that?  I want the truth, not somoene's opinion.
441503
No. Please read Bible. Apostolic Pavel meet Macedonian, after that Elin. Why if you want to be Greek nobody abuse you, but if you say you are Macedonian, Greek abuse. In Roman history Macedonian is Macedonian.
394824
This is true, going to church does not make you a Christian. Accepting Christ into your heart as Lord and Savior makes you a Christian. However, you do need fellowship, but do so with strong believers.\n\nI go every Sunday because that is where I can learn the Word and fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters. Both are very important.
380377
Do you mean Eastern Orthodox Christianity? Well, let me give a start - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania and Moldova (I'm not sure about those last two). I'm not sure about Hungary either. The CIA Factbook can give details.
425621
They can not rightly call themselves Christian if they dont feel the need to be 'saved'. Afterall that was the purpose of Christ. Christians are those who believe that Christ is Lord and Savior. He paid our sin debt with His blood.
173165
I say sure, why not!  You will of course never get that widely accepted, but for your personal spiritual life, you can use those.  In the early days of Christianity, different communities had different writings that they held sacred.  It was not until quite late that our modern-day canon was chosen and then enforced.  And when that canon was chosen, it was chosen by what were considered "Orthodox" Christians, but who is to say that just because they styled themselves "Orthodox" that they represented the true, or only version of Christianity?  There may indeed be much of value in the Gnostic Gospels, and there is no need to get rid of the Canonical Gospels in order to benefit from them, in my opinion.
795533
Then you aren't a Christian, are you.  \nSilly person.
372293
The word "Christian" has adopted a very broad meaning.  Christians in the Bible were actual DISCIPLES of Christ.  Acts 11:26 says, "...And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."  Luke 14:26-27 tells what the requirements for a disciple are.  The term CHRISTIAN means a follower of Christ.  You can be SAVED, but not a disciple.  You can be a CHRISTIAN, but not saved.  Being a follower of Christ does not save you.  Judas Iscariot was a disciple of Christ.  He did not go to heaven. (Acts 1:25) A scriptural CHRISTIAN is one who puts the LORD JESUS CHRIST before all other aspects of their life and does His will and not their own.  Believing in God does not SAVE you but believing ON the Lord Jesus Christ as YOUR Saviour does. (Romans 10:9-14)\nIf you would like more detailed info, e-mail me at ISFTB@yahoo.com
901281
I do not believe that it is possible to be a Christian and anything else at the same time.  However I do believe it's possible to take from every faith that which will help draw you closer to God and better follow Christ.\n\nBlessed Be
387581
One cannot become a Christian or be a member of Christ's Church without doing the following:\n\n1) Believe John 3:16\n2) Publicly Confess Jesus as the Son of God Matt. 10:32- \n33 \n3) Repent of your sins Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38\n4) Be baptized for the remission of sins Mark 16:16, Acts\n2:38\n5) Live faithfully\n\nI am glad that you had the courage to ask such a question, I hope this helps. God bless!
868276
If I am a Christian at all, I'm definitely not a typical Christian.  I think I can say I'm a "Christian" insofar as Christian means "follower of Christ" and I do love Christ and accept his teachings (at least the ones I regard as authentically from him).  \n\nSo, my answers won't be typical, but.....\n\n1.  The Bible is not the basis of my religion.  The Bible is itself based on something else, which is, in my opinion, a mix of true revelation from God, and the corruption of mankind.  The basis of my religion is a more personal, direct encounter with God, which happens to be the same thing that inspired those true verses of the Bible.\n\n2.  The Bible was written over several hundreds of years.  The earliest passages may go back to oral traditions which are thousands of years old.  The majority of the Old Testament was probably written in the 6th century BCE, to the 1st century BCE (with Daniel being the latest written).  Scholars have pretty good ideas about when various parts of the Bible were written.  \n\n3.  Most of the time, we cannot say who wrote a particular book of the Bible.  One notable exception is the works of Paul -- the ones which we know to be authentic Paul.  Obviously, Paul wrote those, and we also know who he wrote them to, and why.\nThe Gospels are most likely NOT written by the authors that were later attached to them ("Matthew", "Mark," etc).  But I wonder why it is so important to have a name.  Whether their name was "Luke" or "Jikareqobab" we still can know the same amount about them, based on their writing.  So even though, no, we don't have names for most of them, we CAN know a substantial amount about them.  And scholars do.\nIn the case of the Hebrew Bible, we know at least that the author of a particular passage must have come from a particular school of thought.  Some of the Prophets may have actually been written by the prophet it is named after, or by a secretary closely associated with them.  In any case, no matter who wrote it, we know what it says.\n\nThe central character of the Christian Bible is definitely Jesus Christ (besides God).  The Hebrew Bible does not have a central character, but a central people, Israel.  And really, depending upon how you understand who Jesus was and what his mission is, it could be said that Israel is the central "character" even of the entire Bible.\n\nWe do know when Jesus was born within a few years.  It's not like we can't even guess the century.  He was probably born somewhere between 6 and 4 BCE.\n\nHe was crucified when he was a young man in his early 30's.  Usually 33 is suggested.  What year that was will depend, of course, on the date of his birth.\n\nI'm not sure I understand the point (if there is one) of your question.  But reputable scholars today do acknowledge that Jesus was an actual historical figure, who at least said and did some of the things attributed to him in the Bible.  Careful scholarly analysis sheds light on which things we can be certain about, and which ones not.  There IS enough to base a faith on.
3608
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.