What defines a Christian?

Jade Dragon said:
A Christian is those that emulate Christ to the best of their abilities. Simple as that.
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Made a lot of money out of cheating, did he? Thought somebody called God was rewarding him by making him rich. America, America, wehat may we think of thee! Sorry, JD - just set me off.
 
iolo said:
Made a lot of money out of cheating, did he? Thought somebody called God was rewarding him by making him rich. America, America, wehat may we think of thee! Sorry, JD - just set me off.
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The pick, and choose Christians must be annoying you.
 
It's fun to watch the contortions of a self-proclaimed member of ____ faith trying to justify his non-adherence to its teachings. But then, ever since the Evangelicals have tried to insert themselves into our secular government and public schools, it's been so.
 
It's difficult to come at the exact nature of what Jesus taught, but what they had to put in the New Testament fortunately wipes out all the lies since Constantine. What a lot of people tend to be going for is nostalgia and/or self-righteousness. I'd say it was passably easy for us to know how he wanted us to act but extremely difficult to get into 'religious' stuff from long, long ago, stuff we should have been thinking through sensibly all these years. This posturing seems to be what so many mean by 'Faith'.
 
domer76 said:
Is not a Christian, fundamentally, one who believes that Christ was the son of God?
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Somebody who follows what Jesus said would seem more likely. The 'Son of God' bit seems to me circular thinking - What is a son of God? Someone like Jesus. What is a 'God'? Someone Jesus believed in.
 
iolo said:
Somebody who follows what Jesus said would seem more likely. The 'Son of God' bit seems to me circular thinking - What is a son of God? Someone like Jesus. What is a 'God'? Someone Jesus believed in.
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the fact you didn't know the answers to those questions tells us you aren't a Christian.....the response is not that God is someone Jesus believed in.......the answer is God IS Jesus and Jesus IS God....
 
I will be speaking at a lectureship next week based on II Peter 5-8...Growing the Christian’s faith

2 Peter 1:5-8
Fruitful Growth in the Faith
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I got the topic of love and will focus most of my 40 minutes on loving our neighbor. Believe me, that takes work.
 
Bigotry? Hatefullness? Xenophobia? Constant fear, aggression, and greed? Ignorance? Cruelty? These are all traits that typify Christians in the US.
 
leaningright said:
I will be speaking at a lectureship next week based on II Peter 5-8...Growing the Christian’s faith

2 Peter 1:5-8
Fruitful Growth in the Faith
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I got the topic of love and will focus most of my 40 minutes on loving our neighbor. Believe me, that takes work.
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Hypocrite
 
The Ugly Truth said:
Is loving the same thing as liking? The way I see it, the love we should show sinners is the kind of love that doesn't want anyone to suffer in hell. Doesn't mean we have to like them. Does it?
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No, I don’t think it does. I have to love my enemies. It’s defnitely not the same thing as having to like them. Same goes for my neighbor (fellowman).
 
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