What makes one a Christian?

Post Reply New Topic

My point is even at that time the followers of Jesus was highly fractured. There was the church at Jerusalem led by James, the Gnostic, and many different Gospels like the Gospel of Thomas. What we have in the modern bible is only part of the story.

Irrelevant for purposes of discussion? So I say "THIS is why I believe X" and you get to say, that is irrelevant, why do you believe X?" Come on.

It is NOT discussion if you start with the assumption that everything I say is irrelevant and gibberish.

I could do the same - I could label everything you say about your beliefs and understandings irrelevant gibberish. Why not? I have found your statements unconvincing - and I have at least THOUGHT about yours.

I have been in "discussions" where everything I said was preset to lies and gibberish.

I initially made the mistake, because you do not rant incoherently, that you were actually interested in discussion, in learning why people hold views you do not agree with and letting them not your reasons.

But you are materialist without being scientist.

I get that now.

That is true that the early church was very fractured. As a Western Civ instructor I had had in my college days had once said - there is more agreement among Christians today, than there was two thousand years ago. To be a Christian back then, all you had to believe was, "Jesus is Lord."

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

As a practicing Catholic, I can affirm that you must avoid mortal sin and follow the Church's teachings to go to heaven. But God only chooses who goes to heaven in the sense that He chooses all of us as heaven-bound. That is, God wills all to be saved. Our choice is whether or not to repent, believe in the Gospel, and accept God's mercy.

How many years old is this thread?

Old members here seemed to have a lack of history knowledge on early Christianity.

In early "Christianity" there was no clear definition of what's Christianity: the definition of Jesus was a debatable among early believers, some groups of Jews viewed him as a son of man and as a human prophet - not as God ( Nontrianitism, ie. ebionites, Messianic Jews...etc), and some others viewed him as Son of God and as one with God (true trinity), and some had other views in between such as Arianism. And of course there were Jews who refused Jesus altogether and remained Jews. We can say that Jewish Christianity was evolving into different branches of "Christianity".

You should understand that Judaism is a strictly monotheist religion, like Islam, hence why many Jews back in the time couldn't digest the idea, whether fully or partially, of Jesus' divinity, leading to many different views as stated above.

Because of the birth of many different Christian views on the nature of Jesus and his relationship with God - the definition of what's Christian became more confusing and blurred, this led to the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325., which was the first large summit of major churches, which was attended by the heads of which considered today the major Christian churches: Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox; and together they issued the Nicene Creed and the 20 Canons of Christianity which defines what makes one a real Christian. Therefore declaring all other sects that don't fit the definition in this decree as heretics; many of these sects were in the Middle East and Arabia.

Islam is a religion that evolved from the other branch of Nontrianitist 'Christianity' with some Arabian pagan elements.

I've actually heard Christians say Christians from other denominations or Christians who disagreed with them are about certain issues are Satanists and antichristians. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who thinks they're a Christian, is a Christian.

Really? I thought it evolved from Judaism. Isn't that way the 2nd Surah gives instructions on how to win an argument against all the Jews who didn't convert?

Asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and accepting Him as Lord.

A Christian is a person who believes Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is divine in some way. Most believe he is the Son of God.

Christians who talk about how righteous they are should read Romans 3:10 and Ecclesiastes 7:20. Also Matthew 6:5 and all of Matthew 23.

The Nontrianitist branch of Christianity (which was declared as "Heretic" by the First Council Nicaea) had retained the old "Jewish" ways.

One major difference between the Nicaea-recognized Christianity (Catholics, Orthodox) and and the old Nontrinitarianist Christianity is their view regarding the old "Jewish ways" - which btw is commonly called in Arabic Al-Sharia el Yahoudiya (the Jewish Sharia). There was no Protestant movement back then, but most Protestant churches today are Trinitarian by definition.

"True" Christians (Nicaea-recognized Christians) have long rejected the old Jewish ways based on certain interpretations of Jesus teachings: a striking example is the story of Jesus saving the life of Mary Magdalene from stoning. This was a "liberation" movement against the old ways. Catholic and Orthodox Christians (which are originally the same) today are Gospel-followers only (new testament) , while Old Testament (Torah) is secondary.
Protestantism is more at the center (it "brought back" some Old Testament ways into their life) . That's why Christians today can eat pork and carnivore animals (have no eating restrictions at all), drink alcohol, ...etc, because they have ditched the Jewish laws long ago.

On the other hand, the old Nontrinitarianist Christian sects in the Middle East (ie. Ebionites and Messianic Jewish) have retained the old Jewish ways; they remained applying the teachings of the Old Testament (Torah) over eons; they remained very Judiasm-like religions; and Islam evolved from those, from the Ebionites sect in particular.

Hence why the striking similarity between Islam and Judaism, they are the most two lookalike religions in the world today in the ways of living and practices. Islam isn't something "New" - it's something based on a very old doctrine that evolved in parallel with the other branch of Christianity (Trinitarian).