Jay Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Dear Group, As a former conservative evangelical I struggle with the definition of being a Christian. I would welcome any thoughts on how others define being a Christian. Sincerely Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Someone who principally considers Jesus as the role model for living out one's life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeW Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 I would say a Christian is someone whose theology or philosophy is centered on Jesus. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Hi Jay, For many of us who use the label PC , point one of the 8 points says it well...... we mean that we are Christians who.... Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus. Having said that, in general, on this site, we do not define the label for others in any more specific beliefs or dogma other than pretty much as has been said so far by the posts in this thread. Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 A Christian is merely someone who follows the teachings of Jesus. What it means to follow Jesus is open for debate but with over 35,000 denominations of Christianity in existence, it's impossible for anyone to dogmatically assert who is a real Christian and who isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Someone who principally considers Jesus as the role model for living out one's life. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 A Christian is merely someone who follows the teachings of Jesus. What it means to follow Jesus is open for debate but with over 35,000 denominations of Christianity in existence, it's impossible for anyone to dogmatically assert who is a real Christian and who isn't. Thank you for your thoughtful answer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Hi Jay, For many of us who use the label PC , point one of the 8 points says it well...... we mean that we are Christians who.... Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus. Having said that, in general, on this site, we do not define the label for others in any more specific beliefs or dogma other than pretty much as has been said so far by the posts in this thread. Joseph Thank you for taking the time to comment Joseph! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 I would say a Christian is someone whose theology or philosophy is centered on Jesus. George Thank you George for taking the time to comment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KayHarker Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Someone who principally considers Jesus as the role model for living out one's life. I like this a lot - I am constantly being told that if I don't subscribe to a b or c I cant be a Christian, when all I feel led to do is follow Christ, quite simply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORM Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Dear Group, As a former conservative evangelical I struggle with the definition of being a Christian. I would welcome any thoughts on how others define being a Christian. Sincerely Jay I think that we live in a time in the world when religion can be defined by the individual on a level never before imagined. No longer is the Christian stuck within the narrowly defined parameters of one of the "major" denominations. True religious experience transcends these artificial barriers. I celebrate your liberation! Personally, I define Christianity within the language of my ancestral Jewish heritage (too complex to go into detail for this thread). I think that Jesus embraced an intellectual and humanistic version of Judaism that eschewed the religiosity of his day. I think that Jesus was a disciple of the Jewish reformer, Hillel. I embrace the teachings of Jesus in this light. However, unlike Jesus, I am non-theistic. NORM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minsocal Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Norm, Your response comes at a good time, for me at least. My own feelings and intuitions continue to direct me along a path that seems very similar. I cannot explain why. But, there it is. It took me some time to accept "there it is" as "real". Myron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.