What is a Christian?

[jgredline]

I do get saddened by people who call themselves Christian and then act in ways that don't sit well with MY interpretation of Jesus' teachings. But that is the point isn't it? they are my interpretations and from a philosophical and theological view what right do I have to impose MY views and INTERPRETATIONS on others?

Skyman, Thank you for your very thoughtful response. I appreciate it very much. This section that I highlighted, is I believe the crux of this...At the end of the day, we can only share what WE/I believe Christianity to be...

I do not want this thread to turn into a who is a Christian and who is not....I have been guilty of this in the past and I apologize for that..We will let God be the judge of that..I believe Mike nailed it with the Apostles creed for starters...We need to see what history has to teach us on what and who are Christians...

We need to look at what it means to be born again

How about the resurrection?

Was Jesus God come in the flesh?

There is lots to look at....

The more folks who share their beliefs, the better...There is much to learn and look at here.

[Skyman]

We need to look at what it means to be born again

How about the resurrection?

Was Jesus God come in the flesh?

There is lots to look at....

The more folks who share their beliefs, the better...There is much to learn and look at here.

64 billion dollar questions (both literally and metaphorically)

I was born into my belief structure but grew into my faith. - am not born again in the reformist sense of the word. Historically this raises an interesting point. In Catholic traditions Baptism occurred close to birth to free a child from original sin. Holy Communion (which many christian traditions don't follow) occurred in mid childhood to bring them closer to God and Confirmation was traditionally held at the age of reason (in line with the Jewish Bahmitzvah) To a Catholic being born again is silly. They were baptized at childhood and took a conscious decision to affirm that faith at the age of reason. To a Baptist on the other hand being born again is an integral part of their belief structure and can't understand how someone can call themselves Christian and not accept Christ as an adult..... It amounts to the same thing in my opinion and stems from a historical misunderstanding and poor application of Catholic rituals.

Was Jesus God become flesh? this is a matter of faith.

The youth of My church are in open dialogue with other Christian faiths, Jews, Muslims and Hindus to name a few. The premise of why this works is that "My God is not better than yours" and "lets not linger on our differences but celebrate our similarities." and "All our diverse beliefs are ways of understanding the divine better how can we learn from each other" I have first hand experience of people's faiths being enriched and deepened by this sharing.

Personally I make it a point to spend some time walking in others faiths so I can respond from a point of love not hate. I believe that this is how Jesus would respond.

[christiansoldier]

The youth of My church are in open dialogue with other Christian faiths, Jews, Muslims and Hindus to name a few. The premise of why this works is that "My God is not better than yours" and "lets not linger on our differences but celebrate our similarities." and "All our diverse beliefs are ways of understanding the divine better how can we learn from each other" I have first hand experience of people's faiths being enriched and deepened by this sharing.

Personally I make it a point to spend some time walking in others faiths so I can respond from a point of love not hate. I believe that this is how Jesus would respond.

Hi, Folks...lots of thoughtful and thought-provoking responses here.

Skyman, I wanted to address yours, in particular, because I find it both thrilling and frightening.

Being in dialog with other faiths and responding in love... thrilling, wonderful and awesome.

:thumbsup:

However, if the end result is not a crystal clear message that there is but ONE path to salvation - through Jesus Christ - then the mission has failed, and there is plenty of scripture to back up that statement. I'll be happy to reference some, if anyone needs it.

For now, I will leave you with one scripture, to be considered in light of the suggested premise (forgive me if I read too much into your post, Skyman) that we could possibly have an eclectic, harmonious, diverse, multi-faceted spiritual walk culminating in an eternal existence in the presence of a Holy God.

Matthew 10

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.