Spherical Time Posted June 3, 2006 Group: Nonbeliever Followers: 0 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 6 Content Per Day: 0.00 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/03/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted June 3, 2006 I hope you'll forgive the simples questions, but dialogue can be a problem if the terms are vague. What is a Christian? Are people that disagree with your theology still Christians as long as they follow the path that they think that Christ has set for them? What are your requirements? What is an atheist? (and also: What is an agnostic?) Finally, are the majority of Christians here members of a specific denomination? Evangelical Protestants, most likely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted June 4, 2006 You can begin by reading our Statement of Faith . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undone Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 45 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 819 Content Per Day: 0.12 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/01/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted June 4, 2006 I go to a southern baptist church, but I only claim to be a born again, Holy Spirit filled, child of the Living God. WHEW!!! THANK YOU JESUS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 25 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 583 Content Per Day: 0.09 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/07/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/14/1962 Share Posted June 4, 2006 What is a Christian?To start, one that can stand behind every word of the Nicene Creed We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. Are people that disagree with your theology still Christians as long as they follow the path that they think that Christ has set for them?They are not "Christians" unless they have repented of their sins and have asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. "Paths" or "works" of this world alone do not make a Christian. What are your requirements?Requirements for??????? What is an atheist?One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God (and also: What is an agnostic?)One who believes that it's impossible to know whether there is a God or not. Finally, are the majority of Christians here members of a specific denomination? Evangelical Protestants, most likely? No, we are quite varied in our denominational make-up. May His light shine for you and lead you to the Truth while you are here with us. Blessings, Christ's servant -CC- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandli5 Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 15 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 559 Content Per Day: 0.08 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 04/06/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/29/1975 Share Posted June 4, 2006 A Christain is this... A person who has accepted Jesus Christ as thier personal savoir. A person who has asked Jesus to Forgive them for thier sins. Who knows Jesus Christ died for thier sins, and arose 3 days later. Jesus Christ is lord our God. If a person knows l these things and accepts them, they will want to walk in Jesus's footsteps. THey will try to live a life as Jesus wants. The bible is a good place to learn this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soul_Searcher50 Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Nonbeliever Followers: 0 Topic Count: 0 Topics Per Day: 0 Content Count: 17 Content Per Day: 0.00 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/01/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted June 4, 2006 Hi Spherical Time, "I hope you'll forgive the simples questions, but dialogue can be a problem if the terms are vague. What is a Christian? Are people that disagree with your theology still Christians as long as they follow the path that they think that Christ has set for them? What are your requirements?" A Christian is someone who follows and lives the teachings of Jesus, loves God, loves his/her neighbor, lives spiritually, does not care about material possessions, forgives, does not judge, loves his/her enemies, etc. "What is an atheist?" A person who finds no evidence for and so rejects the idea of deities and the supernatural "and also: What is an agnostic?" Someone who questions whether or not a god or gods exist, but does not deny nor confirm said deities. Finally, are the majority of Christians here members of a specific denomination? Evangelical Protestants, most likely? I don't know. I do not belong to any denomination or church, of any religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spherical Time Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Nonbeliever Followers: 0 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 6 Content Per Day: 0.00 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/03/2006 Status: Offline Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 (edited) You can begin by reading our Statement of Faith . I have, actually. It makes no claims on certain positions. To start, one that can stand behind every word of the Nicene Creed <snip>I'm familiar with the Nicene Creed. Do you limit Christians to Catholics then, or do you interpret holy catholic and apostolic Church to be a more universal Church? Also, since the Creed rejects millenialism, do you reject millenialist Christians? And non-Trinitarians? You say "[t]o start." Does that mean that you accept people that do not believe in the Nicene Creed to be Christians? They are not "Christians" unless they have repented of their sins and have asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. "Paths" or "works" of this world alone do not make a Christian.Under this definition, the Westboro Baptist Church would be considered Christian. Do you accept that? If you don't, under what conditions do you reject their claim to be Christians? Requirements for???????Being a Christian. Most have either a creedal or philosophical stance that they require others to fit before they'll accept them as Christians. While this is a singular example, my best friend from high school's mother would usually end philosophical debates with a form of the argument "Oh, well they're not actually Christians." She did not consider Catholics, Mormons, Quakers or Christian Unitarians to be Christians. One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God This is actually a good working definition. I was worried that I would get a response along the lines of "Atheists are just people that hate God." It's hard to argue with that because it makes a few assumptions that are faulty. One who believes that it's impossible to know whether there is a God or not.I agree completely. No, we are quite varied in our denominational make-up.Can you elaborate on that? Hi Spherical Time, "I hope you'll forgive the simples questions, but dialogue can be a problem if the terms are vague. What is a Christian? Are people that disagree with your theology still Christians as long as they follow the path that they think that Christ has set for them? What are your requirements?" A Christian is someone who follows and lives the teachings of Jesus, loves God, loves his/her neighbor, lives spiritually, does not care about material possessions, forgives, does not judge, loves his/her enemies, etc.That's a high list of requirements. Under that definition, there are very, very few real Christians. Is there a specific denomination that you think fufills these qualities better than other denominations? "What is an atheist?" A person who finds no evidence for and so rejects the idea of deities and the supernaturalI've met atheists that don't necessarily reject the supernatural and others that don't argue that there isn't any evidence, but the vast majority of atheists that I've met fit that definition. "and also: What is an agnostic?" Someone who questions whether or not a god or gods exist, but does not deny nor confirm said deities.Yes, I agree. Finally, are the majority of Christians here members of a specific denomination? Evangelical Protestants, most likely? I don't know. I do not belong to any denomination or church, of any religion. Edited June 4, 2006 by Spherical Time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work in Progress Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 123 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,111 Content Per Day: 0.39 Reputation: 35 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/29/2002 Status: Offline Share Posted June 4, 2006 Spherical, a "Christian" is one who has made a personal decision within himself that he alone is nothing and can accomplish nothing, and thus looks to his Savior for salvation. What he is being "saved" from is an eternity apart from God his creator because this life is indeed short and not the only life there is. There are no other "requirements", however there are a few fundamentals that a believer should adhere to such as the Virgin birth, the infallibility of Scripture, The Resurrection.... If a "Christian" denies any of those, I would doubt they understand what being a Christian is. Be sure not to confuse " being Christian" and "being A Christian". The first one simply means "gentile" - you aren't jewish, you believe in God so you "are christian". The second one is you have made a concsious decision to follow Christ and He is Lord of your life. Many people are deceived over that difference. May God richly bless you, Spherical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hebrews_beauty Posted June 4, 2006 Group: Nonbeliever Followers: 0 Topic Count: 11 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 232 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/14/2005 Status: Offline Share Posted June 4, 2006 What is a Christian? A Christian is a person who is a follow of Jesus Christ. They believe in Him and have received Him into their life as Lord and Savior. Are people that disagree with your theology still Christians as long as they follow the path that they think that Christ has set for them? What are your requirements? It depends on where the disagreement of theology is. If the disagreement is over whether a contemporary or traditional service is better, then there isn't a problem. If the disagreement is over Christ's divinity, that's a serious problem; if someone rejects His divinty, they are not a Christian. So it just depends on what doctrine or belief is being disputed. What is an atheist? (and also: What is an agnostic?) An atheist is a person who does not believe in or rejects the existence of God, gods, or any other divine being. An agnostic is a person who is uncertain of the existence of God, gods, or any other divine being and therefore does not follow/believe in any one being. Finally, are the majority of Christians here members of a specific denomination? Evangelical Protestants, most likely? Most here are probably Protestants, which is a large and broad group of Christians from all sots of denominations (Baptist, Methodist, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted June 5, 2006 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 55 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 923 Content Per Day: 0.13 Reputation: 32 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/14/2004 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/03/1974 Share Posted June 5, 2006 A Christian is someone who loves God and His Son Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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