Christians: Difference between revisions
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{{otheruse|Christian (disambiguation)}} |
{{otheruse|Christian (disambiguation)}} |
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A '''Christian''' {{audio2|En-us-Christian.ogg}} is a person who adheres to [[Christianity]], a [[Monotheism#Christian view|monotheistic]]<ref name="Monotheism"> |
A '''Christian''' {{audio2|En-us-Christian.ogg}} is a person who adheres to [[Christianity]], a [[Monotheism#Christian view|monotheistic]]<ref name="Monotheism">The [[Catholic Encyclopedia]], Volume IX, [http://www.christianavenue.org ''Monotheism'']; [[William F. Albright]], ''From the Stone Age to Christianity''; [[H. Richard Niebuhr]], ; About.com, [http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/monotheisticreligions/ ''Monotheistic Religion resources'']; Jonathan Kirsch, ''God Against the Gods''; Linda Woodhead, ''An Introduction to Christianity''; [[Columbia Encyclopedia|The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia]] [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0833762.html ''Monotheism'']; The New Dictionary of [[Cultural literacy|Cultural Literacy]], [http://www.bartleby.com/59/5/monotheism.html ''monotheism'']; New Dictionary of Theology, [http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_NDCT_Paul.htm ''Paul''] pp. 496-99; David Vincent Meconi, "Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity" in ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' pp. 111–12, 2nd London Baptist Confession 1689, 2:1 "1._____The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty."</ref> [[religion]] centered on the life and teachings of [[Jesus Christ]] as presented in the [[New Testament]]<ref>[[BBC]], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ ''BBC - Religion & Ethics - Christianity'']</ref> and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the [[Hebrew Bible]]/[[Old Testament]]<ref> [[Book of Isaiah]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=29&chapter=53&version=31 ''Book of Isaiah, Chapter 53.'']</ref>. |
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Christians believe all creation was created by a single God, Who sent His Son to the earth in human form for the purpose of being the Saviour of all humanity. Christ Jesus, known as the Son of God, is the Cornerstone of the entire Christian religion, and no-one has been able to prove in the last two thousand years that He did not rise from death after sacrificing Himself for the sake of humanity, and then ascend into the heavenly dimension, (of which Christians are confident in their belief of.) Nor has anyone succeeded in proving that He did not perform miracles (a miracle being here defined as an influence of the Creator upon the physical for a specific purpose, such as proving a point, or encouraging repentance.) |
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There were no less than twelve Christian men that witnessed Jesus’ Ascension, and many more (Christians and non-Christians) that witnessed His miracles, and many more throughout history that have witnessed miracles done in His Name. Further more, many prophesies in the Bible, (the Bible being the main book concerning Christ’s fundamental wisdom) have come true, such as: 1. the scattering of the Jews among the nations of the world, prophesied a long time ago, and which is true today. 2. Christian persecution throughout various nations of the world, prophesied a long time ago, and which is true today and throughout history (examples here needed: typing in the search window “Christian persecution” followed by the name of a country will usually render results.) Christians hold to the belief that such suffering must unfortunately come before the Second Coming of Jesus, before the time He judges the world, putting the wicked on his left hand side and the righteous on his right hand, good actions rendering precious rewards and cruel or spiteful actions, severe punishments. |
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The fundamental difference between the beliefs of Christians and most or all other religions is that while most or all other religions try to acknowledge man as his own saviour, Christianity maintains that humanity can only be completely and utterly purified, delivered from all selfishness and all sin, by faith in Christ Jesus as Saviour and Representative to God on the behalf of those who trust in Him, by the Holy Ghost. Further more, they believe that man cannot always be his own saviour, but some situations are impossible to escape from- in this case, it is necessary to call upon the Higher Power of God. |
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The main similarity between Christianity and atheistic beliefs or religions, are that both Christianity and atheism maintain that there was a point in time devoid of existence, and a later stage in which existence came into being. The main difference between the two are that while Christianity maintains God caused matter to come into being, atheism maintains that it simply came into being, somehow born of nothingness, and that the world and humanity are in fact random manifestations, as opposed to creations *designed* by an intelligent mind. |
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Christian belief is an extremely broad topic, branching into many other topics, and as a result only very little information in contrast to its entirety can be written in a single article. The best source of information concerning their belief (Christian Teachings) is the Bible- the Bible is Christianity’s “Holy Book” formed of historical documents, artistic literature including ancient poetry, wise sayings designed to help in common, everyday problems, and stories of kings just and kings tyrannical in their nature, of the valiant warriors of the past, and, more importantly, of the Christian perception of all Creation and the mysteries surrounding the vastly famous and yet enigmatic figure of Jesus Christ. |
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Christians maintain that the two most important laws of Christianity, from which all other of its laws branch, are: 1. Love the Lord your God, 2. Love your neighbour (i.e. others) as you love yourself. Regardless of what anyone calls themselves, to be Christian as defined by Christ in the Bible, the obedience of these two simple laws is a necessity. |
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Two important promises of Christianity are: 1. if someone sincerely seeks for God with the right kind of heart, they will find Him. 2. Anyone who is capable of coming to love Jesus and accept Him as Saviour is capable of becoming Christian, and delighting in the shinning rewards of His eternal, pleasant heavenly realm. |
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== History and usage of the term == |
== History and usage of the term == |
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Revision as of 14:15, 1 February 2008
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament[2] and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament[3].
History and usage of the term
The first known usage of the term can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The term was thus first used to denote those known or perceived to be disciples of Jesus. Similarly, in the two other New Testament uses of the word (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16), it refers to the public identity of those who follow Jesus.
The earliest recorded use of the term outside the Bible was when Tacitus recorded that Nero blamed the "Christians" for the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64.
As a noun, Christian (Gr. Χριστιανός and variant Χρηστιανός, Strong's G5546) is an appellation deriving from the name "Christ" and is derived from the Greek noun Christos which means "anointed one," itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach or "Messiah."
"Christian" also means a member or adherent of a church or other organized group within Christianity. As an adjective, the term may also describe anything associated with Christianity, or even remotely thought to be consistent with Christianity, as in "the Christian thing to do."
In the United States, especially (but not only) the South and Midwest, the word Christian may also be narrowly used as shorthand for either of two denominations: Disciples of Christ or the United Church of Christ. For example, "First Christian Church of (name of local town)."
Who is a Christian?
The definition of who is a "Christian" varies among different Christian groups. Some churches believe to be a Christian an individual must join a church and participate in specific sacraments. Other churches believe all that is necessary is a belief and acceptance in Jesus Christ and others believe a Christian is simply one who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestants define a Christian as one who has become a member of the church through the sacrament of baptism. In these churches, infants who are baptized may be considered Christians, although they are expected to make a personal affirmation of faith when old enough to decide for themselves.
Evangelical and fundamentalist denominations do not generally practice infant baptism and do not necessarily believe that baptism is necessary for salvation (a sacrament). Rather, they consider it to be a public command of identifying oneself with Jesus Christ in his death, representing repentance and a new life in God, as in Christ's resurrection. They encourage youth and adults to "become Christians" by personally "accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour," and to follow that decision with Believer's Baptism. These groups also use the phrase "born-again" (John 3:3) to describe becoming a Christian.
A few denominations and sects teach that Believer's baptism is necessary for salvation — the transition from non-Christian to Christian (see Baptismal regeneration). They define a Christian as one who has been baptized as a repenting adult.
There are believers that follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, but do not believe it is necessary to affiliate with organized religion.
Within countries where Christianity is the historical majority religion, the term is also used by some in a casual generic sense to indicate that they are not members of nor affiliated with any other religion – therefore considering themselves Christians by default.[4]
In other languages
As the identification of "Christ" with Jesus is not accepted within Judaism, in the Hebrew language Christians are called "Nazarenes" (Natsri), because Jesus is described in the New Testament as being from the province of Nazareth.
In Arabic, among Arab Christians, Arab Muslims and Arabs of other faiths, as well as in other languages influenced by the Arabic language (ie. mainly in Muslim cultures where Arabic influence was as a result of its status as the liturgical language of Islam), two words are commonly used for Christians: Nasrani(unrelated to Nazareth, stems from the Arabic ansar, as in the disciples of Jesus, and Masihi meaning followers of the Messiah. Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim white people. Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Salibi; this refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations.[5]
See also
References
- ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX, Monotheism; William F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity; H. Richard Niebuhr, ; About.com, Monotheistic Religion resources; Jonathan Kirsch, God Against the Gods; Linda Woodhead, An Introduction to Christianity; The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Monotheism; The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, monotheism; New Dictionary of Theology, Paul pp. 496-99; David Vincent Meconi, "Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity" in Journal of Early Christian Studies pp. 111–12, 2nd London Baptist Confession 1689, 2:1 "1._____The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty."
- ^ BBC, BBC - Religion & Ethics - Christianity
- ^ Book of Isaiah Book of Isaiah, Chapter 53.
- ^ "Becoming a Christian". Retrieved 2007-10-25.
- ^ Khaled Ahmed, Pakistan Daily Times. Jeffrey Tayler, Trekking through the Moroccan Sahara. Society for Internet Research, The Hamas Charter, note 62 (erroneously, "Salidi"). Akbar S. Ahmed, Islam, Globalization, and Postmodernity, p 110.