Christians

For other uses, see Christian people and Christian (disambiguation).

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Christian Cross

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and claimed by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

Etymology

The word comes from Greek Χριστιανός (christianos), from Χριστός (christos) meaning "the anointed one." In the (Greek) Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ,) (messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed."

The first known usage of the term Χριστιανός (christianos) can be found in the New Testament in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch." They were disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. The other two New Testament uses of the word also refer to the public identity of those who follow Jesus. The Jewish king said the Apostle Paul had almost persuaded the king "to become a Christian" (Acts 26:28). Writing in 1 Peter 4:16, The Message paraphrase, the Apostle Peter encouraged believers who are abused "because you're a Christian, don't give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!"

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.

"Christian" also means a member or adherent of a church or other organized group within Christianity. As an adjective, the term may describe anything associated with or thought to be consistent with Christianity, as in "the Christian thing to do."

What is a Christian?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Christian as "one who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or lives the lifestyle based on the life and teachings of Jesus; one who lives according to the teachings of Jesus."

A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian. A 2007 survey in the United States identified the following five typical American categories:

• Active Christians: Committed to attending church, Bible reading, and sharing their faith that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. Sometimes these Christians may say that their need to share their faith is because they are focused on Heaven.
• Professing Christians: Also committed to "accepting Christ as Savior and Lord" as the key to being a Christian, but focus on personal relationships with God and Jesus more than on church, Bible reading or sharing faith.
• Liturgical Christians: High level of spiritual activity, mainly expressed by attending and recognizing the authority of the church, and by serving in it or in the community.
• Private Christians: Believe in God and in doing good things, but not within a church context. In the American survey, this was the largest and youngest segment.
• Cultural Christians: Do not view Jesus as essential to salvation. They are the least likely to align their beliefs or practices with biblical teachings, or attend church. They favor a universal theology that sees many ways to God.

Other countries may not show the same variety, especially where there is active persecution of Christians.

People who have a distinct heritage and come to believe in Jesus may also identify themselves differently. Messianic Jews believe that they are a sect of Judaism and that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and the Divine Savior. They seek to live in obedience to the Hebrew Scriptures, including the Torah and Halakha.

The term rice Christians refers to people who profess Christianity for material benefits.

In other languages

In other European languages the word is similar, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiana in Spanish. The Chinese word is 基督徒 (pinyin: jīdū tú), literally "Christ follower."

As the identification of "Christ" with Jesus is not accepted within Judaism, in Talmudic Hebrew Christians are called Notzri ("Nazarenes"), because Jesus is described in the New Testament as being from the city of Nazareth.

Among Arabs (whether Christians, Muslims or belonging to other faiths), as well as in other languages influenced by the Arabic language (mainly in Muslim cultures influenced by Arabic as the liturgical language of Islam), two words are commonly used for Christians: Nasrani (نصراني), and Masihi (مسيحي) 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.

The word Nasrani is generally understood to be derived from Nazareth through the Syriac (Aramaic). In some areas of the Arab world, tradition holds that it derives from nasr ("victory"), and means "people of victory" in reference either to early successes of the Christian religion or to the initial Christian Ethiopian support for Muhammad during his early conflicts in Arabia. Nasrani is also sometimes said to derive from ansar, which means "disciple". The Syrian Malabar Nasrani people are a Christian ethno-religious group from Kerala, India, possibly Jewish in Ethnic origin.

See also

• Conversion to Christianity
• Christendom
• List of Christians