Definitions of Christianity

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Andrew
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Re: Definitions of Christianity

Post by Andrew »

To put it simply, I would say that a Christian is one who believes in the Trinity, the dual nature of Jesus [the] Christ as God and man, and believes that Jesus died to redeem us from our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

To be more specific as to what a Christian is, the majority of Christians profess belief in...
1. A triune God consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
2. God having a key part in the creation of the world, whether by direct creation or by guiding the evolutionary process;
3. God the Son taking the form of man and being conceived by a virgin through the Holy Spirit;
4. God the Son/Jesus suffering crucifixion and dying on the cross to redeem humankind for their sins;
5. Jesus rising from the dead and ascending into heaven forty days later;
6. A second coming of Jesus in glory at the end of the world at which time their will be a judgement of those living at the time and those already dead;
7. A universal church (catholic church for Protestants, Catholic Church for Catholics);
8. Heaven and hell, both of which are eternal;
9. The sacrament of Baptism through which one's soul is cleansed of original sin;
10. The sacrament of the Eucharist or communion (considered the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ by Catholics and a symbol of such in varying degrees by Protestants);
11. The Bible as the infallible word of God.

I would define a Christian as one who believes in the above, with the last three being the least significant points (as a definition of Christianity) because there are more exceptions to these points than to any others.

Catholics are those who believe in the guidance of the Catholic Church in interpreting the Bible and accept Church teaching as the truth. They believe that the Pope is infallible in matters of morals and doctrine and that Sacred Scripture (the Bible), Sacred Tradition (oral traditions, writings of the saints and Church Fathers that are not considered inspired--provided they have a Nihil Obstat), and the Magesterium (the Pope's teachings regarding morals and doctrines and Church Councils) are the truth.

Protestants believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God and there is no authority besides it other than God himself. Most, if not all, believe in individual interpretation of Scripture. They, like the Catholics, use the Apostles Creed to summarize their beliefs, and many of them use the Nicene Creed as well.

I do not know enough about the Orthodox faith to give a definition of it and compare it to the Catholic and Protestant faiths, but I am reasonably sure that all of my first eleven points are encompassed by their beliefs.
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Peter Kirby
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Re: Definitions of Christianity

Post by Peter Kirby »

This is defining a "Christian" in a fantastically narrow manner. (Perhaps it is meant only to define contemporary "orthodoxy" to the exclusion of heterodox or historical Christianity? Because that's all it could ever do.)

The "catholic" church is the second century rally cry against Gnostics.

The "triune" formulation was the firestorm of the Arian controversy that raged over the 4th century.

The "dual nature," e.g., was at the center of the controversy over Chalcedon in 451.

The "original sin" was in the same century the source of contention between Pelagianists and other Christians in the west.

The "infallibility" doctrine has its source in the 19th century struggle against modern challenges to faith.

Any and all of these points are rejected by 21st century people who want to call themselves "Christian."

We'd need to shave at least half to find Christians in the first century.
Andrew wrote:To put it simply, I would say that a Christian is one who believes in the Trinity, the dual nature of Jesus [the] Christ as God and man, and believes that Jesus died to redeem us from our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

To be more specific as to what a Christian is, the majority of Christians profess belief in...
1. A triune God consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
2. God having a key part in the creation of the world, whether by direct creation or by guiding the evolutionary process;
3. God the Son taking the form of man and being conceived by a virgin through the Holy Spirit;
4. God the Son/Jesus suffering crucifixion and dying on the cross to redeem humankind for their sins;
5. Jesus rising from the dead and ascending into heaven forty days later;
6. A second coming of Jesus in glory at the end of the world at which time their will be a judgement of those living at the time and those already dead;
7. A universal church (catholic church for Protestants, Catholic Church for Catholics);
8. Heaven and hell, both of which are eternal;
9. The sacrament of Baptism through which one's soul is cleansed of original sin;
10. The sacrament of the Eucharist or communion (considered the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ by Catholics and a symbol of such in varying degrees by Protestants);
11. The Bible as the infallible word of God.

I would define a Christian as one who believes in the above, with the last three being the least significant points (as a definition of Christianity) because there are more exceptions to these points than to any others.

Catholics are those who believe in the guidance of the Catholic Church in interpreting the Bible and accept Church teaching as the truth. They believe that the Pope is infallible in matters of morals and doctrine and that Sacred Scripture (the Bible), Sacred Tradition (oral traditions, writings of the saints and Church Fathers that are not considered inspired--provided they have a Nihil Obstat), and the Magesterium (the Pope's teachings regarding morals and doctrines and Church Councils) are the truth.

Protestants believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God and there is no authority besides it other than God himself. Most, if not all, believe in individual interpretation of Scripture. They, like the Catholics, use the Apostles Creed to summarize their beliefs, and many of them use the Nicene Creed as well.

I do not know enough about the Orthodox faith to give a definition of it and compare it to the Catholic and Protestant faiths, but I am reasonably sure that all of my first eleven points are encompassed by their beliefs.
"... almost every critical biblical position was earlier advanced by skeptics." - Raymond Brown
Andrew
Posts: 152
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Re: Definitions of Christianity

Post by Andrew »

Peter Kirby wrote:

This is defining a "Christian" in a fantastically narrow manner. (Perhaps it is meant only to define contemporary "orthodoxy" to the exclusion of heterodox or historical Christianity? Because that's all it could ever do.)

The "catholic" church is the second century rally cry against Gnostics.

The "triune" formulation was the firestorm of the Arian controversy that raged over the 4th century.

The "dual nature," e.g., was at the center of the controversy over Chalcedon in 451.

The "original sin" was in the same century the source of contention between Pelagianists and other Christians in the west.

The "infallibility" doctrine has its source in the 19th century struggle against modern challenges to faith.

Any and all of these points are rejected by 21st century people who want to call themselves "Christian."

We'd need to shave at least half to find Christians in the first century.
I was defining modern-day Christianity, but I admit my definition was rather narrow. Probably the most specific a definition of Christianity encompassing past, present, and every variation of Christianity including what most Christians hold to be heretical, is that Christians are those who are followers of Christ, and not followers of Mohammad or Bahá'u'lláh, etcetera. However, I wanted to be a little more specific, so I chose to define what the majority of modern-day Christians believe.
ghost
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Re: Definitions of Christianity

Post by ghost »

Andrew wrote:that Christians are those who are followers of Christ, and not followers of Mohammad
They are the same.

http://en.qantara.de/content/interview- ... ific-title
beowulf
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Re: Definitions of Christianity

Post by beowulf »

A general ‘definition’ of Christianity is wanted? Here is one so wide that it embraces all and every human who communicates with the divine:
BRIEF DES PAULUS AN DIE RÖMER
The letter of Paul to the Romans, Translated by Martin Luther
3:28 So halten wir nun dafür, dass der Mensch gerecht wird ohne des Gesetzes Werke, allein durch den Glauben
http://www.academic-bible.com/en/online ... 69f684d31/


Luther justifies his addition of the word ‘allein’ (alone) in this letter,
“Grace and peace in Christ, honorable, worthy and dear Lord and friend! I received your letter with the two questions, or inquiries, requesting my response. In the first place, you ask why in translating the words of Paul in the 3rd chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, Arbitramur hominem iustificari ex fide absque operibus, I rendered them, "We hold that a man is justified without the works of the law, by faith alone," and you also tell me that the papists are causing a great fuss because Paul's text does not contain the word sola (alone), and that my addition to the words of God is not to be tolerated. Secondly, you ask whether the departed saints intercede also for us, because we read that angels intercede for us. Regarding the first question, you can give the papists this answer from me, if you like.”
http://www.bible-researcher.com/luther01.html


Thomas de Aquinas had already said this: There is no hope of justification, but only by faith...We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law
"Et sie exponit Glossa. Sed Apostolus videtur loqui de moralibus, quia subdit quod lex posita est propter peccata, et haec sunt praecepta moralia. Horum legitimus usus est ut homo non attribuat eis plus quam quod in eis continetur. Data est lex ut cognoscatur peccatum. Roman., vii, 7: Quia nisi lex diceret,non concupisces (quod dicitur in Decalogo) concupiscentiam nesciebam. Non est ergo in eis spec justificationis, sed insola fide. Roman., iii, 28: Arbitramur justificari hominem per fidem sine operibus legis."

"But the Apostle seems to be speaking about morals, because he adds that the law was set forth because of sin, and the law consists of moral precepts. The proper use of these precepts is that man not attribute to them more than what is contained in them. The law was given so that sin might be recognized. As Romans 7:7 says, "Unless the law were saying, 'Do not covet,' (which the Decalogue says), I would not have known about covetousness. In the precepts, therefore, there is no hope (spec=spes?) of justification, but only by faith. As Romans 3:28 says, "We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law."

Thomas Aquinas, "Epistola I Ad Timotheum", "Lectio III" in *Opera Omnia*, Volume 21: *Commentarii in Epistolam Ad Corinthios 1 In Caeteras Omnes Epistolas S. Pauli.* Paris: Apud Ludovicum Vives, Bibliopolam Editorem, 1876, page 456.
http://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.c ... pe-of.html
beowulf
Posts: 498
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Re: Definitions of Christianity

Post by beowulf »

Andrew wrote:To put it simply, I would say that a Christian is one who believes in the Trinity, the dual nature of Jesus [the] Christ as God and man, and believes that Jesus died to redeem us from our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

To be more specific as to what a Christian is, the majority of Christians profess belief in...
1. A triune God consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
2. God having a key part in the creation of the world, whether by direct creation or by guiding the evolutionary process;
3. God the Son taking the form of man and being conceived by a virgin through the Holy Spirit;
4. God the Son/Jesus suffering crucifixion and dying on the cross to redeem humankind for their sins;
5. Jesus rising from the dead and ascending into heaven forty days later;
6. A second coming of Jesus in glory at the end of the world at which time their will be a judgement of those living at the time and those already dead;
7. A universal church (catholic church for Protestants, Catholic Church for Catholics);
8. Heaven and hell, both of which are eternal;
9. The sacrament of Baptism through which one's soul is cleansed of original sin;
10. The sacrament of the Eucharist or communion (considered the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ by Catholics and a symbol of such in varying degrees by Protestants);
11. The Bible as the infallible word of God.

I would define a Christian as one who believes in the above, with the last three being the least significant points (as a definition of Christianity) because there are more exceptions to these points than to any others.

Catholics are those who believe in the guidance of the Catholic Church in interpreting the Bible and accept Church teaching as the truth. They believe that the Pope is infallible in matters of morals and doctrine and that Sacred Scripture (the Bible), Sacred Tradition (oral traditions, writings of the saints and Church Fathers that are not considered inspired--provided they have a Nihil Obstat), and the Magesterium (the Pope's teachings regarding morals and doctrines and Church Councils) are the truth.

Protestants believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God and there is no authority besides it other than God himself. Most, if not all, believe in individual interpretation of Scripture. They, like the Catholics, use the Apostles Creed to summarize their beliefs, and many of them use the Nicene Creed as well.

I do not know enough about the Orthodox faith to give a definition of it and compare it to the Catholic and Protestant faiths, but I am reasonably sure that all of my first eleven points are encompassed by their beliefs.

In the Orthodox Church the ‘original sin’ does not exist. The Orthodox Church considers the doctrine of the original sin to be a late heresy originating with Augustine of Hippo.

The Orthodox Church teaches that we are baptized to become members of the Body of Christ. Augustine redefined Baptism; Augustine taught that baptism was instituted to wash away original sin, the guilt we inherited at conception.


An informed Catholic summary: INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION THE HOPE OF SALVATION FOR INFANTS
WHO DIE WITHOUT BEING BAPTISED*

1.2. The Greek Fathers

11. The idea of an inheritance of sin or guilt - common in Western tradition - was foreign to this perspective, since in their view sin could only be a free, personal act

14. On the one hand, these Greek Fathers teach that children who die without Baptism do not suffer eternal damnation

1.3. The Latin Fathers

15. The fate of unbaptised infants first became the subject of sustained theological reflection in the West during the anti-Pelagian controversies of the early 5th century.

16. In countering Pelagius, Augustine was led to state that infants who die without Baptism are consigned to hell.... Why are little children brought to the baptismal font, especially infants in danger of death, if not to assure them entrance into the Kingdom of God? Why are they subjected to exorcisms and exsufflations if they do not have to be delivered from the devil?

17..... Those who are not baptized cannot enter the Kingdom of God. At the judgement, those who do not enter the Kingdom (Mt 25:34) will be condemned to hell (Mt 25:41). There is no “middle ground” between heaven and hell. “There is no middle place left, where you can put babies”.[31] Anyone “who is not with Christ must be with the devil”.[32]

18. God is just. If he condemns unbaptised children to hell, it is because they are sinners... These infants were unable to help themselves, but there is no injustice in their condemnation because all belong to “the same mass”, the mass destined for perdition. God does no injustice to those who are not elected, for all deserve hell.[36]

19. The Council of Carthage of 418 rejected the teaching of Pelagius. It condemned the opinion that infants “do not contract from Adam any trace of original sin, which must be expiated by the bath of regeneration that leads to eternal life”.

20. So great was Augustine's authority in the West, however, that the Latin Fathers (e.g., Jerome, Fulgentius, Avitus of Vienne, and Gregory the Great) did adopt his opinion. Gregory the Great asserts that God condemns even those with only original sin on their souls; even infants who have never sinned by their own will must go to “everlasting torments”. He cites Job 14:4-5 (LXX), John 3:5, and Ephesians 2:3 on our condition at birth as “children of wrath”.[42]

1.5. The Modern/Post-Tridentine Era

26. Augustine's thought enjoyed a revival in the 16th century, and with it his theory regarding the fate of unbaptised infants, as Robert Bellarmine, for example, bears witness.[51]
One consequence of this revival of Augustinianism was Jansenism. Together with Catholic theologians of the Augustinian school, the Jansenists vigorously opposed the theory of Limbo. During this period the popes (Paul III, Benedict XIV, Clement XIII)[52] defended the right of Catholics to teach Augustine's stern view that infants dying with original sin alone are damned and punished with the perpetual torment of the fire of hell, though with the “mildest pain” (Augustine) compared with what was suffered by adults who were punished for their mortal sins.


http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congr ... ts_en.html
Mental flatliner
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Re: Definitions of Christianity

Post by Mental flatliner »

bskeptic wrote:Can anyone quote/reference definitions of the Christian religion coming from Christians?
You could quote Jesus on the topic:

"Truly, truly I tell you, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom."

"Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born again." The wind blows where it will, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with the spirit."

(This is a play on words, by the way. Spoken in Hebrew, you could also say, "no one knows where the spirit blows", obviously so it is with being born again. No one knows on whom this gift will be bestowed. This is why in John 20:22 Jesus blew on his disciples and said, "receive the Holy Spirit", the same way God "breathed" life into Adam.)
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