Does this make me Christian?

[The Right Hand Path]

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian

That is an interesting debate topic in and of itself: what makes one a Christian? Does one have to follow the Bible (or, at the very least, the New Testament)? Do you have to attend church? Pray? Or is simply believing that Jesus is Christ enough? Is even that necessary? It is a fantastic debate that can be had.

Quote:

I never go to church,

I do not see a problem with not attending church. Church, while providing a shelter for like-minded people to discuss and to learn what their sect believes, is not necessarily a mandate to being a Christian, in my opinion. A church is simply a building: however, the aspects that church promotes (prayer, humility, charity, and modesty) can be done without its services.

Quote:

I curse a lot,

This one depends on the words and the context upon which you use them. If you swear at someone in order to insult them (such as calling someone the b-word), that is generally viewed as inappropriate. (Matthew 5:21-24) However, profanities in general are not necessarily bad, although ill-adviced in order to avoid godless babble. (2 Timothy 2:16-18 )

Quote:

I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions.

That's fine. Groups such as the Amish and Liberal Quakers generally do not view proselytizing as proper activity, and these groups are very well considered Christian.

Quote:

I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives.

One could mount an argument against those who claim that the Bible goes against gay rights; however, whether it is moral or not is irrelevant to the conversation. In the end, the same ideas come out from this as the proselyzing point. People should be independent and be allowed to live their own lives.

Quote:

I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.

Nothing wrong with that. To my knowledge, there is absolutely nothing said by Jesus or anything in the Bible that suggests that abortion is an intolerable act.

Quote:

I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.

I see nothing wrong with this, either.

Quote:

Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

In my opinion, yes. Although, if you wish to establish a debate on the specifics, this could be a very interesting thread. A quick question, if I may ask it: do you accept the Bible as the literal word of God? As mainly metaphorical? As a complete construct of man?

[Qyp]

rmcdra

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

Yes you'd be a Christian. The only thing that isn't answered is if you'd be a good Christian or not. The topics of gay rights and abortion are being debated within Chrisitiandom right now. Some say they are okay, some say they aren't. This question is largely dependent on what views you subscribe to. If you subscribe to Catholicism or certain Protestant sects you'd be considered a bad Christian. If you are part of a more progressive Protestant sect, like the Episcopals, you're just fine.

I disagree, a Christian follows the teachings of Christ (New Testament), not just believe he exists, and not just be a "good person".

[Zandermabd]

The Right Hand Path

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian

That is an interesting debate topic in and of itself: what makes one a Christian? Does one have to follow the Bible (or, at the very least, the New Testament)? Do you have to attend church? Pray? Or is simply believing that Jesus is Christ enough? Is even that necessary? It is a fantastic debate that can be had.

Quote:

I never go to church,

I do not see a problem with not attending church. Church, while providing a shelter for like-minded people to discuss and to learn what their sect believes, is not necessarily a mandate to being a Christian, in my opinion. A church is simply a building: however, the aspects that church promotes (prayer, humility, charity, and modesty) can be done without its services.

Quote:

I curse a lot,

This one depends on the words and the context upon which you use them. If you swear at someone in order to insult them (such as calling someone the b-word), that is generally viewed as inappropriate. (Matthew 5:21-24) However, profanities in general are not necessarily bad, although ill-adviced in order to avoid godless babble. (2 Timothy 2:16-18 )

Quote:

I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions.

That's fine. Groups such as the Amish and Liberal Quakers generally do not view proselytizing as proper activity, and these groups are very well considered Christian.

Quote:

I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives.

One could mount an argument against those who claim that the Bible goes against gay rights; however, whether it is moral or not is irrelevant to the conversation. In the end, the same ideas come out from this as the proselyzing point. People should be independent and be allowed to live their own lives.

Quote:

I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.

Nothing wrong with that. To my knowledge, there is absolutely nothing said by Jesus or anything in the Bible that suggests that abortion is an intolerable act.

Quote:

I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.

I see nothing wrong with this, either.

Quote:

Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

In my opinion, yes. Although, if you wish to establish a debate on the specifics, this could be a very interesting thread. A quick question, if I may ask it: do you accept the Bible as the literal word of God? As mainly metaphorical? As a complete construct of man?

I curse in a jokingly way, but never towards somebody else. Also I am afraid of being mean to people.
I think the bible is the word of God. Maybe edited by Man.

[rmcdra]

Qyp

rmcdra

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

Yes you'd be a Christian. The only thing that isn't answered is if you'd be a good Christian or not. The topics of gay rights and abortion are being debated within Chrisitiandom right now. Some say they are okay, some say they aren't. This question is largely dependent on what views you subscribe to. If you subscribe to Catholicism or certain Protestant sects you'd be considered a bad Christian. If you are part of a more progressive Protestant sect, like the Episcopals, you're just fine.

I disagree, a Christian follows the teachings of Christ (New Testament), not just believe he exists, and not just be a "good person".

Well of course one should try to be a good person but one's actions doesn't take away one's status as a Christian. It just makes them a bad Christian and at risk of losing their salvation.

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Edit: We are human and make mistakes. That's part of our scope being limited. What's important is that when our scope is broaden that we do move toward doing what is right.

[dh8d1]

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian

Wait... Muslims are Christians?

[Leigh-Anna-Bo]

who cares? believe what you want. so long as you're a good person it doesn't matter.

[eiji_panda13]

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

If you follow the bible, NO. You have to be baptized.

[emorhconom esor]

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." James 2:19
"They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!'” Luke 8:26-28

According to these scriptures it shows that even the demons know who God and Jesus are. Given that fact then by what you are saying is that they are Christians and will go to Heaven. I highly doubt you believe such

" For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9

This shows that going to church doesn't have anything to do with your salvation. So your list has nothing to do with making you a Christian.


The easiest and most used way that people use to bring others to Christ is what is called the Roman Road. I suggest you look it up because it is the simplest way to comprehend salvation. Then you can draw the conclusions on rather you are a Christian. If I were to put it on here then it would make this a super long post and no one likes those.

[s h i a w e i]

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

I think you're kind of missing the point of Christianity..?
Lots of people think Christianity is about doing certain things or having certain views or following commands or being a "good person", but that's not really the point.
Christianity is about believing in God and the Gospel, but the question is do you REALLY believe it? I don't go to church to "be a Christian" and I don't refrain from swearing to "be a Christian". Those things naturally come with my belief in God. Because of my faith and beliefs, I WANT to go to church and learn more and be part of fellowships and talk with other Christians. All these things which Christians do are not for the sake of "being Christian" or living up to be enough to be Christian, it just comes naturally as part of your faith.
So what it really comes down to is your belief in Jesus Christ, but the question is, how is it apparent that you really do have belief in him? If you say you have belief in Christ and the Gospel but your life shows no signs of it, then how are you really changed by faith?

[Prince Ikari]

I would say that I do NOT believe that makes you a Christian, at least a true one. A belief in God and that Jesus is the Savior is what is most important, but you are not living the life that is best it sounds like. You are supporting things and engaging in sins that are against God and his teachings. If I had to guess what sect you belong too, I would group you in with one of the liberal-oriented ones. Liberal Christianity uses Christianity to push progressive political causes such as acceptance of homosexuality and gay marriage. But those are my thoughts. While I never attend church anymore, and prefer to practice my faith away from organized religion, my background is still that from a family of devout Catholics and evangelical Protestants. I use to attend a Baptist church here in rural Virginia and still go every once and a blue moon for special holidays such as Christmas and Easter. But I do not believe that you have to attend a church to be a Christian. I even at one point started studying Buddhism and trying to incorporate some of its key tenets along with my Christian ones. And while at one point I was non-religious, and am not as hardcore in my belief of the deity, I have always believed in the nature of sin so I try and refrain from sin if possible, or supporting sinful practices. Part of being a Christian is living a Christian life. Being an example to others. Letting them see God through you. Which is why I always try and be polite to others, do good when I can, refrain from profanity, refrain from drug use and pre-marital sex. You can believe in God all you want, but if you are not living the life he wants you to live, following his teachings, then you are doing a disservice to yourself.

[King Shining Heaven]

Simple: do you believe Jesus is your Savior, that he died for your sins, and do you worship him as such? If so, you are a Christian. If not, then no

[Sweet Beautie]

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

Hmmm. It looks like you're saying (example): I believe "The Gold Path" exists, but I don't follow it, I go to another road.
Believing God and Jesus exist is not enough... You have to do the right things, you have to support life and be kind to others everyday.
As for the abortion, in case of rape, it's ok, because it affects the victim psychologically - although I know a girl whose father was the rapist, so she wouldn't be here if her mother aborted her...
You can't pressure someone to change their mind, but you can show them God...
I'm good at showing my religion, specially by doing good things to others, help them, I try to not curse, when I hear a curse I tell the person not to curse again please (it kind of hurts me inside :S), but I'm not so good with words... crying
I wish I could tell the world that God really exists.

[Sweet Beautie]

s h i a w e i

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

I think you're kind of missing the point of Christianity..?
Lots of people think Christianity is about doing certain things or having certain views or following commands or being a "good person", but that's not really the point.
Christianity is about believing in God and the Gospel, but the question is do you REALLY believe it? I don't go to church to "be a Christian" and I don't refrain from swearing to "be a Christian". Those things naturally come with my belief in God. Because of my faith and beliefs, I WANT to go to church and learn more and be part of fellowships and talk with other Christians. All these things which Christians do are not for the sake of "being Christian" or living up to be enough to be Christian, it just comes naturally as part of your faith.
So what it really comes down to is your belief in Jesus Christ, but the question is, how is it apparent that you really do have belief in him? If you say you have belief in Christ and the Gospel but your life shows no signs of it, then how are you really changed by faith?

emotion_kirakira I loved your answer, I totally agree with you.

[imblaine2]

If you believe Jesus is the son of God, and Christ then you'd be a christian. Going to church or not wouldn't alter that since people have held personal masses or prayers since founding and not stepped foot in an actual church. Doctrine would come in line if you wanted to claim to belong to certain denominations.

But simply believing in God and Jesus don't make Christian. I mean Muslims believe in God and also think Jesus was a prophet. The difference would be Christians believe he was Christ.

[Raven Cpu]

Xandistra

I believe if you just believe in god, and Jesus you are Christian
I never go to church, I curse a lot, I don't see why you have to pressure others to be Christian, or religions. I support gay rights, because I don't give a s**t about what others do with their lives. I think in certain scenarios abortion is okay, especially for rape victims. Or early on stages.
I joke about my beliefs a lot. I'm very respectful of others beliefs also.
Does this make me Christian? Or even religious? My whole family is Christian.

It's not about being "Christian", it's about acknowledging and wanting to know Jesus. If you truly know Jesus, then you are saved. But, how can you "accept" Jesus if you reject everything that he asks of us?

You say that you never go to church. Jesus tells us to fellowship with fellow believers. Church is where we can go to not only expand our knowledge of the Word, but to fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

You say that you don't understand why we have to pressure other people to be Christian. Jesus clearly says that he is the only way to salvation. If you truly believe what the Bible teaches, shouldn't it devastate you to know that all your friends and family who don't know Jesus are going to hell? If you care, as a believer, you should definitely be telling people about Jesus.

You say that you support gay rights because you don't care what others do with their lives. Again, my last point pretty much sums it up. No, we should not "force" our views on others, but we'd definitely be doing our loved ones an injustice if we didn't tell them about Jesus and what he stands for.

You say that in certain scenarios abortion is ok. But, God says that he knew us all before we were even conceived. He knew us in the womb. He says that we are all his beautiful creations. God says that he has a plan for each and every one of us. As a Christian, why should you question that?

It's good that you are respectful of other beliefs. Jesus tells us to love other people (not to be confused with "accepting" of other beliefs). You can love a non-believer and you should! But, that doesn't mean that you have to be accepting of their beliefs. For instance, going back to the homosexuality thing. My wife and I have several homosexual friends. Two of our closest friends are homosexual. We love them to death. But, they are well aware of our views regarding their open sin. We don't put ourselves in a situation where it would appear that we are supportive of their ways. We talk and hang out in very neutral places. You can love someone without being accepting of their ways. The point isn't to put them down and say "GOD HATES GAYS!!", because at the end of the day, homosexuality is a sin just like lying. We are all sinners. As believers, we are to hold each other accountable and to hold each other up. As believers, we should especially love on the unbelievers in our lives.

To sum it all up, no one can say if you're a believer and if you're saved. That's strictly between you and Jesus. Step back, examine your life, and if your life is led by the teachings in the Bible, then you're good. If your life completely contradicts the Bible, then you may want to step back and regroup. Hope that helps!