NON-CHRISTIANS ONLY: What is a Christian to you? (Jesus Christ, follower)

[Halcyon]

I voted;

A person who strives to love his fellow men, including his enemies.

and

a person who calls himself a Christian.

All the others are optional extras in my most humble of opinions.

[kai]

i have no idea, theres too much arguing and allegories and parables to argue over i find a common description to hard to make

[Green Gaia]

I voted "a person who calls himself a Christian"

But to be honest on my more pessimistic days the first thought I would have would be "a person who is likely to tell you (a non-Christian) that you’re “damned."

[mball1297]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

Since you used to be a Christian, your "definition" of the word Christian is probably a little different from that of someone who has never been a Christian. You have an idea in your mind of what you think a Christian should be, based upon your background. At least that's what I'm thinking. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. If someone were to tell me that he was a Muslim, I would have a different concept of what it means to be a Muslim than I would had I formerly been a Muslim and then left the faith. See what I mean?

I understand. All I was saying was that, to me, defining a Christian and saying what I think of when someone tells me they're Christian are the same thing, which is what you're asking for. However, defining what a Christian should be and what a Christian is are two different things.

[Panda]

I said "A person who calls him(her)self a Christian"

Only the other definitions will fit some but not all Christians.

[Poisonshady313]

Personally, I believe a Christian is anybody who believes Jesus was anything more impressive than a prophet. I say this specifically because Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, and I certainly wouldn't call a Muslim a Christian.

[MidnightBlue]

I didn't check "a person who believes Jesus Christ is God" because I consider Jehovah's Witnesses and liberal Christians who don't believe in the divinity of Christ to be Christians.

I checked "a person who is likely to tell you (a non-Christian) that you're 'damned'" because of the qualifier "likely"; obviously, there are Christians who do no such thing.

I didn't check "a person who sees Jesus Christ as a great teacher" because some Christians would consider that practically an insult to the dignity of Jesus, and also because the teachings of Jesus are peripheral or irrelevant to most forms of Christianity.

If the option were available, I would certainly have checked "a person who supports an organization that denies that LGBTs are equal to cisgendered heterosexuals."

And actually, if someone tells me he's "a Christian," I tend to assume he's some kind of Evangelical or Pentecostal, since most other Christians tend to be more specific, and say they're Catholic, Orthodox, LDS, Lutheran, etc.

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by Somkid

I answered: a person who is believes he is “saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone.” I spent a lot of time in theology school and my conclusion is: A Christian is a person that accepts Jesus "The Christ" as their personal Lord and Savior thus they are forgiven their transgressions and "sins" and may pass go, collect $200 and move on to "heaven". Is that right? Do I win anything?

That's certainly true of the majority of the Christians I encounter in real life, but it's actually a minority view within Christianity.

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I was also suprised that no one so far has voted that a Christian is someone "who is likely to tell you (a non-Christian) that you're damned." Don't you guys get that all the time from Christians?

I do.