Friday, July 6, 2007

Simple Question #008a: What Makes Someone a Christian?

After listening to an NPR segment on Mormonism, I must admit I feel as if I have a better understanding of this religion (however illusory that assumption may be). It was interesting that someone just before the segment aired said she didn't consider Mormons or Catholics to be Christians. Wha-wha-what?

That got me thinking about what exactly is it that makes someone a "Christian". What do you think?

3 comments:

Twisted Christian said...

Excellent points!

I love that parable so much.

Jesus didn't hang out with the Pharisees. Quite the opposite. He hung out with the most marginalized, the most ecclesiastically unworthy people of His day. I hope to remember to thank God for that fact every day.

So it seems that true humility is part of the message of Christ... how about being good to others and not rejecting people based on our preconceptions of their worthiness?

Twisted Christian said...

That's amazingly awful.

I'm not sure what bugs me more about this... the fact that these people were so negligent in the face of someone else's struggle for life or that we're bickering about whether there's a law that covers their negligence. What about "accessory to murder"? How about "negligent homicide"?

How much do you want to bet that at least one or two of these people consider themselves "Christian" of some flavor or another when they fill out a form requesting that information? This is the kind of terrible example of human cruelty that makes people question the existence or nature of God.

So there's a follow up question in all of this: Where was God in this scenario?

This reminds me of the Psalms where people aren't happy with the way things are going and they let God know. I wish I had an example of one right now.

Anonymous said...

What is a Christian? If we were to stereotype then it would be an honest person who goes to church once a week and loves their neighbour as themselves. But is there more to it? Surely just by attending church one a week you are not Christian -swimming in the sea does not make you a fish, and by singing a few hymns in assembly does not make someone Christian either. So what does? Nobody wakes up and says “I am Christian” and that’s it.