@fmf saidI don't need to look it up on the Internet. I already know the answer (from long and careful study of original texts as well as scholarly sources, not from a superficial Wikipedia synopsis).
I told you, look it up on the internet. And use what you find to address the thread's topic if you want to.
What is your answer to the OP? What is your definition of "a Christian"? What minimum core beliefs do you think are held by people who can ~ in your view ~ legitimately call themselves Christians.
As for my view, I have been upfront and crystal clear.
Some seemingly simple questions do not have simple answers. Your OP question is one of them.
While the answer you have given to the OP is upfront and clear, it has the disadvantage of being simplistic and uninformed. I am trying to engage you to enrich your understanding of the matter by pointing you in the right direction to uncover its deeper dimensions. You have until now struck me as someone with a genuinely open, agile, and inquiring mind, but if you're not interested in enriching your view of this matter, just say so and I will stop contributing to this thread.
@moonbus saidThis is my view. A Christian is defined by his or her beliefs with regard to the life, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A Christian believes that God sent his son Jesus, the messiah, to save the world. A Christian believes that Jesus was crucified and died in order to offer the forgiveness of sins and the opportunity for "salvation". A Christian believes that Jesus rose from the dead and later ascended to heaven. A Christian believes these things and endeavours to obey God's commandments, including those that Jesus is believed to have stipulated while he was alive, and demonstrate, by doing good works, that their faith is not dead. What is your view?
While the answer you have given to the OP is upfront and clear, it has the disadvantage of being simplistic and uninformed.
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@moonbus saidGive me your own "deeper" and "enriched" answer to the OP, then.
I am trying to engage you to enrich your understanding of the matter by pointing you in the right direction to uncover its deeper dimensions.
What are - in your view - minimum core beliefs you think should be held by people who you personally think can plausibly call themselves Christians
@moonbus saidThen, what is your counter-definition of "a Christian" based on your "long and careful study of original texts as well as scholarly sources"?
I don't need to look it up on the Internet. I already know the answer (from long and careful study of original texts as well as scholarly sources, not from a superficial Wikipedia synopsis).
@moonbus saidPost as you see fit. That's what I do. I have shared my perspective but you seem to not want to reciprocate.
You have until now struck me as someone with a genuinely open, agile, and inquiring mind, but if you're not interested in enriching your view of this matter, just say so and I will stop contributing to this thread.
@fmf saidYou're barking up the wrong tree. Jesus did not tell his disciples to compile "a list of minimum core beliefs." This is not merely what I personally think; that's what it is.
Give me your own "deeper" and "enriched" answer to the OP, then.
What are - in your view - minimum core beliefs you think should be held by people who you personally think can plausibly call themselves Christians
@moonbus saidAccording to the New Testament, Jesus gave one commandment to his disciples, to “...love one another, as I have loved you...” I don’t think he really cared what they called themselves...although he did call them his “friends”.
You're barking up the wrong tree. Jesus did not tell his disciples to compile "a list of minimum core beliefs." This is not merely what I personally think; that's what it is.
As far as being a Christian, I’ve stopped fighting calling myself one...since, as a Mormon, I had that argument since nearly the day I was born...
For myself, I see the ways that Jesus loved his friends and count myself blessed if I ever see one facet of that love coming out of myself. I think he was simply asking for that reflection without a lot of pronouncement...and then asking that his friends go about doing it.
I’m down with Jesus, and feel blessed to be called a friend, no matter what I happen to believe.
New day!