Religion
Related: About this forumIMO -- what it means to be christian - the whole shebang
1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead
cbayer
(146,218 posts)pretty much cover all the bases.
Hope you are having a lovely Easter Day, xchrom.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)pangaia
(24,324 posts)admirable actions. I just don't see why they have to be connected with being a christian.
if you are christian.. a conscious Easter to you.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,368 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)But they ARE central tenets of Christianity, and Christ taught to behave that way.
I only know this because I have actually read the red letter parts of the NT. I don't consider Christ divine, but rather divinely inspired.
Small Accumulates
(149 posts)I see you do not consider Christ to be divine, but divinely inspired. Do you think of yourself as Christian?
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)but I pick and choose among many belief traditions.
I call myself a neopagan ecofeminist with Anabaptist leanings, lol. but I actually practice no religion at all. My Easter dinner today will be about enjoying friends without a whiff of religion except for when my host says grace before the meal, which takes him all of 10 seconds.
Small Accumulates
(149 posts)I'm sure grace will be in ample supply at your table.
Small Accumulates
(149 posts)I was just thinking about this very thing this morning. What defines being a Christian?
I'm also wondering what, if any, relationship one must have with the Bible in order to be thought of as Christian. As a non-Christian, I would benefit from a universal perspective on what it means to be Christian.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)from different people.
Perhaps just following the teachings of Jesus is not enough, but belief that he was the Christ (sent from God) is the distinguishing mark.
I don't think one's relationship with the bible has much to do with the definition, though there are certainly some christian denominations that do.
Small Accumulates
(149 posts)And grateful to their writers for providing them!
No Vested Interest
(5,167 posts)but is it not LDS (Mormon) belief that Christ was not divine?
Many say that LDS is not Christian, but they say they are.
(I'm not LDS and have no opinion on this.- Just reflecting opinions I've read.)
cbayer
(146,218 posts)I have no idea if they are Christian or not, but if they say they are, so be it.
Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)..that have denied the divinity of christ. arianism (no relation to aryanism) springs to mind just because it played a central role in the 'jesus-magdalene-marriage' kerfuffle around 'the da vinci code'.
newton was an arian heretic so it wasn't *that* long ago that some believed they could be christian and jesus not divine.
Small Accumulates
(149 posts)It made for an interesting Wikipedia excursion. I recall the Da Vinci Code kerfuffle, but not the aspect of arianism. I suppose if one is to hold that Christ had sexual relations with a woman, one would also have to hold that he was, therefore, a "created being," as are all humans in this view. Although, I recall Greek and Roman mythologies that didn't hesitate to permit congress between Divine and mundane beings, and even allowed for the existence of offspring.
Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)..as it was in the purportedly nonfiction book that inspired it, 'holy blood, holy grail' by baigent, leigh & that other guy they later disavowed.
long story short: the merovingian kings were largely arians until charlemagne ousted them. that part is historical fact for what it's worth.
Small Accumulates
(149 posts)Thanks!
Leontius
(2,270 posts)Clovis, the third of the Merovingian kings.
Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)following the anathematizing of arius it could get one.. er.. murdered to profess the creed. and yeah in all likelihood some of the merovingian converts *were* orthodox in their faith and true to rome in their policies (orthodox in the sense that 'right' thinking = 'roman church', naturally). history records that clovis, from whose name we get the kings louis, was a true convert. it records other things about his relatives and descendants.