Chapter 5:
It’s Confusing According to the World
Now that we know who the Christians were historically we
will now turn our attention to what a
Christian is in our present day. If you think it is an easy task to define a
Christian, think again—there are hundreds of definitions of a Christian that
have been generated by people and institutions over the centuries. Not all of
them can be right as the variations are sometimes mind numbing.
In this chapter author Eric
Shuster researches the definitions of a Christian offered by respected secular
publications, religious organizations, America’s ten largest Christian Churches
and the internet at large—the world’s view if you will. The result is a convoluted
set of definitions with little commonality and plenty of confusion.
First are the definitions offered
by two widely known secular publications:
Webster’s Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica. Webster’s
suggests a Christian is anyone who claims a belief in Jesus Christ. Encyclopedia Britannica suggests a
Christian is a person who aligns themselves with the traditions, cultures, and
precepts of Christianity.
Next are the definitions offered
by the world’s largest religious organizations including the National Council
of Churches, World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, American
Council of Christian Churches, National Association of Congregational Christian
Churches and the Council on Christian Unity. Half of these organizations focus
their definitions of a Christian on faith in Jesus Christ, the love of God, the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the Bible being the word of God. The other
half offer similar statements of faith; however, each includes an implied
requirement of Trinitarian belief as a qualification to be a Christian.
Next are the definitions offered
by America’s ten largest Christian Churches defined as those considered
Christian by the World Christian
Encyclopedia and included in the 2012 Yearbook
of American and Canadian Churches published by the National Council of
Churches. Each church was contacted and publicly available content examined.
The result of the exercise demonstrated further confusion in trying to nail
down a useful definition of a Christian. The variations were breathtaking.
Finally a comprehensive search was
conducted via the internet for the definitions of a Christian provided by
apologetics, religious leaders, and various institutions. As one might suspect
the definitions of a Christian offered were widely different with only snippets
of commonality.
The result of Shuster’s research
revealed five different definitions of a Christian to be considered: 1) a Christian is one who believes they are a
Christian; 2) a Christian is one who believes in and follows Jesus Christ; 3) a
Christian is one who embraces a particular set of beliefs; 4) a Christian is
one who is born again; and 5) a Christian is one who is a member of a
particular church.
These five definitions are a
leading indicator of the confusion in today’s world in defining a Christian.
With the world in confusion in defining a Christian Shuster turns to a more
native and reliable source to gain understanding—the Bible.
Go to www.findyourchristianity.com to watch the book trailer, find
out what type of Christian you are, and to order the book
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