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What is a Christian belief system?

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  • 02-10-2004 6:28pm
    #1
    JustHalf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,525 ✭✭✭


    Recent developments have made me realise that different people have different ideas about what is and what is not a Christian belief system, certainly far broader than I do. I thought it would be a good idea to discuss this.

    My position is this: a Christian belief system is one that has Christ at the centre. A belief system that does not have Christ at the centre cannot be called a Christian belief system.

    So, what criteria do you use to judge what is and what is not a Christian belief system? Or do you take the position that if someone refers to their belief system as "Christian" then their belief system is Christian?

    Try to be polite folks.


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    #2
    Excelsior
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,203 ✭✭✭Excelsior


    If someone claims themselves to be a Christian then they must be treated as Christians.

    Unfortunately, most Christians, myself included, haven't taken the Gospels to heart and we continue to create categories for faith like the Pharisees did. There is no harm in treating anyone who claims it like a Brother or Sister and ultimately the only real decision on who is a follower of Jesus and who isn't will be made by Jesus.

    Christianity as a spectrum has lots of different points upon which you can form your "belief system". We all know how this identity forming works, particularly if you are from Ireland. For me it is: I am a reformed. I am catholic. I am orthodox. I am evangelical.

    But the only thing I need to be is Christian.

    Fill us in with more context JH.


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    #3
    Manach
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,671 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manach


    I suppose I'd be inclined to give people the benefit of the douth.
    However, The Church would have Nicene Profession of faith as the core set of beliefs. This would act as a comparison to the other person's belief system.


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    #4
    GuanYin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15,552 ✭✭✭✭GuanYin


    Excelsior wrote:
    If someone claims themselves to be a Christian then they must be treated as Christians.

    This is spot on imho - belief, faith and moral values are all very personal things and I suspect even in a group of the most devout textbook followers of any given religion, you will have subtle differences in the context and opinions of certain stances and interutations. This is what makes us human, and one would hope, this would be what god wants.

    I would be of the opinion, that christianity is more about values than about Christ himself, because christ himself was passing on a set of values and a moral belief system, he wasn't setting himself up to be the centre of anything, because he himself is secondary to the actions of man. As we have seen through history, one can take a hardline approach to Christianity and the worship of Christ and still treat others very very poorly.

    So if someone calls themselves a christian and follows the basic moral guidelines that christ's teachings infer, who here can judge them christian or not? Who has that right or power? Chirst alone as far as I can tell.


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