What makes a religion Christian?

JSSebastianoP · #1 Apr 9, '12, 4:35 pm

I'm wondering in what sources the official Catholic teaching on what constitutes a Christian religion is laid out.

Like what criteria do we judge by?

Thanks,

J. S. Sebastiano P.

Balian · #2 Apr 9, '12, 4:43 pm

Just my opinion so not necessarily authoritative but it makes logical sense to me that in order for a religion to be considered Christian, those associated with it would have to subscribe to and accept the tenants in "The Apostles' Creed" which is the Christian statement of faith for all, not just Catholic Christians.

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN."

FabiusMaximus · #3 Apr 9, '12, 4:54 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balian

Just my opinion so not necessarily authoritative but it makes logical sense to me that in order for a religion to be considered Christian, those associated with it would have to subscribe to and accept the tenants in "The Apostles' Creed" which is the Christian statement of faith for all, not just Catholic Christians.

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN."

I would agree that the Apostles' Creed is an excellent "standard" to which you can judge other faiths to see if they're Christian.

Indeed, I'd go further and say that the Nicene Creed would be an even better standard.

Crusading Canuk · #4 Apr 9, '12, 5:41 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balian

Just my opinion so not necessarily authoritative but it makes logical sense to me that in order for a religion to be considered Christian, those associated with it would have to subscribe to and accept the tenants in "The Apostles' Creed" which is the Christian statement of faith for all, not just Catholic Christians.

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN."

The Apostle's Creed is quite frankly a Catholic statement of belief, even if non-Catholic sects have adopted it. Also in my experience those who use it generally consider themselves Catholic (even though their not) such as the Anglicans, or Orthodox.

As far as what makes a religion Christian, I would have to say that it necessarily involves (attempting to) worshiping the Christian God; ie. the Triune God.

RyanBlack · #5 Apr 9, '12, 7:50 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crusading Canuk

The Apostle's Creed is quite frankly a Catholic statement of belief, even if non-Catholic sects have adopted it. Also in my experience those who use it generally consider themselves Catholic (even though their not) such as the Anglicans, or Orthodox.

As far as what makes a religion Christian, I would have to say that it necessarily involves (attempting to) worshiping the Christian God; ie. the Triune God.

The Orthodox do not use the Apostle's Creed. They use the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Cavaradossi · #6 Apr 18, '12, 2:53 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crusading Canuk

The Apostle's Creed is quite frankly a Catholic statement of belief, even if non-Catholic sects have adopted it. Also in my experience those who use it generally consider themselves Catholic (even though their not) such as the Anglicans, or Orthodox.

As far as what makes a religion Christian, I would have to say that it necessarily involves (attempting to) worshiping the Christian God; ie. the Triune God.

As another poster pointed out, we don't use the Apostle's Creed (it was simply not widely used in the East, like the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed). We use the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, a creed which you would have a hard time convincing people belongs exclusively to your Church since it was our Eastern Fathers who formulated it (if anything it should belong to us). Of course, since it is part of our shared thousand-year history, the reasonable thing to say would be that both creeds belong to both sides as part of our shared heritage. I suppose some are too triumphalistic to admit such a thing, however.

Isaiah45_9 · #7 Apr 18, '12, 3:48 pm

According to Merriam-Webster

Definition of RELIGION

1
a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion>
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2
: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3
archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness

4
: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

From what I can see... a battleground of misunderstanding...

Please reunite us Oh Lord, please reunite us. In your infinite Mercy and Glory end our divisions and let us serve You.

Calgar · #8 Apr 9, '12, 4:46 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSSebastianoP

I'm wondering in what sources the official Catholic teaching on what constitutes a Christian religion is laid out.

Like what criteria do we judge by?

Thanks,

J. S. Sebastiano P.

I'm no Roman Catholic, but I'll add my two cents anyway.

One way to tell if a group is Christian is whether or not they follow and obey Christ.

That is also a good criterion for separating the false from the true. When you start looking into what mormons, jw, muslims, etc believe about Christ you see their falsehood revealed.

CharitableFaith · #9 Apr 22, '12, 6:09 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calgar

I'm no Roman Catholic, but I'll add my two cents anyway.

One way to tell if a group is Christian is whether or not they follow and obey Christ.

That is also a good criterion for separating the false from the true. When you start looking into what mormons, jw, muslims, etc believe about Christ you see their falsehood revealed.

I agree

batman1973 · #10 Apr 22, '12, 6:23 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calgar

I'm no Roman Catholic, but I'll add my two cents anyway.

One way to tell if a group is Christian is whether or not they follow and obey Christ.

That is also a good criterion for separating the false from the true. When you start looking into what mormons, jw, muslims, etc believe about Christ you see their falsehood revealed.

This is very true. A person needs to be aware of the words that cult groups like Mormons and JW's use to sound Christian. For example, it was said here that a Trinitarian baptism is necessary. But, be careful. This is what Mormons use:"Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Trinitarian formula. But, Calgar said it best. Investigate beliefs.

Calgar · #11 Apr 22, '12, 6:47 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by batman1973

Calgar said it best.

Such words have never been said on this site before.

**1ke** · #12 Apr 9, '12, 5:07 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSSebastianoP

I'm wondering in what sources the official Catholic teaching on what constitutes a Christian religion is laid out.

Like what criteria do we judge by?

Thanks,

J. S. Sebastiano P.

At a minimum it requires belief in the Trinity to be considered Christian.

The Church has ruled on several sects and their baptisms (Mormon, for example) regarding validity due to their incorrect understanding of the Trinity. The Church deems these non-Christian sects due to their denial of the Trinity.

"Believing" in Jeus or "following Jesus" are not sufficient criteria. It is not merely believing something about Jesus but WHAT we believe that matters.

TeenageConvert · #13 Apr 9, '12, 5:23 pm

What makes a religion Christian is having a valid Baptism.
That is as Jesus commanded, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit/Ghost"
Baptisms "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ"(Or anything other than the Trinitarian formula) are not valid.
So Mormons, Jehova's Witnesses, Unitarians, Oneness Pentecostals, etc are not Christians.

Allegra · #14 Apr 9, '12, 5:28 pm

I think a religion is Christian if they believe in a triune God. For example, sects that "follow Jesus" but don't believe him to be God are not really Christians, in my opinon.

Curious Seed · #15 Apr 9, '12, 7:02 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSSebastianoP

I'm wondering in what sources the official Catholic teaching on what constitutes a Christian religion is laid out.

Like what criteria do we judge by?

Thanks,

J. S. Sebastiano P.

You are asking a number of related questions, but they are still too disparate to have a united answer.

I would like to address only the last question.

To be Christian is to believe Jesus the Christ is God.

Everything else is personal dogma.

To stop believing that Jesus the Christ is God is to stop being Christian.

This begs the question, can one believe that Jesus is God, but have false supporting dogma?

Certainly, history is replete with examples.

Does it mean that to claim one believes in Jesus is to believe in Jesus?

Certainly not, history is replete with examples.

Is any other belief required to be Christian?

No, but other beliefs may lead to the defining belief.