Beleifs that define a christian

[Stephen168]

Originally Posted by tarboy

- Christians love Christ as God with all their heart and soul, so that clearly excludes both Jews and Muslims from being labeled Christian.

Christians love Christ as one person of the triune God, so that would also exclude Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and some Pentecostals.

[Publisher]

Originally Posted by fbl9

Tarboy the question is Beleifs that define a christian. Not actions

Why love God?

Without the actions...beliefs are of little value.

[Rolltide]

Originally Posted by Publisher

Without the actions...beliefs are of little value.

Well nobody is questioning that. Still, the question remains, what fundamental beliefs MUST a Christian hold in order to distinguish him from a good person of a different religion? What is the ultimate purpose of following Christ and helping others? Just because God demands it? To gain eternal life? Because there will be a final judgment of good and evil?

[Publisher]

[quote=Rolltide;9282047]Well nobody is questioning that. Still, the question remains, what fundamental beliefs MUST a Christian hold in order to distinguish him from a good person of a different religion? What is the ultimate purpose of following Christ and helping others?[/QUOTE]

To make know the Presence of God in this world....to share in His Incarnation.

I don't know that there are ANY beleifs one needs to embrace to enter into union with Him other than "repent"..."change the direction we are going" and begin to live as He makes His will known.....beliefs will come as our faith is formed through our experiences...I don't know of ANY doctrine one must believe to be accepted and forgiven by God....other than we need Him and seek after Him.....He comes to us...He receives us....without the belief in required doctrine and dogma...God loves us even in our ignorance.

If you're asking what are the beliefs needed to be a member of the religion called Christianity....each individual group will have a different set of required beliefs to be called "Christian" by them.....God isn't too concerned with the labels we pin on ourselves...or others....at least in my limited understanding.

[tarboy]

Originally Posted by Stephen168

Christians love Christ as one person of the triune God, so that would also exclude Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and some Pentecostals.

When one starts to use belief in creeds, I think you defining what it means to be catholic rather than christian.

For me, I see being catholic as more restrictive than being christian.
Maybe others here see them as the same.

[Rolltide]

Well, we can look at the Nicene Creed I suppose to see if any of it is necessary.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty
maker of heaven and earth
of all things visible and invisible

So, we've determined that the purpose of Christianity is to make known the presence of God in this world, so there's no problem with the first line. Regardless of whether or not one believes in creeds, I think pretty much everyone can affirm at least that much, Now, are the next two lines necessary, since they establish what *kind* of a god God is? In other words, he's not some demi-god or limited in scope and power, like Neptune, controlling only the seas. Is it necessary to believe this to establish from where his power comes from and why we must follow Him? Does it fundamentally matter that God is different from the concept of other gods?

[Stephen168]

Originally Posted by tarboy

When one starts to use belief in creeds, I think you defining what it means to be catholic rather than christian.

For me, I see being catholic as more restrictive than being christian.
Maybe others here see them as the same.

Believing in the trinity is not unique to Catholicism, it is the foundational belief of Christianity. It is who our God is.

[Cristiano]

I think that there are a couple of issues here about belief and Christianity that might be muddying the waters. First we have a propositional belief about God and that is stated in the Creed in term of what/who God is, even the Devil has a propositional belief about God. The second aspect is a belief in God and that is stated in the Creed too, that it is our surrender to God and the trust that we put in him.
Is a Christian the one that simply sticks with the propositional belief, the one that acknowledges God, or the one that also trusts in God? I would say that propositional belief is not sufficient to define a Christian.
Can we trust in God and be Christians even if we do not also have the correct propositional belief? My answer is no because we are worshiping a God that is not the true God and thus we become idolaters.
This is why I think that the Credo is necessary and sufficient to define a Christian. The Greatest Commandment is necessary but not sufficient to define a Christian, unless you to start to attach a lot of implied propositions when adopt the word 'God" that is used into it. The greatest commandment is not known only in Christianity and it really sprouts out of natural law. The big difference that comes out in Christianity is that we also have to love our enemy and not only our neighbor.
I think that the Greatest Commandment has more to do with the economy of salvation than with the definition of being a Christian.

[Nine_Two]

Originally Posted by Publisher

Without the actions...beliefs are of little value.

So you're saying works over faith?

[GaryTaylor]

What work should we do?