A
Christian ( ) is a person who adheres to
Christianity, an
Abrahamic,
monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of
Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe is the
Messiah (the
Christ in
Greek-derived terminology) prophesied in the
Hebrew Bible, and the
son of God. Most Christians believe in the doctrine of the
Trinity ("tri-unity"), a description of
God as
Father, as
Son, and as
Holy Spirit. This includes
Roman Catholicism,
Orthodox Christianity, and the vast majority of
Protestantism. A minority are
Nontrinitarians.
The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like."
Etymology
The Greek word (
christianos)—meaning "follower of Christ"—comes from (
christos)—meaning "
anointed one" —with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership. In the
Greek Septuagint,
christos was used to translate the
Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (
, messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed." In other European languages, equivalent words to 'Christian' are likewise derived from the Greek, such as 'Chrétien' in French and 'Cristiano' in Spanish.
Early usage
The first recorded use of the term (or its
cognates in other languages) is in the
New Testament, in , which states "...in
Antioch the disciples were first called Christians." The second mention of the term follows in , where
Herod Agrippa II replies to
Paul the Apostle, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in , which exhorts believers, "...if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name". Mattison suggests that "[t]he New Testament's use of this term indicates that it was a term of derision, a term placed upon Christ's followers by their critics."
The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus, referring to "the tribe of Christians, so named from him;" Pliny the Younger in correspondence with Trajan; and Tacitus, writing near the end of the first century. In the Annals he relates that "by vulgar appellation [they were] commonly called Christians" and identifies Christians as Nero's scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome.
Modern usage
A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian. Philosopher
Michael Martin, in his book
The Case Against Christianity, evaluated three historical Christian creeds to establish a set of basic assumptions which include belief in
theism, the
historicity of Jesus, the
Incarnation,
salvation through faith in Jesus, and
Jesus as an ethical role model. Included in his analysis were the
Apostles' Creed, the
Nicene Creed, and the
Athanasian Creed.
In the United States and Canada
The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance say that “Who is a Christian?” is “a simple question with many answers and no consensus." They found a near consensus within individual faith groups.
Religious Tolerance claims that:
Most liberal Christian denominations, secularists, and public opinion pollsters define "Christian" very broadly as any person or group who sincerely believes themselves to be Christian. Using this definition, Christians total about 75% of the North American adult population.
Many Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Protestants define "Christian" more narrowly to include only those persons who have been "born again" or have made a personal commitment to follow Jesus irrespective of their denomination. About 35% of the North American adult population identify themselves in this way.
Some Protestant Christian denominations, para-church groups, and individuals have assembled their own lists of cardinal Christian doctrines. Many would regard anyone who denies even one of their cardinal doctrines to be a non-Christian. There is a wide diversity of opinion as to which historical Christian beliefs are cardinal doctrines.
Other denominations and sects regard their own members to be the only true Christians in the world. Some are quite small, numbering only a few thousand followers.
Anderson Cooper has reported that in the United States, "more than 85 percent is Christian and two-thirds of [Americans], a number that's climbing, consider America a Christian nation. But from there, the lines start to blur."
Two recent empirical studies reveal differences in beliefs and religious practices among Christians in the U.S.:
Baylor University study
The
Baylor University Institute for Studies of Religion conducted a survey covering various aspects of American religious life. The researchers analyzing the survey results have categorized the responses into what they call the "four Gods": An
authoritarian God (31%), a
benevolent God (25%), a
distant God (23%), and a
critical God (16%).
19 percent of American Christians are described by the researchers as Active Christians. They believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ, attend church regularly, are Bible readers, invest in personal faith development through their church, accept leadership positions in their church, and believe they are obligated to "share [their] faith", that is, to evangelize others.
20 percent are referred to as Professing Christians. They also are committed to "accepting Christ as Savior and Lord" as the key to being a Christian, but focus more on personal relationships with God and Jesus than on church, Bible reading or evangelizing.
16 percent fall into a category named Liturgical Christians. They are predominantly Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, or Orthodox. They are regular churchgoers, have a high level of spiritual activity and recognize the authority of the church.
24 percent are considered Private Christians. They own a Bible but don't tend to read it. Only about one-third attend church at all. They believe in God and in doing good things, but not necessarily within a church context. This was the largest and youngest segment. Almost none are church leaders.
21 percent in the research are called Cultural Christians. These do not view Jesus as essential to salvation. They exhibit little outward religious behavior or attitudes. They favor a universality theology that sees many ways to God. Yet, they clearly consider themselves to be Christians.
In other countries
Christians in other countries may not show the same variety, particularly where there is active
persecution of Christians.
Hebrew terms
As the identification of the Messiah with Jesus is not accepted within Judaism, the
Talmudic term for Christians in
Hebrew is
Notzrim ("
Nazarenes"), originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the village of
Nazareth in
Israel. However,
Messianic Jews are referred to in modern Hebrew as יהודים משיחיים (
Yehudim Meshihi'im).
Arabic terms
In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians:
Nasrani (نصراني), plural "Nasara" (نصارى) is generally understood to be derived from
Nazareth
Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim white people.
Other
Nasrani or
Nasranee may also refer to the
Syrian Malabar Nasrani people, a Christian ethno-religious group from
Kerala, India, are a mixed race people of
Chaldean,
Malayali Brahmin,
Syriac,
Jewish and other Malayali Hindu Castes in decreasing percentage of ethnic ancestry.
In India Christians also call themselves "Isai", and are also known by this term to Hindus and others in south Asia. This is related to the name they call Jesus, "Isa Mesih".
In the past, the Malays used to call the Portugese Serani which meant "followers of the Nazarene". The term Serani is used for the creole christian community of Malaysia today.
Chinese
The Chinese word is (
pinyin: jīdū tú), literally "Christ follower."
See also
* Christendom
Christian Church
Simple church
Conversion to Christianity
Lists of Christians
Rice Christian, referring to people who profess Christianity for material benefits
References
Category:Christian terms
Category:New Testament Greek words and phrases
