A is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. "Christian" derives from the Koine Greek word Christ, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term Messiah.
Central to the Christian faith is love or Agape. Christians also believe Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, the Son of God, and the savior of mankind from their sins. Most Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity ("tri-unity"), a description of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which retains the monotheistic belief of Christianity's Abrahamic heritage through an ineffable confluence. This includes the vast majority of the churches in Christianity. A minority of Christian churches 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." It is also used as a label to identify people who associate with the cultural aspects of Christianity, irrespective of personal religious beliefs or practices.
Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is "Nazarenes" which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24. Tertullian (Against Marcion 4:8) records that "the Jews call us Nazarenes," while around 331 AD Eusebius records that Christ was called a Nazoraean from the name Nazareth, and that in earlier centuries "Christians," were once called "Nazarenes." The Hebrew equivalent of "Nazarenes", Notzrim occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian.
All three original New Testament usages verses reflect a derisive element in the term Christian to refer to followers of Christ who did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome. The town Antioch, which is said to have given them the name Christian, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames. However Peter's apparent endorsement of the term, led to it being preferred over "Nazarenes" and the term Christianoi from 1 Peter becomes the standard term in the Early Church Fathers from Ignatius and Polycarp onwards.
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 1st 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.
The challenge of determining what it means to be Christian is further compounded by theological differences concerning biblical definitions of salvation, usually known as the faith vs works controversy. Some believe that the Book of James in particular presents a doctrine of justification based upon works─a position that contradicts Paul’s doctrine of justification based upon faith. One writer combines the two views this way: "Works of the law that are outward acts of ritual for the purpose of receiving merit are of no value for attaining salvation. However, those who trust in and obey Jesus Christ will produce works that are motivated by the Spirit that will serve to build up the Kingdom of God...."
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. Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Salibi; this refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations.
In the Indian subcontinent 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 Masih".
In the past, the Malays used to call the Portuguese Serani which meant "followers of the Nazarene". The term Serani is used for the creole Christian community of Malaysia today.
The Chinese word is (pinyin: jīdū tú), literally "Christ follower."
+ Twenty countries with the most Christians | ||
! Country | ! Christians | ! % Christian |
Category:Christian terms Category:New Testament Greek words and phrases Category:Religious identity
af:Christene ar:مسيحيون arc:ܡܫܝܚܝܐ bn:খ্রিষ্টান cs:Křesťan de:Christ eo:Kristano fo:Kristin fy:Kristen ko:기독교인 hi:ईसाई ig:Onye Kraịst ia:Christiano it:Cristiano (religione) ky:Христиан ht:Kretyen la:Christianus ln:Moklísto mk:Христијани mr:ख्रिश्चन my:ခရစ်ယာန် nl:Christen ja:キリスト教徒 pih:Kreschen nn:Kristne pnb:سعائی nds:Christ pt:Cristão ru:Христианин simple:Christian sk:Kresťan te:క్రైస్తవుడు th:คริสเตียน uk:Християни ur:عیسائی vi:Kitô hữu yo:Ẹlẹ́sìn Krístì zh:基督徒This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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