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A Christian ( pronunciation (help·info), (from the Ancient Greek: Χριστιανός Christianos) 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.^[1]

Central to the Christian faith is the gospel, the teaching that humans have hope for salvation through the message and work of Jesus, and particularly, his atoning death on the cross. Christians also believe Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.^[2] Most Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity ("tri-unity"), a description of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This includes the vast majority of churches in Christianity, although a minority are Non-trinitarians.

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."^[3] 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.^[4]

Etymology[link]

The Greek word Χριστιανός (christianos)—meaning "follower of Christ"—comes from Χριστός (christos)—meaning "anointed one"^[5]—with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership.^[6] In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed."^[7] 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[link]

The first recorded use of the term (or its cognates in other languages) is in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26, which states "...in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians." The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26:28, 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 1 Peter 4:16, which exhorts believers, "...if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."

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."^[8] 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.^[9] The town Antioch, which is said to have given them the name Christian, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames.^[10] 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.^[11]

The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus, referring to "the tribe of Christians, so named from him;"^[12] 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"^[13] and identifies Christians as Nero's scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome.^[14]

Modern usage[link]

The cross and Ichthys symbols, two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion.

A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian. There is usually a consensus among many denominations about what defines a Christian, but disagreement does exist among some sects and denominations on a common definition of "Christianity." Philosopher Michael Martin, in his book The Case Against Christianity, evaluated three historical Christian creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed) 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.^[15]

Hebrew terms[link]

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.^[16] However, Messianic Jews are referred to in modern Hebrew as יהודים משיחיים (Yehudim Meshihi'im).

Arabic terms[link]

In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians: Nasrani (نصراني), plural "Nasara" (نصارى) is generally understood to be derived from Nazareth^[17] through the Syriac (Aramaic); Masihi (مسيحي) means followers of the Messiah.^[17][18]

Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus.^[19] In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim white people.^[19] Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Salibi (صليبي "Crusader") from salib (صليب "crucifix") which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations.^[18][20]

Asian terms[link]

The Syriac term Nasrani (Nazarene) has also been attached to the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India. In the Indian subcontinent Christians call themselves "Isaai" (Hindi: ईसाई, Urdu: عیسائی), and are also known by this term to adherents of other religions.^[21] This is related to the name they call Jesus, "Isa Masih".

In the past, the Malays used to call the Portuguese Serani from the Arabic Nasrani. Today the term Serani is used for the creole Christian community of Malaysia today.

The Chinese word is 基督徒 (pinyin: jīdū tú), literally "Christ follower." The two characters now pronounced Jīdū in Mandarin Chinese, were originally pronounced Ki-To in Cantonese as representation of Latin "Cristo." Likewise in Vietnam the same two characters read Cơ đốc, and a "follower of Christianity" is a tín đồ Cơ đốc giáo. In Japan, the term kirishitan (written in Edo period documents 吉利支丹, 切支丹, and in modern Japanese histories as キリシタン), from Portuguese cristão, referred to Roman Catholic Christians in the 16th and 17th centuries before the religion was banned by the Tokugawa shogunate. Today Christians are referred to in standard Japanese as Kuristo-kyo-to キリスト教徒, or the English-derived term kurisuchan クリスチャン. Korean still uses Kidok-kyo-do (written in hangul as 기독교도) for "Christian," though the Greek form Kurisudo 그리스도 has now replaced the old Sino-Korean Kidok for Christ himself.

Demographics[link]

As of the early 21st century, Christianity has around 2.1 billion adherents.^[22][23][24] The faith represents about a quarter to a third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with approximately 38,000 Christian denominations.^[25] Christians have composed about 33 percent of the world's population for around 100 years. The largest Christian denomination is the Roman Catholic Church, with 1.17 billion adherents, representing half of all Christians.^[26]

Percentage of Christians worldwide

Twenty countries with the most Christians

Country	Christians	% Christian
United States (details)	176,400,000	78.4%
Brazil (details)	174,700,000	90.4%
Mexico (details)	105,095,000	94.5%
Russia (details)	99,775,000	70.3%
Philippines (details)	90,530,000	92.4%
Nigeria (details)	76,281,000	48.2%
Congo, Democratic Republic of (details)	68,558,000	95.6%
China, People's Republic of (details)	66,959,000	5.0%
Italy (details)	55,070,000	91.1%
Ethiopia (details)	54,978,000	64.5%
Germany (details)	49,400,000	59.9%
Colombia (details)	44,502,000	97.6%
Ukraine (details)	41,973,000	91.5%
South Africa (details)	39,843,000	79.7%
Argentina (details)	37,561,000	92.7%
Poland (details)	36,526,000	95.7%
Spain (details)	35,568,000	77.2%
France (details)	35,014,000	53.5%
Kenya (details)	34,774,000	85.1%
Uganda (details)	29,943,000	88.6%

See also[link]

Christianity portal

• Christendom
• Christian Church
• Conversion to Christianity
• Cultural Christian
• Lists of Christians
• Rice Christian, referring to people who profess Christianity for material benefits

Bibliography[link]

Etymology

• Bickerman, Elias J. (April, 1949). "The Name of Christians". The Harvard Theological Review 42 (2): 109–124. JSTOR 1507955.  also available in Bickerman, Elias J. (1986). Studies in Jewish and Christian history. ISBN 90-04-04395-0. http://books.google.com/?id=gqQfAAAAIAAJ.  (from which page numbers are cited)
• Wuest, Kenneth Samuel (1973). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament. 1. ISBN 978-0-8028-2280-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZHhK3AKkc9EC. 

References[link]

Christian Bale
Bale in June 2009
Born	Christian Charles Philip Bale (1974-01-30) 30 January 1974 (age 38) Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Sandra Blažić (2000–present)
Children	1
Parents	David Bale, Jenny (née James) Bale
Family	Gloria Steinem (Step-Mother)

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor.^[1] Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.

Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13, when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987). He played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.^[2] He is also notable for his role as serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (2000), and for portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and the upcoming finale The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

In 2010, Bale portrayed Dicky Eklund in the biopic The Fighter. He received critical acclaim for his role and won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

Early life[link]

Bale was born in Wales to parents of English descent. His South African–born father, David Bale, was an entrepreneur, commercial pilot and talent manager, and his mother, Jenny (née James), was a circus performer.^[3][4][5][6] He spent his childhood in England, Portugal, and the United States.

Bale's first foray into acting was a commercial for the fabric softener Lenor in 1982.^[7] A year later, he appeared in a Pac-Man cereal commercial playing a child rock star. In 1984, he made his stage debut in The Nerd, opposite Rowan Atkinson.^[8]

Career[link]

1986–1998[link]

A 14-year-old Bale in Stockholm, Sweden in February 1988 while promoting Empire of the Sun

Bale made his film debut as Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia in the made-for-television film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna in 1986, which was followed by leading roles in the miniseries Heart of the Country and the fantasy adventure Mio in the Land of Faraway, in which he appeared with Christopher Lee and Nick Pickard.

Bale's performance as Jim Graham in Empire of the Sun earned him widespread critical praise and the first ever "Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor" award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.^[9] The attention the press and his schoolmates lavished upon him after this took a toll on Bale, and he contemplated giving up acting until Kenneth Branagh approached him and persuaded him to appear in Henry V in 1989.^[9] In 1990, he played the role of Jim Hawkins opposite Charlton Heston (as Long John Silver) in Treasure Island, an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic book.

In 1992, Bale starred as Jack Kelly in the Disney musical Newsies, and followed it up in 1993 with another release, Swing Kids, a film about teenagers who secretly listened to forbidden jazz during the rise of Nazi Germany.^[10] Bale was recommended by actress Winona Ryder to star in Gillian Armstrong's 1994 film Little Women.^[9] Bale provided the voice for Thomas, a young compatriot of Captain John Smith, in Disney's Pocahontas (1995) and in 1997 played Arthur Stuart in Velvet Goldmine, Todd Haynes' tribute to glam rock.^[10] In 1999, Bale contributed to an all-star cast, including Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci and Rupert Everett, portraying Demetrius in an updated version of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[10]

1999–2001[link]

In 1999, Bale played serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, director Mary Harron's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel. Bale was briefly dropped from the project in favour of Leonardo DiCaprio, but DiCaprio eventually dropped out to star in The Beach, and Bale was cast once again. He researched his character by studying the novel and prepared himself physically for the role by spending months tanning and exercising in order to achieve the "Olympian physique" of the character as described in the original novel.^[11] He went so far as to distance himself from the cast and crew to maintain the darker side of Bateman's character. American Psycho premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival to much controversy. Roger Ebert condemned the film at first, calling it pornography,^[12] and "the most loathed film at Sundance,"^[13] but gave it a favourable review, writing that Harron "transformed a novel about bloodlust into a film about men's vanity." Of Bale's performance, he wrote, "Christian Bale is heroic in the way he allows the character to leap joyfully into despicability; there is no instinct for self-preservation here, and that is one mark of a good actor."^[14]

On 14 April 2000, Lions Gate Films released American Psycho in cinemas. Bale was later approached to make a cameo appearance in another Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, The Rules of Attraction, a film loosely connected to American Psycho, but he declined out of loyalty to Harron's vision of Bateman, which he felt could not be properly expressed by anyone else.^[15] In 2000, he again played a wealthy murderer, this time in John Singleton's Shaft.

Bale has played an assortment of diverse characters since 2001. His first role after American Psycho was in the John Madden adaptation of the best-selling novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Bale played Mandras, a Greek fisherman who vied with Nicolas Cage's title character for the affections of Pelagia (Penelope Cruz). Captain Corelli's Mandolin was Bale's second time working with John Hurt, after All the Little Animals.

2002–2004[link]

From 2002 to 2003, Bale starred in three feature films. Laurel Canyon (2002) was generally well received by critics.^[16] This film also marked the second time he worked with actress Kate Beckinsale, his costar in Prince of Jutland (1994). Critics generally focused on star Frances McDormand's performance over the rest of the cast, however.^[17]

Reign of Fire was Bale's first action vehicle and had, compared to all his previous work, an immense budget estimated at US$95,000,000.^[18] Bale entered into negotiations about starring in the film with reservations, but director Rob Bowman convinced him to take the lead role.^[19] Bale starred as Quinn Abercromby opposite Matthew McConaughey's Denton Van Zan. Bale and McConaughey trained for their respective roles by boxing and working out.^[19]

Equilibrium was Bale's third film of 2002, costing US$20 million to produce but earning just over US$5 million worldwide.^[20] In Equilibrium, Bale played John Preston, an elite law enforcer in a dystopian society. Equilibrium featured a fictional martial art called Gun Kata that combined gunfighting with hand-to-hand combat. According to moviebodycounts.com, the character of John Preston has the third most on-screen kills in a single movie ever with 118, exactly half of the movie's total of 236.^[21]

After a year's hiatus, Bale returned in 2004 to play Trevor Reznik, the title character in the psychological thriller The Machinist. Bale gained attention for his devotion to the role and for the lengths to which he went to achieve Reznik's emaciated, skeletal appearance. He went without proper rest for prolonged periods, and placed himself on a crash diet of generally coffee and apples,^[22] which reduced his weight by 63 pounds (4 st 4 lb/27 kg) in a matter of months.^[23] By the end of filming Bale weighed only 121 pounds (8 st 9 lb/55 kg),^[22] a transformation he described as "very calming mentally"^[24] and which drew comparisons to Robert De Niro's alternate weight-gaining regimen for his role as Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film Raging Bull.^[25] Bale claimed that he had not worked for a period of time before he was cast in the film. "...I just hadn't found scripts that I'd really been interested in. So I was really dying for something to arrive. Then when this one did, I just didn't want to put it down. I finished it and, upon the kind of revelation that you get at the end, I immediately wanted to go back and re-visit it, to take a look at what clues I could have gotten throughout".^[26] The Machinist was a low-budget production, costing roughly US$5 million to produce, and was given only a limited US release. It was well received, with the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 75% of the critics' reviews tallied were positive.^[27]

Bale, an admirer of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away,^[15] was then cast as the voice of the title character, Howl, in the English language dub of the Japanese director's fantasy anime adventure Howl's Moving Castle, an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones's children's novel. Its gross in the US was US$4,711,096, a fraction of its worldwide gross (US$235,184,110).^[28]