Can you believe in God and not be a christian?

Question

Ive kind of been wondering this. I believe in god, but I dont consider myself to be a christian. I believe christianity has strayed far from where god intended for it to be. I see it being used to control and hurt people. I also see people being excluded from the religion. Therefore I disconnected myself from it, and want nothing to do with it.

I just threw this out there and just wanted some feedback.

Answer 1

Satan believes in God, but it doesn't do him any good.

My recommendation would be that you search the scriptures for yourself and find a congregation that you can work with. It's normal for people to feel like everyone else should be "doing Christianity" right and to criticize, but unless individual people get in there and set good examples and become the kind of Christian they want to see and be around, there will only be those who give it a bad name.

I don't think we have a right to sit back and let that happen.

It's easy to avoid the work of change because of all those hypocrites out there, but that's a cop out.

Do something to move Christianity back where God intended it to be. You can complain about the darkness, but it won't change anything.

Be the light.

Answer 2

The simple answer is Yes. That would make you Jewish. They believe in the Old testament only.

To be a Christian is not what it seems you think it is.

christians are believers in the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. You must believe that Jesus came to earth as a newborn son of a virgin, died on the Cross at Calvary for all our sins, and rose again on the third day, armed with the keys to Heaven and Hell.
You must have confessed this belief to God in prayer and asked for this free gift of salvation.
If you have done this, you are now a Christian, believer in your heart of all the above.

Christianity is not about church attendance, or anything else that may go on inside some churches.
I know you didnt ask, but please keep trying different churches, you will know when you have found one that puts God at the head of the church instead of Man.
Your best bet is a smaller church that teaches directly from the bible, meaning you bring your bible to church and the pastor has you reading right along with him or her.
The more a church uses its best asset(the bible) the better chance you have of it being the place where God is in charge.

One last thing, if you are looking for a church that is perfect, it will never happen. We are human and prone to a sin nature. Only with God at the helm of our life can we even begin the lifelong changes that need to be made to become like him. A good body of Christ(Church) knows this and strives constantly to conform to Gods will and not mans

Answer 3

Yes, you can believe in God and not be a Christian. The Bible says that even the demons know there is a God...not calling you a demon by any means.

I also have to say that you're somewhat correct about many Church bodies today. Christians are people, get confused and mess up. We're human too. The Bible gives Christians full reign to judge and rebuke what other Christians do...but we are not to judge the non-Christian, because God will judge them. We can identify their sin and help...but we aren't to judge. Maybe people not accustomed to being told they sin take that as judgment. But if they only understood that the person identifying their sin also sees themselves as a sinner, it might make a difference.

Christians tend to get carried away and judge everyone. That is valid criticism and a truth and Christians need to guard themselves against a bit better.

I would encourage you to not give up if I were you. Once you've tasted the truth of Christ, it's hard to push it away and life will seem dull. I did it and was pulled back by God and love the freedom He promises. Don't harden your heart because other sin, but do what you can do to spread the truth that God gives you.

Answer 4

Yes. And many people say that they do believe in God. However, to be a Cristian, you must believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God and that He died for your sins. Christian comes from the word, (or name), Christ. It is not a valid excuse to withdraw from Christianity just because others have given it a bad rap! And by the way, Christianity is NOT a religion! Religions are man-made... like Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Hindu, Mormon, etc., and do NOT necessarily have anything to do with Christianity. They are man-made religions with their own unique man-made rules, rites, laws, and rituals - (none of which are necessarily scriptural).
If you believe in Christ as the son of God, and you read the Bible and take it as the True word of God... you are a Christian! All this other stuff is just a distraction used by the devil to give Christians and Christianity a bad name! Don't fall for it!!!

Answer 5

I totally understand what you mean about many "Christians" straying far away from what God had purposed. In fact, this is called 'apostasy', or falling away from the faith, and you will find it prophesied in I and II Thessalonians, along with many other endtimes prophecies.

In answer to your question, the answer is YES, you can believe in God and not be a Christian (a follower of Jesus Christ):

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19
So it is not enough to believe in God to come into the saving knowledge of the LORD Jesus Christ. You must also trust him, rely on him and seek him while he may be found. In other words, give your heart and life to Him.

Answer 6

Well of course you can believe in God and not be Christian...although, just believing in God won't get you saved. Even though Christianity has strayed, you don't have to disconnect from it. You can be the Christian who lives up to what God has commanded us to do: love. There are Christians out there who do their best to love and follow God, you don't have to be known as those kind of "Christians."

Answer 7

Well the bible says, demons believe in God and tremble. So, yes you can certainly believe in God and not be a Christian. In that case you would simply be a "THEIST" as opposed to an "ATHEIST", one who doesn't believe in God.

As for rejecting Christianity, well, you need to distinguish between the inventions of men and true Christianity. Make knowing Christ your concern and not following traditions. You, yourself implied, that God had a purpose with Christianity (christianity has strayed far from where god intended for it to be), if you believe that, seek that purpose, and reject the corruptions of man.

Answer 8

Absolutely, I agree with your view that christianity has been misinterpreted. I believe in God and simply show it by appreciating what's around me and enjoying the small things in life. God/Jesus said above all else Love your neighbours as your self several times in the bible. As long as you believe in God though it doesn't really matter what you or anyone else calls your belief, christianity after all is just a label and a label says almost nothing about what it's describing. Actions are key, they go much farther than words.

Answer 9

No, being a Christian involves believing in the one true God. I somewhat agree with you that the church has strayed from what it originally was intended to be, however, no one is perfect because we live in a sinful world. What truly matters is not the church or how many times you attend, even though they are aspects, but your faith in the Lord.

Answer 10

Absolutely! I believe in God, was raised as a Christian, but no longer live as a Christian. I have rejected almost everything I was taught, and have a lot of the same feelings that you do on this subject. To me, there are so many rituals and traditions that are considered sacred or necessary as far as Christianity goes; I believe that all of that extra stuff only serves to distract from the most important concept of all: God Himself. People get so wrapped up in, "oh, I have to live a certain way, go to church every Sunday, point out the "flaws" in others in order to validate my own belief system..." it goes on and on. Baptist is about as frowny as they get....lol. That is what I was raised as, and I am proud that I fought my way out of that crazy labrynth of hypocritical splendor.