What is a real Christian?

Question

I mean. Their are different types of Christian. Catholic and Orthodox I will never understand.. They just seem to make silly rules, etc. I always thought, a true Christian was to live my Jesus's teachings and nothing more.. What is a true Christian? .

Answer 1

First a true christian never judges!!! But we will give advice if someone asks for it.. We will have conversations with people about Jesus if they want to hear it, and we well care and love thy neighbor as we do ourselves! We will honor and respect all people even if they seem different to you again we will honor, respect, and love thy neighbor as thy self..

Answer 2

To forget about the details of other churches for a moment.
A true Christian whatever ones roots, must
denounce wealth, for money is the root of all evil.
Be compassionate towards others, including strangers.
Must not bare false witness (Lie)
Must not kill, steal or commit adultery.
Must refrain from Gluttony and greed.
Must not be full of pride but be humble in ones words and status.
Must believe in a compassionate god and not the gods of vengeance "those who live by the sword shall die by the sword"
Must be brave and confront hatred and bigotry.
And if one believes in the Gnostic form of Christianity, one should have a personal experience and relationship with the Loving god, without need of priests or clergy.
So you are correct in your presumption that a Christian should follow only Jesus's teachings and no one else.
This then would excluded parts of the bible written by later Christians.
I personally greatly admire the teachings of Jesus, but I do so by only excepting the Gospels of Thomas, as these are his proverbs and sayings, even though the orthodoxy dismiss such early writings as heresy.
One aspect of these early writings is the statement, "The Christ within you", which I tend to see as a early Christian version of what Buddhists call ones Buddha nature.
So as Buddha promoted self-realisation of the nature of existence through personal experience, so it seems Jesus likewise supported such a spiritual practise.
It is only the later churches which afterall were seeking earthly power and riches, by controlling the minds, hearts,souls and purse strings of the poor citizens, designed the dogma and institutions by which they could enslave the people by way of practising their false authority.
Catholics and protestants have their roots more in politics of the middle ages than the wisdom of the kingdom of God.
Just honestly look at a lot of standard Christians today and you will only find Hypocrisy, (I say this not as a buddhist but as a normal everyday man who has suffered from the hands of so called Christians in my very own family), every Christian I have met have been wealthy, arrogant, intollerant, and judgemental towards others, yet to me they are the least Christian.

Answer 3

A Christian is a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ, just like you said....what muddies up the waters is when all the power hungry @$$-holes get involved and make rules for everything...you have to do this, you have to do that....blah blah blah. The real hitch of it, is that the ENTIRE religion is based on what someone else said about the guy...so who knows what kind of rules were made up in the very beginning? If you ask me, it's all a crock and waste of time, but to answer your question, a true "Christian" puts everyone else above himself, treats everyone as if they were his own mother (if you love your mother, anyway), and spends all day convincing other people to do the same, and to tell everyone that "god did it" when they do something nice. It means poverty, oppression, redicule....if it sucks, you name it, and it's there, lol. Supposedly doing all this makes not-a-bit of difference in whether or not you go to heaven....all you have to do is say your sorry for that, whether you did anything wrong or not, because no matter what, you did! (Stupid rules....hmmmmmm) In short, IF you want to waste your time....have at it....me, I'll just do what I know is right b/c it's the right thing to do, not b/c someone else said I should or did it 1st and I wanna be like 'im.

Answer 4

A real Christian is a person who does not tell every person they meet that they are a Christian. To me a Christian is someone who go out of there way to help others without expecting payment for it, a person who would not think twice of helping people in need. People who put their lifes on hold to help others, those who take in children who have no-one else to care about them and give them love and comfort. Unfortunately their are too many roaming the streets claiming to be Christians but do not act like a Christian should. :)

Answer 5

Can you imagine what life would be like without rules! it would be total chaos. Rules are in place for our benefit. Catholics have those "silly" rules as a guideline to get us to Heaven. I think its bad to assume we go to Heaven automatically. We need to live life a certain way much like Christ did. Catholicism was the original form of Christianity before any of these other denominations came to exist. That is good enough reason to believe it was this church that Jesus spoke of starting! We can trace it back directly to Paul (the first Pope). Priests were graced by God to make the right decisions and left them to interpret his teachings. That being said... I think anyone that tries to live life according to their conscience and tries to live like Christ is on the right path no matter what denomination they are. People who love and help out their fellow man are real Christians! Peace

Answer 6

There are different denominations within the christian community. The definition of a christian is a follower of Christ. Someone who has accepted Jesus as their savior (not on their parents following but their own personal relationship). They must confess with their mouth that He is Lord. They believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, died on the cross for the sins of the world, and was resurrected the third day. They believe Jesus is the son of God and the only way to heaven. Some will say they are christian but if they don't accept these truths they are cult and not christian.

Answer 7

We are all Christians if we actively try to live like Christ and follow his teachings. Its just that there are different organisations/Churches.
A good way of explaining it is as follows:

Taxi, Bike, Bus, Train, Plane,& Boat. They are all the same thing = Transport, just that they are all slightly differant. The same is for the differant type of churches, they all believe in God & Jesus so are Christian. Its up to you which Church suits you the best.

Answer 8

A true christian is one who practises and follows the teachings of the christ and is even prepared to sacrifice their own life for the benefit of fellow humans as christ is said to have done. Anyone else who claims to be one and doesn't follow the above is a 'wanna be'.

Answer 9

A true Christian is one who accepts Christ as his/her savior then follows His example. That may not always mean exactly what you think it should though. Jesus Christ Himself was a very controversial character in the Bible. He went to people outside of His own race & religion & saved them. He went to the Lepars who had been cast out of the city & healed them. He forgave the adulterous woman who the Priests were trying to stone & He saved her life. He overturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple. He was loved by many and He was hated by many. If we are called to be Christlike then we are bound to rock a few boats. But we are also to reach out to others in need & offer unconditional love & help. Many, many lose sight of this calling and choose rather to follow a church rather than to follow Christ.

Answer 10

A true Christian is a person who understands and love every person in their lives including their enemies just as how God loves us. Also they just simply follow and obey The Word not because they fear Him but because they simply love Him as their God!

Answer 11

your right on saying that true christians are to live with jesus' teachings and deeds...catholic,orthodox,protestant are but derivatives of the religion christianity...what is important is that these derivatives meet in common goal,i.e to share jesus to all who dont know him,

to be christian means you will show the love AGAPE..it is developed through constant works of goodness,of charity...

to be christian means you will consider only not only your personal good but also others'...you must reach out for others..you must sympathize and know their needs...try to be in other's shoes...

in general, to be a true christian is a continuous quest.. its a hard endeavor but it offers a bulky prize...(it is giving til it hurts)