When non-believers ask in R&S what Christians believe, how do we know that we are talking to TRUE Christians?

Answer 1

They're standing in line next to the true scotsmen, of course ;)

Answer 2

We don't. When someone purports to be a Christian, yet writes an especially naive question, I often suspect it's a non-Christian trying to make Christians appear stupid. This is not a Christian forum. We need to keep in mind that some discussions are better kept between new believers and more experienced believers. There are a lot of people who are hostile to Christianity on this site who will use anything they can find to make Christians look foolish.

Answer 3

Well, that's one of the BIG problems with Yahoo Answers. And it's not JUST in R&S! I mean, someone asks, "What do you do for a bad burn?" and you get answers that are ALL OVER THE MAP!

1. Put ice on it
2. Run hot water over it, it'll kill the germs
3. Rub butter on it
4. Wrap it in gauze

Etc.

JUST as here we see good and bad answers, you will see them in R&S too. How do you know which is which? Well ... sometimes it takes the gift of wisdom and insight. If you are a non-believer then it's hard to pray for help from God, but ... how else to separate liars and lunatics from those who speak the truth? People get conned EVERYDAY! It's because a good lie IS so believable. What can I say? Without knowing and without praying, the unbeliever AND to a degree even the believer is vulnerable to liars and charlatans.

Answer 4

I'm confused by the second half of the question. Who exactly is "we"? I'm guessing you might mean how do non-believers know if who's answering the question is really a Christian.

Christians believe in the divinity of Jesus and in the Resurrection. Everything else is, as I'm sure you know, all over the map.

Answer 5

Degrees of being christian?

Being christian (Atheist, muslim, or of any other group) doesn't come in degrees..

Saying someone is a "true" whatever is like saying someone is a little bit pregnant.. Either you are or you aren't ...

If someone claiming to be a christian makes a statement in the name of christianity it's simply that a christian making a statement whether or not all christians agree with the statement is another matter..

Answer 6

Jesus said "You will know them by their fruit. A good tree will not bear bad fruit."
If you see a Christian on here calling other Christians names and using disrespectful language because they are in disagreement with the other, I would doubt their genuine commitment to Christ.
1 John 3:10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the Devil. Anyone who does not obey God's commands and does not love other Christians does not belong to God.
James 2:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

Answer 7

That is a very valid question. With so many denominations it is probably very had for non-believers to know who is telling the truth. My advice would be to seek out answers that use scriptural references and then to follow up by reading the verses and possibly the entire passage that was referenced in order to see it in context.

A good free resource to do that is http://www.biblegateway.com
It has a quick passage look up and you can even look at different translations to find a translation you can understand. (I prefer NIV.)

Beware of people that use the Bible to condemn other Christians like Adviat0

Answer 8

Indeed, how do we know who we are talking to at all?

I have no doubt that many of the replies of "Christians", and no doubt other pseudonyms as well have been the response of the very ones who hate Christianity and wish only to cast aspersions on it.
This should be of no surprise, as many hold the philosophy that life is a big unknowable joke, so to lie and deceive is of little real consequence.

Bob Dylan said:
"There are many here among us,
who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that,
and this is not our fate;
so let us stop talking falsely now,
the hour's getting late."
(from "all Along the Watchtower")

Answer 9

A true Christian always talks alot about Jesus. After all, he's the one who died on a cross for all our sins. A true Christian usually comes across as a very conservative person, slow to anger, and usually tells you that Jesus loves YOU. In the Bible look up John 3:16.

Answer 10

You don't, really, although you can check out their answers and their questions for consistency. But that's what's so good about getting answers from a lot of different people. You can sort through them for a sense of consensus, or for that which provides the most documentation, or whatever criteria you wish to apply.

Answer 11

I think true christians are people who let me believe in what I want to believe...which is nothing.