Why do people with vastly different beliefs all call themselves christians?

Question

Admit it -- you've probably got more than one type in your church:

Type 1: Believe they can safely drink a bottle of cyanide while wearing a rattlesnake around their necks
Type 2: Smile politely at Type 1 while edging away from them
Type 3: Think the 1s are nuts and the 2s are pansies

And on and on, you get my point. So why do they all profess the same religion?

Answer 1

Because, they all believe in Christ. That is the ONLY requirement to call oneself a Christian.

There are many types of hedonists, Pagans, Muslims, atheists, racists, homosexuals, etc. There is a great variety in any broad group, and Christianity is a broad group. You'll find less variety in a more specific group, such as "Dutch Reformed Christians". The less specific you get, the more variety you get.

Answer 2

LOL!!! I'm type 2!

It's because everyone is an individual, and people can agree on overall large points while strenuously disagreeing about the details.

In fact, early Christianity had a multitude of sects and splinter groups--basically, each apostle headed up his own version of Christianity, and then there were groups whose beliefs were influenced by Greek philosophy and other influences. It was a big melting pot.

Constantine convened the Council of Nicea in AD 325 to try to make Christianity more uniform, because he had just converted and couldn't figure out what the heck calling oneself Christian meant, because there were so many sects. That's how Catholicism came about. The word means 'universal.'

Had that not happened, we might still have today an immense number of Christian sects--in fact, we do, but since they all use some form of the Nicean Creed, that helps them stay somewhat consistent, despite their differences.

Answer 3

The problem is not Christians having their own religion, or is not in the happy ending of nice parts of a theology. The problem is that, Christianity has a lot of false (unsubstantiated) accusations in their own bibles, against others who even honestly dont agree with their "New" supposed sin doctrines...and theories..... Yes Christians have an axe to grind !..., with what amounts to a false accusing doctrine that has always been in place, ..... trying to always accuse others as being sinners,(a hypocrisey tactic used to endorse a reason for claiming a new docterine). People have a G-d given right to NOT TO AGREE with what amounts to mere opinions, or unsubstanciation........How can G-d fault anyone for NOT "Believing" in something that has not been proven be "true" or a "fact"... especially if such ideas are *ALSO* contradictory, in a bible with Unknown Authors ! ??? .....Some Christians wont see the accusing flaw...they are so tied up in promoting sin docterines , and the happy ever after story, that they refuse to take any Possible correction even if it would be beneficial for mankind under G-d. A lot of Christians will just conveniently Deny Logic and the Overwhelming creadability of other Biblical posibilities, shown to them .....all the while Judgeing someone who is only being Logical (To Choose Good, with facts) as some type of an evil act of selfishness!?!? The reason why a lot of Christians are becoming Non- Christians is because of the availabilty of facts and debate on the internet...(freedom of information) , and creadable information outweighs an unsubstanciated Veneer, as well as some Christians are *beginning* to realise that G-d does not forbid **Proof-for-TRUTH** when it comes to cliams, or Prophets. unity0151.

Answer 4

You tend to get it in all major religions.

It's exactly the same as 'Hinduism', Islam, and all the others; different ideas about God, the nature of the soul, practices, diet, dress, etc., all grouped nicely under the same banner.

I think it's just down to convenience, really. People like to label other people, and if you share a similar view as someone else it's easier for someone else who isn't familiar with what you believe in to wrap it all up in a nice little package, otherwise we'd have even more religions and ideas than we do now.

Think of the mess!
:)

ॐ †

Answer 5

Religious pluralism ( the belief that ALL religions are essentially the truth and reflect the nature of God to some degree) is the culprit behind most, if not all, the lunacy going on in religion for the last, oh, - 1,000 years or so. True Christian religion and its customs and traditions should flow from truth- they should never attempt to determine truth by their own merits.

Answer 6

Maybe they're not even worshiping the same God, just using the same name? They are all Christians, because they base their beliefs on the teachings of Christ -- but they come to such a different understanding of who God is, that they are practicing different religions under the same name. And perhaps it is a different God that hears their prayers?

Answer 7

Because every person is different. It isn't a case of one size fits all.

It is apparent that many people who post and answer questions here, have their own view about Christianity but find it difficult to accept that sincere Christians have other views. For example if I thought that God was as he/she was portrayed by aethists in the questions, I don't think I would be a Christian. :-)

Answer 8

Because the foundation of their beliefs is still Jesus Christ and his teachings.

Even with a solid foundation, some people get ideas that seem strange to the majority. I like to say that all people are mentally ill -- just in different ways. What's important is what we do with the light we're given.

Answer 9

Not only that, but claim to be the majority. The largest group that shares the same beliefs probably only make up about 1% of the earth.

Answer 10

I think it's like political parties. Even in my own family. I've got the ones who are raving Republicans because that's the only party that "loves fetuses" and is God's Own Party. Then theres the ones who are rabid Republicans because they love money, golfing and are loathe to share any of their wealth. And then there are the conspiricy theorist Republicans who will vote for anyone who allows them to keep a few dozen guns around the house.

Now insert "Jesus" for Republican and ... voila!