Can Christians reject Christianity?

[McCulloch]

I myself reject Christianity while I still claim myself to be a Christian.

Is this possible? Can a Christian reject Christianity? Do words have meaning?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by McCulloch]

I don't think a Christian can reject "christianity" but that would depend on what the individual means. I would say personally as one of Jehovah's Witnesses I reject what I believe to be "false Christianity" or "apostate christianity" that is the form of Christianity that emerged in the second century departed from the system of teaching Jesus instituted as recorded in the gospels (by first century disciples of that one).

[Monta]

I myself reject Christianity while I still claim myself to be a Christian.

Is this possible? Can a Christian reject Christianity? Do words have meaning?

We'd be lost if the words did not have meaning.
You can not claim to be a Christian at the same time reject it.

[marco]

[quote="McCulloch"]


Christianity is one of the multiple offshoots of the teaching of Paul who used Christ as a starting point on which to build a new religion. Very loosely Christianity is based on things Jesus is alleged to have taught, edited by Paul.

To be a Christian it is important to believe in what Paul has taught and, to a lesser extent, what Christ preached. Someone claiming to do this is a Christian. There isn't a good way of differentiating the multiple beliefs that make a Christian a Christian so if somebody on the number nine bus says he's a Christian, he's a Christian. Had he said it in Rome a couple of thousand years earlier he'd be a dead Christian.

[tam]

Peace to you!

I myself reject Christianity while I still claim myself to be a Christian.

Is this possible? Can a Christian reject Christianity? Do words have meaning?

Assuming that the poster meant Christendom (organized/institutionalized religion; all the various sects and denominations, ie, daughters), then yes, absolutely!


We were not told to follow a religion; to listen to a religion; to obey a religion. NO religion is the truth; ie, there is NO true religion.


There is only Truth: Christ.


He is the One we are told to follow; to listen to; to obey. HE is the ONE mediator between man and God. There is no other mediator (such as a religion) for us to go through. Only Christ.



**

He did not set up a new religion and neither did He promote an old religion.

“Sir,� the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.�

“Woman,� [Jesus] replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in Truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.


**

Christ is Himself the Rock, upon which He will build His Church (made of people)... using the faith that Peter showed, when God revealed to Peter that Jaheshua was the Messiah.




Peace to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy

[liamconnor]

[Replying to post 1 by McCulloch]

I think some people mean by 'Christian' nothing more than its ethical content; which itself is greatly reduced to being kind to one another. Thus to reject Christianity may entail rejecting the supernatural content, while retaining examples for behavior, like Christ's self-sacrifice.

I think this is very unhelpful nomenclature. Why not say "I remain a humanitarian, or philanthropist" or simply "I believe in love and kindness" or "I think Jesus was a great moral teacher"?

[dio9]

[Replying to post 1 by McCulloch]

I don't know how we can reject Christianity. Check your history Christianity is the ethics and values the foundation of western civilization. Our culture, western civilization , our way of thinking theologizing and philosophizing is Christianity. We are all of us who embrace western civilizatio are christian. Whether we know it or not. We can evolve our thought toward embracing the east but at the root we are still Christian. The only thing we need to watch out for in our expanding religious consciousness is making eastern thought western thought. . We may be open to eastern thought or atheism but we can never completely leave Christianity. That is who we are.

[marco]

Why not say "I remain a humanitarian, or philanthropist" or simply "I believe in love and kindness" or "I think Jesus was a great moral teacher"?

This, Liam, is one of the best and most interesting suggestions you've made. What a world we'd have if everyone complied. But alas, God gets in the way, and folk get killed.

[Clownboat]

I myself reject Christianity while I still claim myself to be a Christian.

Is this possible? Can a Christian reject Christianity? Do words have meaning?

Depends on how he is using the word 'Christian'.

Perhaps he is talking about not eating meat when he uses the word Christian? So he could be saying he doesn't eat meat, but he does eat fish.

We could refer to a dictionary, but to do so, according to him is to worship.

For example:
JP Cusick: "It is worship of a dictionary when you view it and preach it as infallible and literal. "

Preaching that a dictionary is infallible!... The way he uses words truly confuses me.

[JP Cusick]

I myself reject Christianity while I still claim myself to be a Christian.

Is this possible? Can a Christian reject Christianity? Do words have meaning?

Christianity means the entire company of people.

Christian means one person - me myself and I.

But for the record, the name Christian is not set in stone (nor set in a dictionary).

The word "Christian" (Christos) in the Bible was what people called the followers of Christ as Christians (first in Antioch) but it was not meant as a nice name, and the followers of Christ did not like that name calling, and it was Peter who said not to resist that name as it is better that than to be called an evil doer. See 1 Peter 4:14-16