Terry

I talked to someone on a web board who said: "Nevertheless I'm a Christian." I asked, what he means by saying so. He said: " Well I do believe there's a supernatural entity and Jesus lived 2000 years ago."
Then I asked him: "Do you really believe Jesus is god, means: part of the trinity? And do you believe he was physically God's son not by a human father?"
Well he didn't answer that, and I think he fears I'm a fundamental member of some christian sect catching new members. ME! :banghead: :rolling:

Meanwhile I think he used the word 'christian' as a synonym for good guy/civilized man. When I talked about this with my daughter (studying linguistics) she also meant, since middle age in our western, christian dominated civilisation there happened a semantic extension of meaning of the word 'christ' just in that direction (christ = good human) - at least it seems so, because we know another person, that used it the same way. And even my friend thinks "christ" can be understood: being a person with good intention and respect to others.

Has someone here noticed something similar, someone who calls himself "christ" in that inconsiderate, unreflected way?

Gurdur

{ Note: when Terry uses the word "christ" above, Terry means "Christian", not Christ himself }

Yes, the word "christian" has undertaken a whole raft of new and other meanings dúring 1,500 years;
"To do your Christian duty to help the poor" = to help the poor
etc.;

then there's the more interesting and more hidden meaning of "christian" as reflecting a humanitarianism, implicitly at odds with other reigning POV's such as nihilism or pure short-sighted self-interest.

Godless Wonder

Funny, when I hear someone say "well, I'm a christian, and blah blah... " it definitely puts me on alert for stupid utterances immediately forthcoming and they do seem to immediately follow often enough that "I'm a Christian, and...." seems to me to be, a pretty good indicator that means "What I'm going to say next is going to be retarded..."

Reading old books from the Treasure Island, Sherlock Holmes, or Robinson Crusoe timeframes, I get the sense that the word "Christian" was often used very much like what you describe, although I also sensed that in those sorts of books and in the cultures they describe there was the submerged assumption that all generally good people were necessarily believers in the Bible. I got the sense that the assumption was so completely submerged that the secondary characteristics attributed to Christians, e.g. their supposed decent behavior, rather than their defining characteristics -- their beliefs, became the primary message conveyed by the word at least in certain contexts.

Terry

I just came back to make that clear!!!!
Sorry I was a bit in a hurry (I had just finished my text, when someone called my name and wanted help - there's always someone who wants something of me at my house then I made a false click and deleted all :banghead: )
After writing again I went to town and THERE I noticed my mistake :Cheeky: (silly feeling that )

Gurdur

Sorry. Just trying to be helpful.

socratoad

I have turned off soooooooooo many pompous people over the years for when without context or being asked someone proclaims to me that they are a "Christian" .......Automatically my response is, "According to whom?"

If they pursue their folly I say, "Not by your words but by your deeds shall ye be known." And then I leave them to stew or even ponder, if they are capable.

Caution: do not try this if a wide circle of friends is your priority.

And no I did not pull wings off of flies for amusement as a child. :Cheeky:

Worldtraveller

Heh, I need to stop reading these threads during lunch. You almost made me spew soda all over my monitor with that one... :rolling:

I think you summed up my ovservations as well...I always take it as a warning that this person is about to say something completely off the wall and, well, yeah, retarded.

Cheers,
Lane

Godless Wonder

Sort of interesting to do a google search for the exact phrase "Well, I'm a Christian and."

Gooch's dad

Definitely not a Misc Discussion topic, since it is supposed to be secular topics. GRD, maybe?

Gooch's dad, Misc Discussions moderator

Soul Invictus

I don't give creedance when someone appeals to the faulty analogy of Christian=good. If someone mentions to me about trying to do the Christian thing, I process it as a non-statement. The term "Christian" holds no inherent or exclusive ownership over morality,goodness, or "right" action, thus I treat it as such.