Gettin' In Tune

Before I begin my question I want to state two things:
1. I am ignorant (have little education in Christianity)
2. Can we please keep out biblical passages

My simplified version of a Christian is someone who believe in the existence of Jesus and his teachings.

Can one be a Christian and not believe or have doubt in god? After all isn't Jesus the son of God? Doesn't Christianity subscribe to a theology?

Is it possible to be a Christian and not subscribe to a diety? An-jel posted a thread on Christian-Agnosticism, but I can't reply with the intelligence I want to because I need a better understanding of Christianity. There seems to be a lot of Christians on this site with a wide spectrum of belief.

Is Christianity a faith based theology or is it just that you believe that Jesus existed and carried a 'moral' message or is it something in between?

Paul

Can't be done. Original "Christianity" began in the Bible. Followers of Christ were first called Christians in Antioch I think.

So many people claim to be Christians nowadays. There is really no universal definition. I believe I am a Christian because I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, asked for forgivness and repented of my sins. Everything else I do is on the side. Absolutely nothing else is involved in salvation (which I believe is what truely makes you a Christian).

duck

Sure it can be done. There are as many "levels" of belief as there are churches in a town.

Some only read the new testament. Some have their own bible. Some are folk who think Jesus never was the son of god, but was a prophet worth following. This goes all the way to the hard core fundamentalists that seek to convert the entire world. Some worship in a church, some on their own, and some outside a sanctuary with like minded people in an informal fellowship.

The truest definition is vague and hard to pin down.

Gettin' In Tune

If this is the case, then is it possible to be a "Christian" and not believe in "god"?

Yes, it is and worthy of a headeache

The An-Jel

No it is not possible to be a Christian and not believe in God. If you don;t believe in God you are an Atheist. If you have your doubts you are an Agnostic. If you believe in a God but not the preachings of a particular religion you are a Deist or Theist. A Christian believes in Christ and God, Catholics the same way. The dif is in Catholicism you can't get a divorce and be a true Catholic in Christianity (which Henry VIII created so he could quit killing his wives) you can get a divorce and still remain true to the Bible. All the rest of the Christian-like faiths fit inbetween.

__________________
"And let there be Light!" said the Blind man.

Life is simple, people make it complicated - Basilisk

Nulli Expugnabilis Hosti - Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Gettin' In Tune

I am going to play the devil's advocote (even if I do not subsribe to my own advocacy). I just want to streghten my understanding.

Why is it not possible to be a Christian and not subscribe to God? As I previously stated, the most simplified label of a Christian is someone who believed in Jesus. Does this belief in jesus automatically make one subscribe to 'god'?

milligal

Jesus ministry was based upon his teachings on god and the morality that came from that higher power. So if you believe in Jesus as a disciple would, it would follow that you would accept his teachings on the existence of god. If however, you are simply asking if you can believe in Jesus and not god, you can believe Jesus existed and was a good man, but not subscribe to his teachings and therefore not believe in god.

The An-Jel

That doesn't make you a Christian though.

__________________
"And let there be Light!" said the Blind man.

Life is simple, people make it complicated - Basilisk

Nulli Expugnabilis Hosti - Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Gettin' In Tune

Who are you talking to; me or milligal or both?

Why does "whatever you are talking about" not make you a Christian. You are not being clear An-jel.

I am just trying to understand.

Og

You do not need to believe in a literal god or that the acts of christ are literal in order to be a christian. I acknowledge christ's message and think it is a valid and powerful one. I do not take it literally (and no rational individual who can see beyond his nose does). Jesus' message is the same as that of the Buddha.

If you make the definition that Christians are those that express the nicean creed or the apostle's creed (i.e. "I believe in god the father allmighty, creator of heaven and earth.. etc") then you have that definition and a literal interpretation of the canonical texts is the only way to be a christian.. Furthermore, the recent declaration of the pope requires that you be catholic to be a true christian (all other churches are wrong).

A broader definition is someone who understands, interprets, and follows the recorded teachings of jesus christ in some way or another. That's all a christian is.

If you limit it to the above, you have to discard the obvious influences of the buddhist missionaries of ashoka and the archeological discoveries of mixed east/west cultures on the roman silk road and the identity between the christ story and the buddha story. You have to reject the coptic/gnostic texts found in 1948 at nag hamadi (some of which were written as short as 20 years after jesus' death as opposed to 50 or more). You also have to reject reason, observation, and all of modern science.

Literalism is stupid and shouldn't pigeon hole the ideas that Christ put forth. They have value and are powerful in a way just like the buddha's and others. They represent an infusion of cultures.

Anyway, I think that saying that being christian requires a belief in god in a literal sense is close minded and rejects a lot of important details of the history of the time period.

__________________
Vi veri veniversum vivus vici. (By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)
The self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships
You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
Become Who You Are