Originally posted by: Codewiz
And what proof is required for someone to be called a Christian. Is there an organization that certifies people as Christians? Yeah I didn't think so. You may not like it but most of the people are Christians. They just have radically different views of Christianity than you do.
Actually, the Bible does say clearly who is a Christian, and how to tell true ones from people who just want to use his name. The books of Matthew and 1John would be enough to prove this, and there's plenty more besides. A Christian is somebody who obeys and imitates Christ. Even apart from the Bible, basic logic should suffice for that one. Christ did not act like this guitar guy, and the guitar guy did not act like Christ. It's just about that simple.
How can so many different views all be the same views? If one person commits adultery and one does not, one is being Christian and one is not. If one person is truthful and another lies all the time, one is being Christian and one is not. If one person scorns the Bible and another earnestly studies it, one is being Christian and one is not. Christ didn't believe black and white, up and down, liberal and conservative, ninja and pirate. He believed and taught what he believed and taught, and it is what it is, whether or not anyone understands, obeys, or likes it. Two people cannot have radically different views and both be having and obeying the same one other person's views and teachings. You're saying that somebody who has no idea what Christianity is or is about and is not willing to adjust his behavior or attitudes can just say "I'm a Christian" and make it so. Rubbish!
If people take his teachings and twist, trim, rearrange, misunderstand, or disobey them, they are not following his teachings but their own, and they are NOT CHRISTIANS (basic human imperfection aside). If you called yourself a Marxist but argued for a completely free market, people would know that you were not what you called yourself, even though I don't know of an official Marxist seal of approval society. It's not some leap of logic. It's more like, few people know the Bible or Christianity or want to, but talk about what it says and means anyway as if their personal opinions are binding on the subject. If someone says Jesus said all fags go to hell, it doesn't make it true, it doesn't mean He said it, and it doesn't mean that because someone mentioned Jesus they're a Christian.