Do you really have to believe Jesus is God to be a Christian?

[MrsSmith]

Nikki Stone1 (1000+ posts)     Tue Oct-06-09 04:16 PM
Original message
 
Do you really have to believe Jesus is God to be a Christian?
 This decision on Jesus' divinity was a compromise reached in the 4th century at the Council of Nicaea:



The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements arising from within the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was the literal son of God or was he a figurative son, like the other "sons of God" in the Bible. St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arian controversy comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly (of the estimated 250–318 attendees, all but two voted against Arius<5>).



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea

Obviously, this means that there were decent people who called themselves followers of Christ who understood the phrase "son of God" very differently from others. The fact that the council decided on the divinity of Jesus (and also his corporality; the Catholic church always insisted on both) does not detract from the fact that for over 300 years there were Christians who thought that Christianity was following the ways of Christ, not worshipping him as a God.

Sometimes I wonder which Jesus himself would prefer: those who worship him as a god but leave people hungry, or those that think he was an inspired, spiritual man, like Buddah, but who give to the poor, fight injustice, and (as Paul used to say) "remember the widows and orphans."
 

 

Given what we know about liberal giving, I found this statement hilarious.  But that wasn't all...

Do you really have to believe Jesus is God to be a Christian?
 This decision on Jesus' divinity was a compromise

of the estimated 250–318 attendees, all but two voted against Arius

COMPROMISE??    2 against 248, or 316??  That's a compromise???     No wonder the DUmmies just can't get it when they lose a vote...2 to 250 is a COMPROMISE.

[franksolich]

I think the nicked stoned primitive is shooting to become a PoP.

But not to worry; the nicked stoned primitive's been a PoP for a while now, and so now she doesn't have to try so hard to be stupid, as she's already in.

[The Village Idiot]

If you do not hold Jesus as your lord and savior, Christ, then please do not call yourself a Christian.

[Airwolf]

This is what happenes when idiots try and think.

[GOBUCKS]

If you study what Jesus Christ said, what he told us about the way to salvation, and what he
told us about himself, there can be no middle ground. If you do not believe him to be the Son of God,
the Redeemer of our sins, and the only Savior of mankind, then you must regard him as a fraud, a liar,
and a charlatan.

He intentionally left us with no alternative. Many people who reject him are uncomfortable with that truth.

[AllosaursRus]

I've had this conversation a few times. It seems the overall concensus is God and our Savior are one in the same. At least that's what I can get out of it. Jesus was God in a form we could recognize.

[Vagabond]

The definition of christian is one who accepts that Jesus is his Lord and savior.  Anything else is not Christian.  Thanks for playing, dummies.