I believe that the odds are that there was a man called Jesus and that he was basically a good man. From what has been written about him by those who penned the gospels he advocated a lot of virtues that seem to sum up the best of humankind's attempts at an individual and social morality. I think the odds are also on a lot of post-Jesus theologising about his nature and his being Christ the Son of God!

I don't go in at all for the theologising and metaphysics, but I would like to be a bit more like Jesus than I am. He seems a good kind of role model.

Does this make me a Christian? My guess is that many many church members are christians of this type

"Those that recognise that the very character and attitudes of Jesus exactly express the very nature and character of God are followers of Christ." - Philo.

I have asked BOAZ, about the special chararcter of Jesus along the lines of the above, by referring to Jesus' humanity only and BOAZ wont answer me. What makes Jesus' humanity exceptional beyond, special, highly self-actualised individuals, of whom, history has provided many examples?

Thread,

I think a Christian might provide a definition along the lines of, "one who is righteously justified to God by the substitutionary ransom of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of human sin". Well, words to that effect.

In history's shadow, perhaps, one needs to consider Christianity's changing sands, the early Jesus house cult groups, Hellenised Christians under Pauline creed bridging Jews to Gentiles, the instituationalised Christian Church after Nicaea, the interpretations of Augustine, The Great Schicism and the Reformation. All these events created different kinds of Christians.
Herein, there have been dozens of transformations and configurations. Christianity has morphed several times and probably lost contact with its mission, after a few generations: Recalling too; the first Christians were not Christians, but Jews.

If memory serves, the expansion of Christianity West followed Jewish settlements [escaping Rome and population centres, where they were persecuted] and West Greek speaking Roman legions. Moreover,the period after the Jewish exile to Pella had a profound affect who was a Christian. One could not be a Jew and enter The Holy Lands.

Unlike the pagans [civil counrymen], early Christians, used codexes, not scrolls. [Checked backwards and forwards] They were very textual and scriptural. While Christianity inherited aspects of the mythological Roman Mystery cults, holy books seem to be at the cult's centre, rather than a secret. Again these Christians were quite Jewish.

What was a Christian changed around the time of the death of Edward [VI?]. Mary's Murder of Queen [Lady] Jane [Grey] was reliously very significant, and immediately latter, of course, Elizabeth I enthronement. Philip of Spain would have different [Catholic] views to Ellizabeth I, and a different relationship with the Pope.

Boaz,
'try to follow' is perhaps a bit less precise than 'follow' but I contend that 99.9% of humans could only try, our fallibility is to much a part of our natures to allow us to attain perfection.
We were designed to sin a little, else we'd all be hermaphroditic.

Ah..the ever burning question.
Those who aspire to become christians inevitably become christians, we have honest christians and dishonest ones, it all boils down to having a belief in something or someone to give us the individuals, time-out of our otherwise pretentious or boring lives, to give us a reason to carry on wheeling and dealing and yet for others to relate to, hide behind and of course, look down on others that are not christians. There is no way a christian can live up to the original beliefs in this day and age, not with its technology, not with its pressures, vulnerability and ever-increasing crime. In those days gone by, they could live up to the expectations of the big-guy, alas, this was not meant to be, this is why we have jerks preaching to us over the internet about something they themselves no nothing about.
If this story sounds a tad confusing, welcome to the real world and shake hands with what we all feel as humans to be doing the right thing, just plainly fighting to stay alive in an unjust society that aparently was supposed to do things by the book. Amen.

Boazy: "35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, while travelling with Jesus, asked to sit at his right&left hand in his GLORY.(too heavenly minded to be of earthly use)
In other words... the old 'flesh' raises its ugly head, and we are prone to following it. I realize you said "Try" to follow.... but in your statement there is the admission (and my confession) that we don't succeed.

So, if we cannot attain moral perfection in line with our Lords words and example.. how can we expect to stand flawless in the presense of a Holy God in who's presense sin cannot dwell?

Aah.. THAT is the most important question in the universe. It also leads to why Paul said in 1 Cor 15 "I passed on as of first importance that which I also received...that Christ died for our sins" and so on.

Salvation is a free gift of God for those who have faith... in Christ.

Being born again, is being born into Christ. That...is the absolute key.
Jesus said "Without me, you can do nothing" and he is right. (in the salvation sense)

Repent....and Believe (In Christ, as Saviour and Lord). Inseparable elements of the glorious Gospel."

Sometimes one can only marvel at the sheer, wondrous lunacy of Boazy in full flight. Who knows what such incantations actually mean - but I suspect that's a secondary consideration to the missionary mind.

So we're all supposed to "repent" (because) "we cannot attain moral perfection in line with our Lords words and example"?

And you wonder why most of us aren't practising Christians? Get a life.

And I say amen to that, Rev Morgan! The only thing is, there are way too many explanations and written in so many different ways, translated from a dead language and transcribed by someone who could hardly speak english back in the good ol' days. It strikes me funny that some issues appear in the good book, that have only recently happened or someone will pick up on a portion in the bible that only looks similar to a recent occurance and then shout "hallelujah" the lord has spoken!...er whaaa?
If we had to directly translate word for word what was actually written in the scrolls, we would have all gone to hell by now.