What is a Christian?

OK, I have to get something off of my chest that drives me crazy. It is the constant use, by "Christians", of the Bible to prove why this or that is against God. If you are a "Christian" then you follow the teachings of Christ. Christ did not participate in the Old Testament. None of the teachings or "laws" of the OT came from him, and they were not meant for or directed to anyone other than the Jews. If you are a Jew and follow the teachings of the OT, fine. More power to ya!! If you are like me, just a regular old Gentile, then the only commandments you need to follow are the ones given by Christ in the New Testament. The OT does have some good guidelines to follow on how to live your life, but the laws and commands it contains were not given to anyone but the Israelites.

The commandments of Christ are fairly simple, yet very few "Christians" adhere to them at all. They are as follows:

John 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
John 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
BE HUMBLE; BE A SERVANT TO YOUR SERVANTS
--
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
LOVE EACH OTHER AS YOURSELVES, EVEN IF YOU MUST SACRIFICE YOUR OWN LIFE TO SAVE ANOTHER'S
---
Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire
Matthew 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Matthew 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
DO NOT BE ANGRY AT ANYONE WITHOUT REASON, DO NOT HOLD A GRUDGE, OR SPEAK ILL OF ANYONE
--
Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
KEEP A PURE HEART AND MIND; ADULTEROUS THOUGHTS ARE NO BETTER THAN ADULTEROUS ACTS
--
Matthew 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Matthew 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Matthew 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Matthew 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
DO NOT SWEAR BY HEAVEN, OR EARTH, OR GOD, OR YOUR OWN LIFE; SIMPLY ANSWER YES OR NO.
--
Matthew 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
DO NOT SEEK AN EYE FOR AN EYE; IF SOMEONE WRONGS YOU, FORGIVE THEM AND TURN THE OTHER CHEEK
--
Matthew 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also.
Matthew 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
ALWAYS BE WILLING TO GO THE EXTRA MILE; IF SOMEONE SUES YOU FOR YOUR SHIRT, GIVE HIM YOUR COAT AS WELL; IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO WALK A MILE WITH THEM, WALK TWO INSTEAD.
--
Matthew 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
BE GENEROUS TO ALL AND DO NOT REFUSE ANYTHING TO ANYONE WHO ASKS FOR IT
--
Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Matthew 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?
Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, DO GOOD TO, AND PRAY FOR, THOSE WHO HURT YOU(notice that it says pray FOR them, not for justice against them)
--
Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
DO NOT PRAY IN PUBLIC TO WIN THE ADMIRATION OF MEN; PRAY IN SECRET, MAKING GOD YOUR SOLE AUDIENCE AND GOD WILL REWARD YOU.
--
Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Matthew 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
DO NOT PRAY FANCY, RECITED PRAYERS. TO USE ELOQUENT WORDS ALONE IS POINTLESS; PRAY FROM YOUR HEART, FOR GOD ALREADY KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED
--
Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matthew 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Matthew 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly
WHEN YOU FAST, DO NOT ALLOW YOUR APPEARANCE TO SHOW IT, IN ORDER TO GAIN THE PRAISE OF MEN; BE WELL-KEMPT SO THAT ONLY GOD KNOWS YOU ARE FASTING
--
Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
DO NOT SEEK TO ACCUMULATE WEALTH ON EARTH; SEEK THE TREASURE OF THE SPIRIT INSTEAD. FOR WHATEVER YOU TREASURE MOST WILL HAVE POWER OVER YOUR MIND
--
Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Matthew 6:28 ...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Matthew 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith?
Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Matthew 6:32 ...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you
DO NOT FOCUS ON WHERE YOUR NEXT MEAL OR CLOTHES WILL COME FROM; IF YOU PUT YOUR FAITH IN GOD, GOD WILL PROVIDE THEM FOR YOU, JUST AS HE FEEDS THE BIRDS AND CLOTHES THE FLOWERS
--
Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.
DO NOT FOCUS ON WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW, IT WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF. THERE IS ENOUGH SUFFERING IN TODAY TO WORRY ABOUT.
--
John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Matthew 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye?
Matthew 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS, FOR THE STANDARDS YOU JUDGE BY, WILL ALSO BE USED TO JUDGE YOU.
UNTIL YOU ARE PERFECT, WORRY ABOUT CORRECTING YOUR OWN IMPERFECTIONS INSTEAD OF SOMEONE ELSE'S

These are the words of Jesus to his followers, and they are the way we are supposed to live.

A christian is all of those things you mentioned. Those teachings if lived by are the teachings
of perfection. Gods wants us to be like him in his ways and we will bepefected into his kingdom.


This is whaat hits me everytime Ihear that religion is to cotrl the masses, bt nooneput a gun to my head to believ and repent. people actually go to church becauase they
(want) to be perfected but sadly alot of peole never think of it this way.


A christian does not steal from the poor, a christian gives freely to the homeless, a christian when hated or yelled at feels no hate back or ill feelings towards the other person but prays for them aand forgives
them at will. Most of all a true christian sees every human creature as children of God, and puts there self in everybody elses shoes, and sees their journey and feels their whole life as if they have gone through what that person
has gone through and tries to look at people how God does seeing their every moment in life and wnting whats best for them.



(Love)


peace.

Didn't Jesus say I give you a new commandment, Love others as I have loved you?

Well, that to me would be christianity!

And I agree with the above posts!

Jezebel, your well thought & presented Post has authors only from the New Testament, there is no dispassionate accounting of words/ideas that this Jesus supposedly spoke.

also, your boldface type sounds almost like the
'Aquarian Gospel'...

yesterday (wed 4th feb) you provided an elaborate post on the question of Who is this man....and today What is this christian....

is there a pattern unfolding--->WHERE is the Christian Heaven...is that the next question to be addressed?

or is When......
or is Why......the next point,

arrange the 5 points(that you will reveal) as a 5 pointed star...invert IT--> revealing the Pentagram, & continue the discourse....OLE`

I like your Spunk (mr. grant to mary tyler moore)

enjoy the journey
~*~

I think i'm just going to start a new branch of christianity, it will be simple and only have the teachings of how to get into heaven not all of that other crap...like i really care about a guy getting swallowed by a whale...puh-leeze

Originally posted by TekNo88
I think i'm just going to start a new branch of christianity, it will be simple and only have the teachings of how to get into heaven not all of that other crap...like i really care about a guy getting swallowed by a whale...puh-leeze

Hay! Don't knock me!

Jonna [pronounced Joe-N-Hu]

BE GENEROUS TO ALL AND DO NOT REFUSE ANYTHING TO ANYONE WHO ASKS FOR IT

you should tell this to the robbers!

Originally posted by jezebel
If you are a "Christian" then you follow the teachings of Christ. Christ did not participate in the Old Testament. None of the teachings or "laws" of the OT came from him, and they were not meant for or directed to anyone other than the Jews.

study harder missy "Before Abraham was I am" he says. And Jesjuah is the Law of Mosche in flesh and blood. He says this himself. If you could believe it, Jesjuah is YHWH. Him who is the origin of the Law.

Blessings,
Mikromarius

The passages jezebel gave are from different parts of the NT, and so are these.



Matt 11:27 All power in heaven given to Jesus

Matt 12:8 Jesus says he is the lord of the sabbath

Matt 28:18 All powerin heaven to Jesus

Jude 1:5 Jesus brought his people out of Egypt

John 20:28 Timothy called Jesus his lord and God

John 21:17 My lord knows all things

Titus 2:13 God and saviour

Phillipians 2:5 Being God taking the form of a servant

Romans 9:5 Jesus over all things

Phillipians 2:10 Every knee in heaven bows to Jesus

Peter 2:22 He committed no sin ever

John 1:14 The word was made flesh

Micheas 5:2 Saviour from bethlehem

John 8:58 Before Abraham was made I am

John 9:37 It is thee (saviour) that talketh with me

Psalms 109:1 The lord said to my lord sit thou at my right hand

psalms 79:18 Sit thou at my right hand

John 3:16 Sent his only begotten son

John 17:5 Glory I had with the father before the world was made





This is just a few, and his name has been creatingmiracles ever since he lived on earth andI have witnessed them.




Peace.

Some reading of scholarly books written on Christian Ethics and Morals would answer alot of what is being considered here based solely on literal context given from passages of scripture.
I am sure that there are some to be readily found on the internet library's and free to read.



Also, please, how is this related to Conspiracies in Religion and Spiritualism?



regards
seekerof

[Edited on 5-2-2004 by Seekerof]

seeker of, I used to be on here two years ago when we ould talk freely about God, but its now reduced to a website BTS which hhas far less
posters, it just don't make any sense.


(conpiracy) is what people talk about here butat the end of the discussion these people are looking for he truth to these questions, so how an you explain something without your logical God given conscience and then it getting deleted because its
not conspiracy enough?



peaace.

The problem with conspiracy theory is that it tends to be technical and proof driven, thus removing humans from the very nature of the conspiracy itself- the unseen.

I will most certainly agree with some of what you mention Truth, but I am but the messenger and this was the message:

"Forum for Conspiracy Only"
www.abovetopsecret.com...

"This forum is intended for conspiracies in religion. If you have any theological or faith based questions please put your posts here. www.belowtopsecret.com...

All non conspiracy posts will be moved."


I merely re-raised the question on this thread.


regards
seekerof

ME:
That's part of,
"John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
LOVE EACH OTHER AS YOURSELVES, EVEN IF YOU MUST SACRIFICE YOUR OWN LIFE TO SAVE ANOTHER'S "

and yes I do think that this is the core of Christianity. If this is followed, I think almost every other commandment happens naturally.

riffraffalunas:
Very perceptive...Yes, I do think that both threads are closely related. I also believe that it is no coincidence that Jesus' teachings are the same as the teachings of other so-called "new age" teachings, such as the Hindu and Taoist beliefs. I believe that the words of Jesus are the Truth, as are the words of Buddha and Krishna. The details are different because they are from different cultures and they have all been misrepresented thru time by people who thought the Truth needed to be corrected or added to. I have not read the Aquarian gospels but my boyfriend said they are very similar. As for other points, I just sort of post what comes to me. I don't really have any set points, just beliefs that I feel may be of help or interest to others.

Hamilton:
I didn't claim that the Son of God, did not exist during the time of the old testament. I said that "Christ did not participate in the Old Testament. None of the teachings or "laws" of the OT came from him, and they were not meant for or directed to anyone other than the Jews." You don't believe that Jesus physically existed, as a manifestation of God, before Abraham do you?

Truth:
I believe that Jesus was the son of God, just as he says we are all gods and the sons of God. Jesus, however was a pure manifestation, and did not have the veil that separates us from our divine existence. Also, it is not the name of Jesus that has been creating miracles throughout the years, it has been people's belief that Jesus is God which has allowed for "miracles".

Seekerof:
I think that this qualifies as a religious conspiracy, because I was attempting to point out the misrepresentation and misleading by mainstream "Christianity" of Christ's teachings. For instance, the prevalent belief amongst Christians that Jesus supports the "eye for an eye" system of punishment, when he clearly states his opposition to it.
It could also be said anything related to religion is a conspiracy in and of itself.

"I think that this qualifies as a religious conspiracy, because I was attempting to point out the misrepresentation and misleading by mainstream "Christianity" of Christ's teachings. For instance, the prevalent belief amongst Christians that Jesus supports the "eye for an eye" system of punishment, when he clearly states his opposition to it.
It could also be said anything related to religion is a conspiracy in and of itself."


Jez....

I thank you sincerely for the clarification. Much appreciated. I merely raised the question and in doing so, I hope you understood.

As to this:
"It could also be said anything related to religion is a conspiracy in and of itself."

That may well be of some truth, but a "line" must be drawn, correct? In such, objective determination is made and sometimes applied, thus again, the question of clarification. Topic's can range far and wide in regards to religion, and because they do, the 'argument' that stipulates "religion is a conspiracy within itself" cannot be used as a saving fall back. A line must separate the reasoning for the two separate forums.

Thank you again Jez.


regards
seekerof

Notice he didn't say worship me I am your GOD!!!!!!!

As to this:
"It could also be said anything related to religion is a conspiracy in and of itself."

That may well be of some truth, but a "line" must be drawn, correct? In such, objective determination is made and sometimes applied, thus again, the question of clarification. Topic's can range far and wide in regards to religion, and because they do, the 'argument' that stipulates "religion is a conspiracy within itself" cannot be used as a saving fall back. A line must separate the reasoning for the two separate forums.

Thank you again Jez.


regards
seekerof
Yeah I know, I was just being a smart ass!:

Originally posted by jezebel
Hamilton:
I didn't claim that the Son of God, did not exist during the time of the old testament. I said that "Christ did not participate in the Old Testament. None of the teachings or "laws" of the OT came from him, and they were not meant for or directed to anyone other than the Jews." You don't believe that Jesus physically existed, as a manifestation of God, before Abraham do you?

Yes indeed I do. The Word is this universe. It is highly physical, and the first form God created, the first shape of God so to speek. If you had studied the Word, you would have notised that Jesjuah or YHWH is a shapeshifter. He is both Spirit and Matter, Word, Light, Energy. He is both everything and in everything. This universe is like his Body and his Spirit is like the Light.

Blessings,
Mikromarius

No one really is sin less exept Jesus Christ or God

Originally posted by Hamilton

Originally posted by jezebel
Hamilton:
I didn't claim that the Son of God, did not exist during the time of the old testament. I said that "Christ did not participate in the Old Testament. None of the teachings or "laws" of the OT came from him, and they were not meant for or directed to anyone other than the Jews." You don't believe that Jesus physically existed, as a manifestation of God, before Abraham do you?

Yes indeed I do. The Word is this universe. It is highly physical, and the first form God created, the first shape of God so to speek. If you had studied the Word, you would have notised that Jesjuah or YHWH is a shapeshifter. He is both Spirit and Matter, Word, Light, Energy. He is both everything and in everything. This universe is like his Body and his Spirit is like the Light.

Blessings,
Mikromarius

I meant do you believe Jesus existed as a physical human during the old testament? Jesus was the human embodiment of God. When he is not human, he is not Jesus, he is one with God as the Son of God. He is only referred to as Jesus when he exists in the flesh.