CHRISTIAN, n.
1. A believer in the religion of Christ.
2. A professor of his belief in the religion of Christ.
3. A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety.
( Most common applied definition in 1st century)
4. In a general sense, the word Christians includes all who are born in a Christian country or of Christian parents.
(Most commonly applied definition in our day)
CHRISTIAN, a. See
the Noun.
1. Pertaining to Christ, taught by him, or received from him; as the Christian religion; Christian doctrines.
2. Professing the religion of Christ; as a Christian friend.
3. Belonging to the religion of Christ; relating to Christ, or to his doctrines, precepts and example; as Christian profession and practice.
4. Pertaining to the church; ecclesiastical; as courts Christian.
CHRISTIAN, v.t. To baptize.
Definition from Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828.
Acts 11:26. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people.
And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Why did they call them Christian? Simple. Because they emulated Christ. They gave their lives totally over to do the will, and follow as closely as possible the teachings of Jesus and other people saw it and associated them with Christ. His life and His teaching where all that mattered to them. Many gave up material possessions and many also gave their very blood. Often tortured, imprisoned, and likely as not killed for the cause of Christ. This was the Christian of the 1st century. Now let us move to the present day. Definition 3 pretty much says it in a nutshell. Any one that wants to call themselves Christian in this day and time is perfectly ok with the modern mindset. It matters not what they do in their everyday life or the Doctrine they prescribe to, all you have to do is claim the title of Christian and everything is hunky dory.
It matters not that many claim a women has a right to choose, never considering the fact that in more than 98% of abortions ( yes less than 2 % of abortions have anything to do with rape, incest, or long term health issues of the mother), the choice was made as to whether or not to engage in behavior that could result in a pregnancy. It is just a convenient form of birth control and over 50 million babies have been slaughtered in their mothers womb in the name of 'choice' since Roe vs Wade in the U.S. alone.
It matters not that the Bible speaks strongly against homosexuality, it's not their fault, they're born that way, or so they say.
It matters not that leaders of all levels are routinely caught lying ( even under oath which is perjury), driving drunk, involved in scandals, adulteress relationships (some of which are homosexual), taking bribes and we're a "Christian" nation?!?!?
Let us look at the Presidential primary race on the Republican side. I'm not going to argue the Christian or not doctrines of the various candidates. For the sake of this article, let's assume that all the candidates where Biblical Christians. Let us look at what this nation was founded on and the principals that brought it to being the greatest nation in the history of mankind. Like it or not it was the Bible and men that firmly believed in and practiced the principals of it's teaching. Many where strong advocates of God's Word. George Washington's first desire was to be a preacher, not a president. We need a leader that put God first in his life. someone that clearly understands that if you put God first, really and truly first, then God will lead you in the right direction. God gave us a clear choice this time around and we as a nation have once again shown our true nature and colors. It is evident from the results that many people put their trust in their own human reasoning instead of putting a man that has devoted his life to God in the White House. Many say that being a Pastor is the reason they gave for not supporting Pastor Huckabee. Others claim that we need to keep Government and Religion separate and that Pastor Huckabee was just to deeply involved in his faith to be open minded. Is Pastor Huckabee perfect? No. Is he as politically savvy as some of the others? No. Is he uniquely qualified? Yes. Anyone that knows what a true man of God, a Pastor really is, knows that they have a quality that others do not possess. Personally I feel that God allowed Pastor Huckabee to run and stay in as far as he did to give Christians someone to actually vote for. I also believe it was a national test to give us (America) one last chance to do the right thing. We blew it. God bless America? God has no choice but to judge America.