LogFAQs > #892139070

Zero_Maniac posted...

Revelation34 posted...

Zero_Maniac posted...

I find it hard to call Protestants real Christians. Most denominations tend to really dumb down everything about the Faith. The way I see it, the real Christians are the Catholics and Orthodoxy. Of course, I'm biased.

All denominations are Christians by definition.

By an inadequate secular definition, sure. Look, if I call myself a Christian but then refuse to acknowledge parts of the Bible, can I still call myself a Christian? What if I refuse to acknowledge the Bible altogether? At some point, you can't truthfully call yourself a Christian. I know where I and the Catholic Church draw the line. Where do you?

The problem with the bible is that it's 2000+ years old. Anything that's that old is going to be out of touch with the realities of modern society, because today's society is very, very different from that of the ancient Middle East. That means it has to be interpreted through a modern lens, and some of that interpretation is going to end up concluding that parts of it are irrelevant, or would even be harmful to follow now. It's important to keep in mind the distinction between what's actually irrelevant/harmful and what's just hard to follow (most of the points Jesus made were meant to be difficult or contrary to how people would like to think), but I don't think disregarding bits after proper consideration should disqualify somebody from saying they're following Jesus.

Basically, it's a matter of emphasizing the spirit of the bible over the letter of it. Catholicism's insistence on following the letter at the expense of ignoring what Jesus was actually suggesting to improve the world was one of the bases for the Reformation, and later for Vatican II. Theological study exists because it's not practical to interpret ancient religious texts literally, so people need to consider and discuss what they mean and how to apply them to everyday life.

For the record, I do think there are a whole lot of people who call themselves Christians but ignore Christ's central teachings, and they definitely shouldn't be considered Christians. Opposing charity, for example, is flagrantly at odds with Christianity. Saying that somebody isn't Christian because they interpret relatively minor parts of the bible differently from you, though, is definitely not right.
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