Are Unitarians Christians?

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Some Unitarians do not even believe in a personal God.

The real question is not if Unitarians can be called Christians, but if they can be called Theists.

FWIW, they are NOT members of either the National or World Councils of Churches.
 
No.
To be a Christian implies the belief in Christ as the son of God and a follower of His.
Wiccans can be unitarians. Agnostics, aetheists, etc gather at unitarian services.
 
Robbinson said:
Romans 10:11

"That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. "
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Nowhere in the bible is the word “personal”. It comes from Luther who conjured up the word in 1517.
 
Jonathan, the Apostles’ Creed is not Unitarian, since it proclaims belief in the Trinity.

If the Unitarians have a creed, it is “Under the sky, all men are one family.” I should know, I was raised in that church.

I will say that they can call themselves Christian, since one definition is “following the teachings of Christ,” and they do follow the “golden rule.”

Ruthie
 
Ruthie;:
the Apostles’ Creed is not Unitarian, since it proclaims belief in the Trinity.
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a) There are branches of Unitarian Christianity that are outside of the Unitarian Universalist Church;

b) The Apostle’s Creed can be interpreted as either Trinitarian, or Unitarian, or Non-Trinitarian. When a mindset is fixated on only one possible interpretation, it can be hard to see the others, much less understand the logical and rational basis of those other interpretations.

xan

jonathon
 
Feedmysheep said:
No, I don’t trust it as any sort of credible source, I was simply citing it as another place that referred to Unitarians as Christians.

Is there any sort of governing body for the Unitarians? Does it refer to itself as Christian?
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I don’t think that UU’s are Christian in the usual sense of the word.

The “Unitarian” name is derived from the fact that the original ones from about the 16th c in central Europe denied the divinity of jJesus and the existence of the Trinity.(I maintain that the vast majority of Protestants don’t believe that Jesus is God, except that “we are all–{part of}–God”)–but anyway–

Unitarians united with the Universalists, who believed in universal salvation, something that most mainstream Prots and I suspect most Catholics also believe in, as most don’t believe in hell-- and are now known as “UU’s” for short. I was active, now inactive in UU, so I can speak for them.

UU’s believe that there is some truth in all religions, and that you should study them and make up your own mind about your own beliefs. This is what most people do anyway, I have found.

–but the most important function of UU is to provide a social and philanthropic outlet for like-minded individuals, who are usually politically and socially liberal. UU churches have had women ministers since the 19th c. and welcome gays. They do tend to be white, well-educated and relatively affluent, and unfortunately have not attracted very few African-Americans. UU, like its cousins the Quakers ,actively support their charities and have influence much greater than their numbers.
 
jblake said:
When a mindset is fixated on only one possible interpretation, it can be hard to see the others, much less understand the logical and rational basis of those other interpretations.
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Quoted for Truth.
 
jblake said:
a) There are branches of Unitarian Christianity that are outside of the Unitarian Universalist Church;

b) The Apostle’s Creed can be interpreted as either Trinitarian, or Unitarian, or Non-Trinitarian. When a mindset is fixated on only one possible interpretation, it can be hard to see the others, much less understand the logical and rational basis of those other interpretations.

xan

jonathon
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I don’t think that they are outside the UU faith, which includes aspects of all religions.

They may worship separately or in addition to their parent UU congregation.

Here’s a website about them:

uuchristian.org/S_Who2.html

–but from reading it, I’m pretty sure that they aren’t Trinitarians.
 
elvisman said:
**Robbinson **-
I say this will all due respect and with no animosity - really.
But, whenever I hear somebody say, “I think” or “I feel” they are expressing an opinion - not a doctrine.

First of all, the Catholic Church leaves unbaptized children to God’s mercy, making no guarantees that they are in heaven. It is hard to imagine that an innocent baby wouldn’t go to heaven but I have debated Protestants on this forum who argued that infants can and DO sin! This is contrary to Catholic belief.

**The bible speaks of water Baptism **as being necessary for salvation (John 3:5, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38).
Can you show me where it says you must accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior or the part about baptism in the Spirit saving you?

Peace.
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I know I’m not who your question was directed at but I feel as though your question does deserve answering. Romans 10: 8-13 says this, a direct quote from Bible Gateway…

8But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,"that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Therefore Jesus must be your personal savior in order to be saved. As for your ridiculous claim that to be saved you must be baptized in the spirit, it’s fairly evident you have not read the new testament recently.

Acts 2:37-39

37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

There is no formula for being baptized, there’s no formula for salvation. That’s all dogma, and as my screen name suggests, I detest it. God has called us to have a personal relationship with Him, not to jump through certain man made hoops to gain our salvation. We don’t have to blink three times while spinning in circles singing Kumbaya to be saved anymore than we should depend on a RELIGION rather than a RELATIONSHIP with Him to save us. As for the claim that any protestant would debate you on whether or not infants would go to hell, you need to realize the ridiculous nature of that comment. All protestants, as I’m well sure that catholics do, believe that there is an age of accountability. which I would post my Biblical foundation for but I feel this post is already far too long.

Look down your nose if you’d like at the speck in my eye and in the eye of the guy your tried to rip up, but watch out for the beam stuck in yours.
 
No they are not Christians, they do not believe in the trinity or deity of Christ and twist the bible for their justification. In my view Unitarians are pretty much the same as Muslims in that respect
 
Here’s one I pass on the way home everyday: bruu.org/ Very odd.

I always wonder what congregation occupied the building before them?
 
No they are not Christian but they do have a residual Christian outlook in regards to charity.

I think they have one foot in the materialist atheist camp, generally accepting their view of scientific materialism and one foot in the Christian Church camp regarding their view charity and fellowship.

I’m sure God loves them and like others, they can be close to God also.
 
CatholicFireman said:
Here’s one I pass on the way home everyday: bruu.org/ Very odd.

I always wonder what congregation occupied the building before them?
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Hi! I seem to recall that an African Methodist Episcopal congregation occupied this building right before the UUs moved in a few years ago…
 
Siegfried said:
Hi! I seem to recall that an African Methodist Episcopal congregation occupied this building right before the UUs moved in a few years ago…
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Really? Wow. I would like to know the history of the building. It was built in 1939 I think. Olde Town sure has a lot of churches. One’s a tapas restaurant now.😦
 
Well…I think you’d need to ask the Unitarian if he or she is a Christian or not. By many of the examples given…I am not a Christian…I have never been ritually baptized in water…but I do believe that the Light of the World is found in Jesus of Nazareth. He is the “Word made flesh”…He is “God with us”…I do not use creedal statements to gauge any one’s faith…I look at their lives and how they reflect the Light Within through their daily lives and by their own confession…“I am a Christian”…or “I am not a Christian”.

I don’t think I am qualified to determine whether I can deny anyone’s self identification of “Christian” simply because they disagree with my faith tradition on any given subject…the proof is in the lives they live IMO…not in their creedal statements. Do they “walk the walk” or do they only “talk the talk”?
 
The real question is if Unitarians are Falun Gongians? We got that magic, man. :cool:
 
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