How would Christ reply?

[alveolate]

let me try to answer the OP directly.

here in Singapore, the term “Christian” is almost only ever used unthinkingly to refer to Protestants. in fact… some of these newfangled, nominally-Protestant Megachurches don’t even ever use the term “Protestant”! to throw more sadness into the mix, most Catholics here simply admit that Christian = non-Catholic, and thus readily reply to “Are you Christian?” with a hasty “No-no i’m Catholic - CAIR-THER-LIK!”

given such a landscape, i ALWAYS reply that “i’m Christian! just like all Protestants! or so we claim, at least!” and then i take the longwinded opportunity to explain (sometimes with flowcharts) that Christian is the larger term, then Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants are the branches or denominations. if the person/s is/are still with me after the first minute or so, i start to try and explain that actually the Catholic Church was the “original” Church established by Christ and the Apostles, so it is really the other Churches branching off of us.

if the person is Catholic, i usually give a short lecture. because of their attention span.
if the person is Orthodox, we get a history debate. LONG. unending. with patristics and hebrew and greek.
if the person is mainline Protestant, we get a scriptural debate. could be long, depending on who runs out of “ammo” first.
if the person is Megachurch, i usually get an innocent, sincere “but you guys are the Antichrist!” which i have to reply with an equally innocent and sincere smile, “who told you?”

well, after all that, i’d say that i prefer going with “Christian” almost 100% of the time - precisely because Catholic = Christian and vice versa. i get the added bonus of sharing my faith since this misused dichotomy is an instant opportunity. it’s quite a win-win for me in my situation, with the crowd i’m with.

however, if your friends are mostly reasonably well-informed and well-mannered Christians of various denominations, using “Catholic” would reinforce your specific identity, which WOULD help everyone know who you are. this is good if you are the apologist-type (like 50% of this forum) and would be glad to answer their questions - even when they can’t refrain from seeing you as the Devil. this helps open Christians of different denominations to realising that we’re not that dissimilar as persons and perhaps even see more of the Truth behind “One Holy Catholic Apostolic”.

however… if you’re not so confident or patient with replying the sometimes-hateful questioning, or if you know you’re meeting someone with a reputation for crucifying Catholics upside down and inside out, it may be “safer” to start with “Christian”, then slowly tug on the person’s heartstrings and play your way in slowly. =)

so. the short answer is… it depends! on:-
i) the cultural context (semantics) and social context (denominational demography),
ii) your personal disposition & confidence in handling apologetics, and
iii) the disposition of the person you’re speaking to.

as my sociology profs used to say: “there are three things to think about in every situation: context, context, context.”

and MOST importantly…
iv) would Christ approve of what then you decide to do, knowing Him as you do from the Gospel? has He done something similar? did He do that with the Apostles, the Pharisees, or the normal folk? do you think you could stay true to what He did, with His values and His teachings?

yup, this would be discernment!

 

[mo3]

let me try to answer the OP directly.

here in Singapore, the term “Christian” is almost only ever used unthinkingly to refer to Protestants. in fact… some of these newfangled, nominally-Protestant Megachurches don’t even ever use the term “Protestant”! to throw more sadness into the mix, most Catholics here simply admit that Christian = non-Catholic, and thus readily reply to “Are you Christian?” with a hasty “No-no i’m Catholic - CAIR-THER-LIK!”

How about responding: I am a Catholic Christian.

This says it truthfully and does not allow others to highjack the term Christian.

God bless.

 

[Incomplete]

Actually you seem to miss the point.

The Bible is a Catholic Book as God intended it for His Catholic Church.

As the bible was completely written by the end of the First Century and the ONLY Church was Christ Catholic Church, this point is not debateable.

Pat

Except it’s debated by the Orthodox. I’ve only recently met some, and I’m not on this forum much so haven’t debated with any Orthodox before or even know much about them, though I’m learning. I was quite surprised to hear their claim that they were first and Catholics broke off from them, and that they are the ones who brought us the Bible.

I’d appreciate any sources you could point me to to contradict this. I’ve found a few, but want to verify what I’ve been reading.

 

[PJM]

=Incomplete;5772427]Except it’s debated by the Orthodox. I’ve only recently met some, and I’m not on this forum much so haven’t debated with any Orthodox before or even know much about them, though I’m learning. I was quite surprised to hear their claim that they were first and Catholics broke off from them, and that they are the ones who brought us the Bible.

I’d appreciate any sources you could point me to to contradict this. I’ve found a few, but want to verify what I’ve been reading.

I too have heard such talk.

The Bible was completely written by the “end of the First Century” LONG before the Eastern schism. Therefore history sides with the Catholic Church:thumbsup:

 

[Incomplete]

I too have heard such talk.

The Bible was completely written by the “end of the First Century” LONG before the Eastern schism. Therefore history sides with the Catholic Church:thumbsup:

That makes sense to you and me, but they say they are the oldest church, that they were the ones around then.