Poll: Is it better to believe "like a Christian" or act "like a Christian"?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peregrino
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Peregrino

Guest
There have been several discussions of late along the lines of “who can be considered a Christian” or “who defines Christian”. I thought this question might be interesting. Though there are many different angles from which to approach this poll question, I will leave it general in nature.

Is it better to believe “like a Christian” or act “like a Christian”?
 
The premise of the question is problematic.

St. James makes it very clear that faith without works is dead. So the question posed is very similar to, “which came first, the chicken or the egg”?

If one does not believe like a Christian, how is one, in the long term, going to succeed in attempts to act like a Christian? And if one does not act like a Christian, or at least aim to act in a Christian manner, what will be the fate of one’s faith?

I’d suggest that it is a very Protestant thing to suggest that the two can be starkly separated, whereas it is a Catholic thing to point out their intimate relationship to one another.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
Only upon our death are we judged by the Christ to be worthy of salvation. Our works that flow out of our Faith produce the evidenvce by wich Jesus judges us. He is the problem, Jesus has explained to part of the standard by which we will be judged, but has He given it all?

I know many who claim to be Christians but are poor examples of one. I know many non-Christians who are proud to be of other faiths but have greater works of Christianity than do Christians. It all comes down to works I guess.

Jesus willl judge us and He will be the judge jury and exicutioner. The Holy Spirit will be our Advocate. We are not judged by our faith but rather by our Faith. Perhaps Faith could better be describbed as “works”?

I don’t pretend to answer this question but rather I bring up more points to consider?

I hope to see everyone in heaven, only Jesus can deny a soul admittance. I do not have the power to judge a soul only the power to spread His Faith as preserved in His visible body on earth, His Catholic Church.:confused:

PS. Mormons, Jehovah’s, Catholics, Baptist’s, etc. all claim to be Christian. Being a Christian by Websters definition is not enough to get us to heaven as Jesus plainly explains to us in Sacred Scripture. I guess that means it is better to live the part than to just give it lip service without works?
 
You have to do both. One cannot hardly “act” like a Christian without truly believing like one and one cannot hardly say they believe like a Christian without acting like one. One must, of course, put aside wishy washy interpretations of “acting” or “believing” in order to see it in the fullest light.

A professor in one of my religious classes at the secular university was trying to “plot” orthodoxy and orthopraxis on a grid. I just could not see how that would work (from a Catholic prospective, he was Episcopalian) because orthodoxy and orthopraxis go hand in hand.
 
Both–one without the other is worthless. If you believe, but do not do, you are like the demons, or the fruitless branches thrown into the fire. If you do, but do not believe, your acts have no merit because they are done apart from the Body of Christ, the only source of grace. We cannot be saved by our own works alone.
 
Gerry_Hunter said:
The premise of the question is problematic.

St. James makes it very clear that faith without works is dead. So the question posed is very similar to, “which came first, the chicken or the egg”?

If one does not believe like a Christian, how is one, in the long term, going to succeed in attempts to act like a Christian? And if one does not act like a Christian, or at least aim to act in a Christian manner, what will be the fate of one’s faith?

I’d suggest that it is a very Protestant thing to suggest that the two can be starkly separated, whereas it is a Catholic thing to point out their intimate relationship to one another.

Blessings,

Gerry
Click to expand...
Hi Gerry,

I think many people lead “Christian” lives who are of different faiths. As Karen correctly pointed out, one must define “Christian”. No poll is going to do that to everyone’s satisfaction so I left it open-ended, and frankly, rather enigmatic.

I agree that both (faith and behavior) can be (should be) intimately connected, yet given that this is a non-catholic religions posting board others might not see it that way.
 
Taken at face value I voted “ACT” like a Christian. I base this NOT on a belief in Salvation by works, but rather that our actions our dictated by our hearts. I hearken back to the parable Christ himself tells. A father goes to his son and says, ‘work in the fields for me’, the son says, YES FATHER, but does not go. The father comes to his second son and says ‘work in the fields for me.’ The second son says no, but later repents and goes out to the field and works. Then Christ asks which of the sons did the will of the Father…the answer being the second son.

James too, tells us…Faith without works is dead…so if we “believe” like a Christian but don’t do anything about it…does that belief have the power to save?

Finally, I go to Romans Chapter 2 which says that those who do not know the law, but ACT according to the dictates of the law written in their hearts, can be saved.
 
what’s themotive of this poll?

Replace “believe like” with “salvation through faith alone”

Replace “act like” with “salvation and good works”

I think I get the implication here:rolleyes:
 
John_Lawrence said:
what’s themotive of this poll?

Replace “believe like” with “salvation through faith alone”

Replace “act like” with “salvation and good works”

I think I get the implication here:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Actually, this is the dichtomy I am trying to avoid. The dichotomy you are suggesting is a Christian doctrinal dichotomy and I was hoping to go beyond this and include in other faith traditions. My only motive is discussion.

Scott said this is a false dichotomy-yes and no. From my perspective I would agree but my perspective is not what counts. The question is still interesting.
 
Act like a Christian, or act like Christ?

Because acting like one who claims to believe in Christ, doesn’t always mean that much, lots of what passes for Christianity today is…not very Christlike.

I think it is better to live in a Christlike manner, than to believe.
 
Your Faith in Christ will produce the acts of a Christian. To ‘act’ like a christian, i.e. feed the hungry and clothe the naked, is good and all but without your Faith in Christ it is just good works. Your Faith is most important because without that I fear we lose any chance to spend eternity with God.

Now, you might say faith without works is dead. I agree whole heartedly. A Christian Faith in which fruit is not apparent is not a true faith. Those who profess that Christ is Lord but do not believe it deep down inside do not have Faith but only pretend to have it. These are the men and women in which Christ will say ‘I knew you not’ even tho they profess that Christ is Lord. That ‘faith’ IS dead. You can’t have a TRUE Faith in Christ and not have prosporous evident fruit. It just can’t happen. 😦
 
Peregrino said:
Scott said this is a false dichotomy-yes and no. From my perspective I would agree but my perspective is not what counts. The question is still interesting.
Click to expand...
No. Just yes. It IS a false dichotomy and not a matter of perspective. Don’t excercise the nuclear option of relativism.
 
This reminds me of a story my father tells of a man who was rude and insulting about someone else, ranting and raving about how this other person acted. Then justified himself by saying “…at least I’m a Christian!” My father’s reply was “Thanks for telling me. I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
 
Singinbeauty said:
. You can’t have a TRUE Faith in Christ and not have prosporous evident fruit. It just can’t happen. 😦
Click to expand...
This may well be true, but since we don’t know what a person might have been like without their faith…that still leaves a lot of room for questionable behavior. I have met people whom I believe sincerely believed in Christ, but I never would have guessed it from their behavior. They either have an interestingly different take on what Christian behavior looks like, or they would have been even worse without Christ in their life. Scary, but possible.
 
The poll needs few more options. One of them is: believe and act. 🙂
 
zinkcasino said:
This reminds me of a story my father tells of a man who was rude and insulting about someone else, ranting and raving about how this other person acted. Then justified himself by saying “…at least I’m a Christian!” My father’s reply was “Thanks for telling me. I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
Click to expand...
Zinc- You’ve hit the nail on the head, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know how old the cliche is, but the old question “if you were tried in court for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” sums it up pretty well.

I’ve known very good people who, though they professed no faith, acted in accord with many of Jesus’ teachings. They were good people, loved and took care of their neighbors etc., and they have plenty of documentation to prove it. Yet, though they may have been better people than many Christians, they weren’t Christians. That would show up in their trial- no church attendance, no little fishy on the car, not even a T-shirt from church camp. These folks would stand acquitted (i.e. not Christian).

OTOH, there are lots of other folks who are as “religious” as all get out- they go to church every time the doors open, have bumper stickers, jewelry and pins advertising their religion, talk about their faith all the time and pray in public. They have many of the outward signs of the faith. At least, these are the signs (insofar as there can be such things) of believing like a Christian. Yet, do these folks all have signs of an inner faith- i.e. outward signs that they are living the faith to which they’re called? Sure, maybe they help with the church soup kitchen (because they’re expected to), but how do they respond to a jerk in traffic, a slow waitress, or a bum passed out in the street? If the answer is “as Jesus would have, at least most of the time”, then I’d say convict them. Nobody’s perfect. Except Jesus (and maybe Mary). If the answer is “as Jesus would have, but only occasionally”, then C.S. Lewis might label you “a Christian, but a bad example”. So even these people might be convicted. (That said, I’d rather hang around the acquitted folks from the previous paragraph- at least when the going gets tough.)

The final group would be those that have all the outward stuff, but would almost never be confused for acting Christ-like. These folks would be acquitted too, and could then get back to watching Fox news.
 
Peregrino said:
Is it better to believe “like a Christian” or act “like a Christian”?
Click to expand...
Hi
I think the question need to be revised. To me, one should believe as Jesus believed and act like Jesus did act; of one is a true Christian.
Thanks
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top