>That sounds like a very good explanation and a very good definition of a Christian.
>It also sounds like it has much more to do with behavior than with belief and I think that is good as well.

You're getting closer! It is belief applied. And it comes from the change of heart in being born again. It is not a man's ability that does this. It's not a lot of study or learning or pumping iron or anything that man does, other than desiring truly to know the truth, and then seeking after the Truth, and finding it. It is then God who changes the man, alters his polarity, swaps his poles, redirects the compass of his life. It is called being "born again" because the man no longer operates only on what he has known throughout his entire life up until that point. He is now extended. He's made alive spiritually. He's able to understand things that were not possible before -- such as reading scripture and hearing God's voice in it. A man cannot do this. God's Spirit can. And it is only from within that spiritual understanding where we see the revamped behavior, the reshaping of the man into a Christ follower.

Men who do not behave as Jesus did, are not Christians, no matter what they call themselves. A person who is born again is literally rewired. The entirety of their life will be changed. Forever.

Being a Christian is not an organization. It's not a denomination. It's not a particular group. It is a relationship ... with Jesus. And nothing else.

"You will know them by their fruit."

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin


>
>>You will know them individually, on a person by person basis, by how the individual acts, by their fruit, Charles.
>>
>>Just because a person identifies themselves as a "Christian" doesn't mean they are. They have to behave as Christ did. That is what the expression, "You will know them by their fruit" means. If they are behaving as Christ did, then they are Christians. If they are not behaving as Christ did, then they are not Christians, even though they call themselves by that name.
>>
>>Best regards,
>>Rick C. Hodgin
>>
>>
>>>>You will know them by their fruit, Charles.
>>>
>>>You are absolutely correct. It is the reason women were denied the vote for the first 150 years of the republic, why the incidence of abuse of women has been so dreadfully high for so long and why so many women have lost faith in patriarchal institutions.
>>>
>>>It is also one of the reasons so many deny the "wisdom" of scripture and - more to the point - those who purport to speak for God by expressing their own interpretation of that scripture.
>>>
>>>By their fruit, we know them. Bitter fruit.
>>>
>>>( In fairness, by all accounts there is no record of Jesus being a misogynist or of sharing the obsessions of so many of his followers. I share with you a love of what Jesus presented to the world. I weep for the legacy that was twisted by men who conceived of God as being in their own petty image. And in fairness to you, while I in no way share you literal interpretation of scripture or take on reality, I find it nice that you seem to focus on love so I think the essence of the message is there loud and clear )
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Wanna know why the party that doesn't bow to the religious right does better with women?
>>>>>http://www.salon.com/2013/07/02/christians_have_always_been_misogynists_partner/
>>>>>(what is weirdly cool is that the web page actually has an ad for Liberty University on-line,
>>>>>for those who read the quotes and say "Yeah, sounds about right ..." ) :-)