Dictionaries and encyclopedias have definitions regarding religions and beliefs, but we all have our own idea of what constitutes a "real Christian" or a "real Muslim." The media influence the public consciousness regarding these definitions and that tends to influence our personal definitions. For me, the publicly accepted definitions of Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and some others are basically the same as my own personal definition. But on the other hand, my definition of Christianity may differ from the general public definition.
As a person who is committed to following Jesus, I put a lot of stock into what he said about religion and being a disciple of him. He said that his true followers can be identified by their love for each other. I take that to mean that anyone who walks in love the way Jesus did is a Christian. That being said, some of the best Christians I have ever met are Buddhists. In fact, I have seen more Buddhists living their life parallel to Jesus than I have Christians. There are a lot of people in this Temple who I consider to be true Christians, not because of their belief, but because of their behavior. Not that it matters, but if you are curious as to whether or not I consider you a Christian, feel free to pm me.
According to Jesus, a real Christian does not strap the metaphorical bomb of condemnation to their chest and blow it up in the face of those "evil" infidels. A real Christian forgives the so-called sinners and demonstrates the unconditional love of Christ to everyone. I'm not perfect at this, but it is my intention. I think my time working on the IP has helped me in this area.
In order to avoid confusion in the various discussions that involve the definition of Christianity, I suppose that we should just continue to assume the simple definition of Christian being a person who believes in Jesus Christ. Thoughts?
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