Sunday, March 6, 2011

Religious vs. Christian

Brief post on a thought that I've been having for a while - Often people will assume that I will like something "because it is religious". According to dictionary.com, "A religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs."  While this certainly is true of Christianity, using the term religious is so ambiguous. I would think that everyone is religious, based on the definition. Everyone I know has a belief about the creation and nature of the universe. Everyone I know has a moral code that they believes should be used to create laws and govern human affairs. I will agree that not everyone believes in a 'supernatural agent', or has 'ritual observances', but, according to the definition, those are "especially" and "usually", but not required. In short, someone who is religious is someone who holds a belief about the world. Which is everyone.


Someone who is Christian, on the other hand, is defined as "a person who believes in Jesus Christa person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ" (still from dictionary.com). This definition is quite simple. She (or he) who believes in Jesus Christ and follows his teaching is a Christian. This is far more specific than "religious". So, yes, I am religious. But more importantly and more specifically, I am a Christian. And there is a difference.

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