i think it does matter. does not loving our enemies, or thinking gays should be allowed to marry make you less of a christian? how about thinking jesus probably was married, or that having sex before marriagedoesn't make me a bad person? how about thinking i should bomb abortion clinics, or that i should kill fags? how about thinking that satan has power of his own, or thinking that such an idea amounts to polytheism?
You'll find Christians that accept or reject any combination of those. But they could still be considered Christians.
Still though, there's some minimum requirements for who we should consider Christians.
Certainly, being a follower of Christ is one of them. Maybe the only one?
it seems to me that we're not wise enough to make these distinctions, since we tend to make the wrong ones. i think we should leave the saving up to god.
I'm not talking about the saving. I'm just talking about the label.
For others to call them out on it and say that they are, in fact, not a Christian is not necessarily a terrible thing.
i think it's the worst thing we can do. we're supposed to love our neighbors, our enemies, and everyone in between. loving people doesn't include making presumptions about their status with god. it's really not anyone's business.
Again, I'm not judging their status with God. I'm trying to find the criteria for who we, as Christians, should consider others as Christians or not.
I don't think the criteria can be just being like Christ, because that would include non-Christians like Gandhi who is a Hindu and not a Christian but happens to be like Christ.
I don't think the criteria can be just being a member of a Christian community, because a non-Christian (like a double-agent or something) could easily become a member while not be a Christian.
You see what I'm getting at?
What do you think the criteria should be?