There are essentially as many definitions of what it means to be a Christian as there are numbers of denominations. Just compare theology textbooks and catechisms from various denominations and you’ll see what I mean. What must a person believe or reject to be a Christian? What must a person do or not do? What must a person believe and do to be a faithful Christian if he or she is a Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Eastern Orthodox, or Catholic? And even members within these traditions don’t always agree—evidenced by the splinters and divisions within and from all these traditions. So what does it mean to be a faithful, true Christian? Are you a Christian? Am I? And what are the criteria and who decides?
