# Self proclaimed Christians **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 30, 2014, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340 "2014-04-30T06:39:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![huitzilopochtli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@huitzilopochtli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huitzilopochtli)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/1 "2014-04-30T06:39:23Z")
My cousin keeps adding to facebook the things that “self proclaimed Christians” should stop believing in like “karma”. Just WTF ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/2 "2014-04-30T06:44:02Z")
Every Christian IS self proclaimed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/3 "2014-04-30T07:17:02Z")
Some proclaim it louder than others. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/4 "2014-04-30T07:22:00Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Every Christian IS self proclaimed. 😉 If you figure indoctrination from an early age into the equation, I’m not so sure. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/5 "2014-04-30T13:15:40Z")
Nothing inconsistent with karma & the Christian faith. We just believe karma is trumped by Grace. (Bono made the same point a few years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![delsina363](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@delsina363](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delsina363)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/6 "2014-04-30T17:04:35Z")
I have one sister who is the biggest religious freak I know! It started many years ago, maybe around 20 years. She went from being Catholic to Christian (more in a Baptist kind of way). Then she would go to church all the time, and was pretty nice to be around. Then she was convinced it was her job to help “save” us. Then she proclaimed she knew that Catholics would not be allowed into Heaven. She changed her mind on that one a couple of years ago, so if you are Catholic you can stop worrying now. She then started talking about the rapture, and how when it happens “any day now” she will be taken up to heaven, and will miss us.:eek: She now believes every church is to PC and not true to the good book. :rolleyes: So now, she conducts weekly Bible Studies in her house, led by a “reformed” Jewish woman, who has a husband who thinks he is going to be the next Elvis. She is now so far gone, she is the most self righteous bitch walking planet earth. I no longer speak with her, and probably never will again, after the death of my Mom last November, and the terrible time she put me thru. I respect all people and all religions, until they use their faith as an excuse to abuse others. Good Riddance…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/7 "2014-04-30T17:34:31Z")
Well, considering karma usually requires a belief in reincarnation and pretty much all orthodox Christian theology says you get one life, die, and go to your eternal reward, she has a point. It’s not unreasonable to look at the First Commandment (“I am the Lord, thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”) and figure that borrowing theological concepts from other religions falls under this. On the other hand, the only beliefs necessary to be considered Christian are outlined in the [Nicene Creed](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicean_Creed), and while resurrection is mentioned but reincarnation is not, it doesn’t explicitly exclude it. Jesus himself said the only two commandments his followers had to keep were to love the Lord, thy God with all thy hearts, minds, and souls, and to love thy neighbor as thyself. So, while “self-professed” Christians who believe in karma might have a speck in their collective eye, it sounds like your cousin is walking around with a plank in hers. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/8 "2014-04-30T17:43:54Z")
> [@delsina363](#): > > She went from being Catholic to Christian (more in a Baptist kind of way). Religion in the US is just too weird. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/9 "2014-04-30T17:46:00Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > On the other hand, the only beliefs necessary to be considered Christian are outlined in the [Nicene Creed](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicean_Creed) Not all Christians hold this to be true: > [@](#): > > Some evangelical and other Christians consider the Nicene Creed helpful and to a certain extent authoritative, but not infallibly so in view of their belief that only Scripture is truly authoritative. Other groups, such as the Church of the New Jerusalem, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses explicitly reject some of the statements in the Creed. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/10 "2014-04-30T17:46:41Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Religion in the US is just too weird. I agree. ---
**Author:** ![delsina363](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@delsina363](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delsina363)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/11 "2014-04-30T17:56:02Z")
> [@randompattern](#): > > I agree. I agree with you and Grey. When I was very young I put down in my middle school yearbook, that I wanted to go on to study Theology 😕 Yeah, that never happened. I honestly am fascinated, and would love to know what the “truth” really is. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/12 "2014-05-01T07:58:09Z")
I just wonder what they think “self-proclaimed” means. Usually it’s used to cast doubt on someone’s authenticity. But they are saying that self-proclaimed Christians are the ones that need to be more authentic and not adopt ideas from other religions. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/13 "2014-05-01T13:43:05Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Well, considering karma usually requires a belief in reincarnation and pretty much all orthodox Christian theology says you get one life, die, and go to your eternal reward, she has a point. It’s not unreasonable to look at the First Commandment (“I am the Lord, thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”) and figure that borrowing theological concepts from other religions falls under this. Most of Christianity is borrowed from other religions. If you dumped everything but the original stuff it would be pretty much, “Hey, the son of God died for our sins.” “Cool. What then?” “Well, that’s pretty much it.” ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/14 "2014-05-01T14:07:51Z")
I don’t care how self-proclaimed a Christian is, they aren’t a Christian until they emulate everything Jesus did, including cursing fig trees for not producing figs out of season. I might give 'em a pass on dying by crucifixion, it’s tough to get that sentence these days. Damn liberal judges… ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/15 "2014-05-01T14:35:41Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Most of Christianity is borrowed from other religions. If you dumped everything but the original stuff it would be pretty much, “Hey, the son of God died for our sins.” > “Cool. What then?” > “Well, that’s pretty much it.” Hey, I never said they were _consistent_. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-proclaimed-christians/687340/16 "2014-05-01T15:45:50Z")
> [@huitzilopochtli](#): > > My cousin keeps adding to facebook the things that “self proclaimed Christians” should stop believing in like “karma”. > Just WTF Cool story bro.