# So...wait--what defines a Christian? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 5, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973 "2009-07-05T13:36:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/41 "2009-07-06T04:16:03Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > The Catholic church, for example, does not teach that you have to be a Catholic, or a Christian to be saved, or whatever. At least, not anymore. I like to think they changed the rules because they want me in Heaven, no matter how far I stray. 😉 > [@dseid](#): > > …any one can call themselves a Christian and you would say okay. In our Biggest Tent, yeah. Bro, I know you come from a faith in which certain rules must be followed to make it valid. So do I. It’s just that, over the past 500 years, for some people the rules have evolved in one direction, and for others they have evolved in another. And, in my eventual case, another way altogether. Take a deep breath and try to say, “There are many paths to the Godhead.” Yeah, it will stick in your craw, but since none of us can actually visualize the Godhead, we poor humans can only make of it what we can. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/42 "2009-07-06T05:20:24Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > The Catholic church, for example, does not teach that you have to be a Catholic, or a Christian to be saved, or whatever. This squares with my memories of a young, sort-of hip Dominican Order nun 40 years ago explaining to me that plenty of Hindus would certainly get into heaven before I would. I was shocked, but I guess I needed to hear it… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/43 "2009-07-06T05:36:14Z")
Krok, even a couple of years before that Sister would not have the theological backing to say that. “A lot of shit went down in the 60s,” and not all of it lasted into the 90s. Maybe it did, but they had kicked me out YEARS before, so I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/44 "2009-07-06T16:23:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Meet [non-trinitarianism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarian), [binitarianism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binitarianism), [unitarianism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism), [oneness](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneness_Pentecostalism_(doctrine)), [modalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalism), and [adoptionism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoptionists). > > Meet [docetism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docetism), [Sethianism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Steles_of_Seth), [the Ebionites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebionite), and [Islam](http://www.dtl.org/article/islam/resurrection.htm) (or whatever branch of Christianity it descended from, if you want to discount it). Some Liberal Christians also give no credence to the resurrection, as don’t those who consider Jesus to have simply been a philosopher. > [@Liberal](#): > > Some even believe that, rather than a Trinity, there is an Infinity. (i.e., we all are one with Him) > [@Liberal](#): > > Don’t forget [Mandeanism](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Mandeanism), in which the Messiah was John the Baptist. Man, feeling witty aren’t we? Heresies are heresies, therefore not real teachings. There has to be a point, in Catholicism Trinitarianism and bodily resurrection (I’d think 95% of Christians are there), where _claiming_ to be a Christian and actually _being_ one can be separated. If I think the Jesus was an 11th-century Uzbek meth addict who wanted to have sex with dead wombats and she wanted us to eat glass bottles filled with manganese nails, you are not a Christian in any real sense of the word. If you take the position the position that the individual gets to define what Christianity is, then the term (and any other term , by the way) becomes meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/45 "2009-07-06T16:45:05Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > So…does the term have _any_ meaning? There’s a general consensus about what Muslim means. About what Buddhist means. About (despite the efforts of some) what Jew means. Does the term “Christian” really have no meaning? I’d argue strongly against this. Can’t speak for Buddhism, but there is a huge variation with the Muslim and Jewish faiths. There is just as difference between a sub-saharan Sufi, a Saudi Wahhabi, and an Iranian Shia, as there are between a Catholic, and Orthodox and a protestant (not theres the start to the mother of all “walked into a bar..” jokes 🙂 ). And just as many non-orthodox sects that mainstream followers would consider non-Muslim/Jewish, as there are in the Christian world. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/46 "2009-07-06T17:15:06Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I think that is a wonderfully sensible viewpoint. I rather like **LHoD** is descriptivist definition too. Obviously I was trying to nail down what are the minimal common beliefs among Christians, to provide a basic definition that would fit as many as possible, while allowing for the fact that some do not adhere to the majoritarian view. **Aji** makes a valid point – the overwhelming majority of those who call themselves Christian adhere to the Nicene Creed. However, there are a lot of groups and individuals that call themselves Christian who do not. As for the quibble about “only begotten” raised above – most of Christianity holds that all men and women, or at least all professed Christians, are sons and daughters of God by adoption and grace. But traditional Christianity (not pushing a particular view as _the right one_ but being descriptive here) sees Jesus in another light – he was God the Son, second Person of the Trinity, who chose to be born and live as a human being. Consider a carpenter. He makes things out of wood. They are not of the same nature or substance as himself, they are his creations. On the other hand, he and his wife have a son, whom he begat in the traditional language. His son is of the same nature as himself, capable in time of being the same as him – unlike his creations. You and I are sons of God, adopted as such by His grace. (Pinocchio comes to mind here.) In contradistinction, Jesus was God Himself in human form – the only begotten son. We’re chosen children; He’s God’s natural son. (I’m not propounding this as factual doctrine for all to buy into – rather, I’m explaining why “only begotten” has the meaning it does in the traditional theology.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/47 "2009-07-06T18:07:46Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > -Belief in the truth of the Old and New Testament of the Bible, to a greater or lesser degree. Minor nitpick: how about rephrasing this to say - Belief that some part of the Bible was divinely inspired. Even a raging atheist would agree that there is truth in some parts of the Bible. I wouldn’t agree that any of it is divinely inspired. This says nothing about when and where it was written, and by who. What I’m getting out of this thread is that the only thing you can say for sure about a Christian is that he or she identifies as a Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/48 "2009-07-06T18:50:44Z")
A “Christian” is a person who, at minimum, believes in the existence of some form of God and also believes that it is an issue of paramount significance to them personally the exact relationship of the person known as Jesus Christ to that God. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/49 "2009-07-06T20:48:38Z")
The “Are You a Christian” Test: 1. Jesus was crucified approximately 2000 years ago. Do you a. think this is very important to you personally? b. think this just an interesting fact about something that happened a long time ago? Scoring: if you answered a. you are a Christian. if you answered b. you are not. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/50 "2009-07-06T21:42:04Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > The bare minimum belief-wise (as opoosed to practices): > > 1. Trinitarianism > 2. Bodily resurrection of Jesus I don’t understand why you include #1. Virtually all Christian believe in the father (God) and the holy son (Jesus), but who is this “holy ghost” character that makes up the third part of the trinity? Only Catholics seem to talk about him at all, and they’ve never explained how he’s _not_ God. Christian = a person who believes in the teachings of Christ, who was the son of God. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/51 "2009-07-06T22:32:49Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Man, feeling witty aren’t we? Heresies are heresies, therefore not real teachings. Unless the “real” teaching was a heresy. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/52 "2009-07-07T04:20:23Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I don’t understand why you include #1. Virtually all Christian believe in the father (God) and the holy son (Jesus), but who is this “holy ghost” character that makes up the third part of the trinity? Only Catholics seem to talk about him at all, and they’ve never explained how he’s _not_ God. > > Christian = a person who believes in the teachings of Christ, who was the son of God. The number of “binitarian” Christians is so small that I don’t see how anyone can be surprised by Trinitarianism (even if you don’t believe in it) > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Unless the “real” teaching was a heresy. The real cannot be a heresy 😛 ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/53 "2009-07-07T04:23:41Z")
> [@Jerseyman](#): > > A christian has to be somebody who accepts the figure of Jesus as Ultimate Teacher, at the very minimum. All Christians agree on the Nicene Creed but that was formulated against Arians who believed Jesus the First Creation and not God or His Son. The three Oriental Orthodox and Nestorian churches (Coptic, Syriac, Armenian) do not accept the Council of Chalcedon that I think produced the _Apostles’ Creed_ and the Eastern Orthodox (Greek, Russian etc) do not accept the Roman translation of the Creed from Greek to Latin adding to “The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father” _and from the Son_. The Anglicans and Lutherans in the strictest terms are probably more schismatic Catholics than true Protestants. Protestant churches don’t accept all manner of things that the others do and do often deny freewill but they would agree on the Roman creed even if they interpret it slightly differently. Nobody knows what to make of the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, except that the JWs effectively go back to Arianism that JC was a created being - but I think they believe he is the Archangel Michael. > > I don’t know whether he actually existed or is a parable but they might do a lot better to pay more attention to what they say he said, than to arguing about what he was! Of course, what he _said_ again and again and again and again and again was that he was _not_ God, and that he came to do not his own will but the will of Him that sent him, and that the “Father” was greater than he was, and that he was returning to his God, and a great many other things-----all of which directly contradict the Trinity. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/54 "2009-07-07T04:28:14Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I don’t understand why you include #1. Virtually all Christian believe in the father (God) and the holy son (Jesus), but who is this “holy ghost” character that makes up the third part of the trinity? Only Catholics seem to talk about him at all, and they’ve never explained how he’s _not_ God. > > **Christian = a person who believes in the teachings of Christ, who was the son of God.** **Bolding mine.** Simple and to the point. I would only add this, because Jesus said that being a follower of his would _compel_ a person to _act_ on what he taught; to _live_ those teachings. Christian = a person who believes in the teachings of Christ, who was the son of God, and who endeavors to try to live his/her life in accordance with those teachings. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/55 "2009-07-07T04:46:59Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > The real cannot be a heresy 😛 Indeed. But which one was the real one? St Paul never even met Jesus. James the Just was the “official” leader of the original church after Jesus’ death according to the current Christian tradition, but the Jewish-Christian branch which he head was essentially all-but wiped out by the [Jewish Roman Wars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-Roman_Wars), leaving Paul to spread the his gentile version of the religion in freedom. How different the gentile version was from the Jewish-Christian version, and again how close that was to what Jesus taught are unknown quantities, but unless you believe Paul’s version of events that Jesus taught him everything there was to know about what God wanted after the resurrection, then you really need to put to question everything that we know, because all of it has [most likely been edited to follow the teachings of Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Christianity#Criticism) and the gentile tradition. And again, how different the Jewish Christian version was from what Jesus taught is very questionable given the wide range of beliefs found throughout all the apocrypha and the various Gnostic sects. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/56 "2009-07-07T18:56:29Z")
Huh? James wasn’t the leader – it was _St. Peter_. 😕 Unless you mean AFTER Peter was killed. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/57 "2009-07-07T19:08:21Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Huh? James wasn’t the leader – it was _St. Peter_. 😕 Unless you mean AFTER Peter was killed. Mmno. James, Peter, and John where the leaders of the church, but James was most likely the ultimate arbiter. > **[James, brother of Jesus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_the_just#Life)** > > James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord (Latin: Iacobus from Hebrew: יעקב, Ya'aqov and Ancient Greek: Ἰάκωβος, Iákōbos, can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was, according to the New Testament, a brother of Jesus. James was personally known to Paul the Apostle (Gal 1:19). He was the first leader of the Church of Jerusalem.\[b\] Traditionally, it is believed he was martyred either in 62 AD by being stoned to death on the order of High Priest Ananus ben Ananus, or in 69 AD by b > **[Gospel of the Hebrews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_the_Hebrews)** > > The Gospel of the Hebrews (Koine Greek: τὸ καθ' Ἑβραίους εὐαγγέλιον, romanized: tò kath' Hebraíous euangélion), or Gospel according to the Hebrews, is a lost Jewish–Christian gospel. The text of the gospel is lost, with only fragments of it surviving as brief quotations by the early Church Fathers and in apocryphal writings. The fragments contain traditions of Jesus' pre-existence, incarnation, baptism, and probably of his temptation, along with some of his sayings. Distinctive features inc Th... > **[Gospel of the Nazarenes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_the_Nazoraeans)** > > The Gospel of the Nazarenes (also Nazareans, Nazaraeans, Nazoreans, or Nazoraeans) is the traditional but hypothetical name given by some scholars to distinguish some of the references to, or citations of, non-canonical Jewish–Christian gospels extant in patristic writings from other citations believed to derive from different Gospels. > Due to contradictions in the account of the baptism of Jesus, and other reasons, most scholars in the 20th century consider that the Gospel of the Nazarenes is di... Though I’ll note that this the correct answer to this question doesn’t impact my statement beyond the change of a single name. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/58 "2009-07-07T22:38:25Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Indeed. But which one was the real one? > > St Paul never even met Jesus. James the Just was the “official” leader of the original church after Jesus’ death according to the current Christian tradition, but the Jewish-Christian branch which he head was essentially all-but wiped out by the [Jewish Roman Wars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-Roman_Wars), leaving Paul to spread the his gentile version of the religion in freedom. How different the gentile version was from the Jewish-Christian version, and again how close that was to what Jesus taught are unknown quantities, but unless you believe Paul’s version of events that Jesus taught him everything there was to know about what God wanted after the resurrection, then you really need to put to question everything that we know, because all of it has [most likely been edited to follow the teachings of Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Christianity#Criticism) and the gentile tradition. > > And again, how different the Jewish Christian version was from what Jesus taught is very questionable given the wide range of beliefs found throughout all the apocrypha and the various Gnostic sects. Paul didn’t come up with Christ but rather was taught about him. The more “Jewish” version was brought to Rome by Peter. but it’s different toppings on the same pizza. as good as Wikipedia is I simply will not use for extremely contentious issues like this. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Mmno. James, Peter, and John where the leaders of the church, but James was most likely the ultimate arbiter. > > [James, brother of Jesus - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_the_just#Life) > [Gospel of the Hebrews - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_the_Hebrews) > [Gospel of the Nazarenes - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_the_Nazoraeans) > > Though I’ll note that this the correct answer to this question doesn’t impact my statement beyond the change of a single name. No, he wasnt.At the “Council of Jerusalem” (Acts 15) it is Peter who gives the policy. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/59 "2009-07-07T23:18:16Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > as good as Wikipedia is I simply will not use for extremely contentious issues like this. As I said, it doesn’t particularly matter whether you use the name Peter or James. The Jewish-Christian church was probably the closest version of Christianity to Judaism, but most likely Jesus’ actual teachings were middle-road Gnostic. Paul’s teachings were probably created largely independent of Jesus’ teachings and Judaism, and that’s what the eventual Christianity mostly became. But that is all just “most likely”. It’s entirely possible that what Jesus taught and intended to teach is exactly what the New Testament ended up at. If you want to follow the New Testament because it strikes you as being internally consistent and to speak of something useful to believe in, then that’s perfectly fine. But the point remains that there is no knowing how much of it actually came from Jesus. Most likely very little. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973/60 "2009-07-07T23:41:08Z")
Your own source says: > [@](#): > > Tradition, supported by inferences in Scripture, holds that James led the Jerusalem group as its first bishop or patriarch. This is not necessarily a point against the primacy of Peter in the early Church, and subsequently Roman Catholicism. Though James and not Peter was the first bishop of that group, Roman Catholics believe the bishop of Jerusalem was not by that fact the head of the Christian church, since the leadership rested in Peter as the “Rock” and “Chief Shepherd”.[9] John Chrysostom opined: “If anyone should say, ‘Why then was it James who received the See of Jerusalem?’ I should reply that he [Christ] made Peter the teacher not of that See, but of the world.”[10] It has been suggested that Peter entrusted the Jerusalem community to James when he was forced to leave Jerusalem.[ [St. Peter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#Role_in_the_early_church) > [@](#): > > In the same passage of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” In the original Greek the word translated as “Peter” is Πέτρος (Petros) and that translated as “rock” is πέτρα (petra), two words that, while not identical, give an impression of one of many times when Jesus used a play on words. Furthermore, since Jesus presumably spoke to Peter in their native Aramaic language, he would have used kepha in both instances.[30] The Peshitta Text and the Old Syriac text use the word “kepha” for both “Peter” and “rock” in Matthew 16:18.[31] John 1:42 says Jesus called Simon “Cephas”, as does Paul in some letters. The traditional Catholic interpretation has therefore been that Jesus told Peter (Rock) that he would build his Church on this Peter (Rock). St. Peter was also made the shepherd of the apostolic flock according to the Gospel of John 21:15-19, and was instructed by Christ to strengthen his brethren, i.e. the apostles, according to Luke 22:31-32. St. Peter also had a leadership role in the early Christian church at Jerusalem according to The Acts of the Apostles chapters 1-2, 10-11, and 15. [Primacy of Peter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primacy_of_Peter) > [@](#): > > Though among the Twelve Peter is predominant in the first chapters of Acts of the Apostles, James “the brother of the Lord” is shown to be a leader in his own right in later chapters, indeed he is commonly considered the first Bishop of Jerusalem. Some assume James outranks Peter because he speaks last in the Council of Jerusalem and suggests the final ruling (concerning Gentile converts and Jewish practices such as circumcision) agreed upon by all, and because Paul mentions him before Peter and John when he calls them pillars of the church in Jerusalem. James was indeed the first bishop or patriarch of Jerusalem according to tradition. However, Roman Catholics believe the bishop of Jerusalem was not by that fact the head of the Christian church, since the leadership rested in Peter as the “Rock” and “Chief Shepherd”.[13] It is believed Peter entrusted the Jerusalem community to James when he was forced to leave Jerusalem due to Herod Agrippa’s persecution (Acts 12).[14] So, it seems, Jesus passed the leadership onto Peter, who passed it onto James. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that James was the head of the church, above Peter. The name “Peter” means “rock”, which is what Jesus renamed him – prior to that, his name was Simon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-wait-what-defines-a-christian/501973.md?page=4)