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[MIA]

Is there a minimum knowledge base in order to be a Christian? I carry pretty high standards for accepting the Christian god exists, let alone is the sole source of true morality in our universe. So I do run into situations where Christians are talking/debating with me, and it ends up with them being incapable of giving me a satisfactory answer.

This doesn't mean they are wrong in their view, that i somehow "won" or that they are not totally justified and satisfied carrying the view they presently have. My standards are high, probably too high for the typical christian to make any headway with me.

It leads me to wondering though, do you have your own standards for what qualifies as being a christian? There are lots of Christians who probably would not be able to tell you basic facts about Jesus, such as how many apostles Jesus had or the fact that Mary the mother of Jesus is a different person from Mary Magdelene.

How little can someone know exactly and still be a Christian? Or is anyone who says they are a Christian a Christian by default, as I see it?

[Righteous One]

I have a narrow definition of "a Christian": a Christian is a disciple of Jesus.

Someone could choose to be a disciple of Jesus and not yet know much.

For example, on Monday a man was given a booklet with the gospel of John and read through it, and it sunk into his heart and he was born again on Tuesday. Wednesday morning, rejoicing in his new life, he says to himself, "Jesus is Lord over me and I want to learn from Him". At that point he is a disciple of Jesus but he doesn't know much yet.

He doesn't remember every detail from the gospel of John that he read through. He hasn't even read the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke yet, so he doesn't know facts from them. He hasn't read any of the OT, although perhaps he recalls a few things from living in western culture (e.g. there was a Noah and the ark; there were paintings of Adam and Eve with an apple)

A similar scenario would be a man in a non-Western country who simply watches a copy of the Jesus film and chooses to be a disciple of Jesus. That man is just at the start of learning facts about Jesus; he recalls a few of Jesus' teachings from his first watching of the film. He's in a country where copies of the NT in his language are hard to come by. He may learn of Jesus' teachings through speaking with long-time Christians in his country rather than through reading texts.

[jimwalton]

As to your last question, it's certainly not true that anyone who says they are a Christian are Christian by default. Absolutely not. There are some real wackos out there, and just because they call themselves Christian doesn't mean they are. The Bible speaks several times of people being able to fake their way under the label of "Christian" (Matt. 7.15-23; 13.24-30, 36-42; Gal. 5.4 et al.)

To be a Christian there is at least a minimum of knowledge. Hebrews 1.6 says that we at least have to believe that God exists. Romans 1.20 expresses a similar thought: even nature gives us reason to believe God exists. Romans 10.9 says we have to know who Jesus is, believe he is God and resurrected from the dead. That requires at least a little theological knowledge—a minimum.

On the two occasions where Jesus was asked "What must I do to be saved, he offered criteria:

1\. Love God with all you are. Again, it would require a knowledge of God and a belief that He exists.

2\. Love your neighbor. This doesn't require any minimum knowledge.

3\. Do God's will by obeying his moral commands. There is at least a minimum knowledge necessary of knowing what those moral commands are. But it's not like we have to know all of them. Being saved is giving all that I know of myself to all that I know of God.

4\. Be willing, if necessary, to drop everything and leave it behind to follow Him. This requires minimum knowledge that you know who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him.

So, no, people don't have to be theologically astute or apologetically adept to be Christians. You'll find ones who can't answer your questions. There are bits of knowledge, though, that are quite essential:

1. Knowledge of a holy God.
2. Belief that Jesus is God, that he died for your sins and rose again.
3. That salvation can be found in Jesus alone.
4. Love God, and love your neighbor.
5. See the Bible as God's revelation of Himself.

Without at least these 5, I don't think a person can rightly call him- or herself a Christian, though people do!

I'll admit it's pretty sad how little some Christians know about their own faith. We keep working at education; with some people it's more effective than with others. That's not a whole lot different than the public education system, however. I've talked to some college grads that can't seem to think their way out of a paper bag. That's discouraging all by itself. Have you ever seen those interviews on TV, asking passers-by questions like "What was the Civil War about?" and "Who was America's first president?" Hilarious and tragic at the same time. So with some Christians.