Christians

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Christians
χριστιανοί
V&A - Raphael, The Miraculous Draught of Fishes (1515).jpg
After the miraculous catch of fish, Christ invokes his disciples to become "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19) by Raphael.
Total population
c. 2.4 billion worldwide (2015) [1] [2]
Founder
Jesus
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Europe.svg  European Union 373,656,000 [3]
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 246,790,000 [2]
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 175,770,000 [2]
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 107,780,000 [2]
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 105,220,000 [2]
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 86,790,000 [2]
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 80,510,000 [2]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 67,070,000 [2]
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  Democratic Republic of the Congo 63,150,000 [2]
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 52,580,000 [2]
Religions
Christianity
Scriptures
Bible
Languages
Sacred languages:

Christians ( /ˈkrɪstʃən, -tiən/ ( Loudspeaker.svg listen )) are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words Christ and Christian derive from the Koine Greek title Christós (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ). [7]

Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the New Testament. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus Christ is the merciful Son of God and savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. It is the worlds largest religion with over 2.4 billion followers or 31.5% of the world's population.

<i>Christ</i> (title) messianic dimension of Jesus, biblical figure

In Christianity, Christ is a title for the saviour and redeemer who would bring salvation to the whole House of Israel. Christians believe Jesus is the Israelite messiah foretold in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Christ, used by Christians as both a name and a title, is synonymous with Jesus.

Koine Greek, also known as Alexandrian dialect, common Attic, Hellenistic or Biblical Greek, was the common supra-regional form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic period, the Roman Empire, and the early Byzantine Empire, or late antiquity. It evolved from the spread of Greek following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC, and served as the lingua franca of much of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East during the following centuries. It was based mainly on Attic and related Ionic speech forms, with various admixtures brought about through dialect levelling with other varieties.

Contents

While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, [8] [9] they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. [8] The term "Christian" is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." [10]

According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. [2] By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. [2] According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the world's largest religion in 2050, if current trends continue.

The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American fact tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It also conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis, and other empirical social science research. The Pew Research Center does not take policy positions, and is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Americas, about 26% live in Europe, 24% live in sub-Saharan Africa, about 13% live in Asia and the Pacific, and 1% live in the Middle East and North Africa. [2] About half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant (37%). [2] Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the world's Christians. [2] Other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories. [2] 280 million Christians live as a minority.

Americas Landmass comprising North America, Central America and South America

The Americas comprise the totality of the continents of North and South America. Together, they make up most of the land in Earth's western hemisphere and comprise the New World.

Europe Continent in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere

Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Asia to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia.

Sub-Saharan Africa area of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara Desert

Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. According to the United Nations, it consists of all African countries that are fully or partially located south of the Sahara. It contrasts with North Africa, whose territories are part of the League of Arab states within the Arab world. The states of Somalia, Djibouti, Comoros and the Arabic speaking Mauritania are however geographically in sub-Saharan Africa, although they are members of the Arab League as well. The UN Development Program lists 46 of Africa’s 54 countries as “sub-Saharan,” excluding Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia.

Christians have made noted contributions to a range of fields, including the sciences, [11] arts, [12] politics, literatures and business. According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes, a review of Nobel prizes awarded between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of Nobel Prizes laureates identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. [13] [ undue weight? – discuss ]

Politics refers to a set of activities associated with the governance of a country, or an area. It involves making decisions that apply to members of a group.

Business Organization undertaking commercial, industrial, or professional activity

Business is the activity of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products. Simply put, it is "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit. It does not mean it is a company, a corporation, partnership, or have any such formal organization, but it can range from a street peddler to General Motors."

Etymology

The Greek word Χριστιανός (Christianos), meaning "follower of Christ", comes from Χριστός (Christos), meaning "anointed one", [14] with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership. [15] In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed." [16] In other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish.

Anointing ritual act of putting aromatic oil on a person

Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or other fat. Scented oils are used as perfumes and sharing them is an act of hospitality. Their use to introduce a divine influence or presence is recorded from the earliest times; anointing was thus used as a form of medicine, thought to rid persons and things of dangerous spirits and demons which were believed to cause disease.

Greek language Language spoken in Greece, Cyprus and Southern Albania

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning more than 3000 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Septuagint Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures

The Septuagint is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures from the original Hebrew. It is estimated that the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch, were translated in the mid-3rd century BCE and the remaining texts were translated in the 2nd century BCE. The Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament and was in wide use by the time of Jesus and Paul simply because most Jews could no longer read Hebrew. For this reason it is quoted more often than the Hebrew Old Testament in the New Testament,particularly in the Pauline epistles,by the Apostolic Fathers, and later by the Greek Church Fathers.

The abbreviations Xian and Xtian (and similarly-formed other parts of speech) have been used since at least the 17th century: Oxford English Dictionary shows a 1634 use of Xtianity and Xian is seen in a 1634-38 diary. [17] [18] The word Xmas uses a similar contraction.

Early usage

The Church of Saint Peter near Antioch (modern-day Antakya), the city where the disciples were called "Christians". Antioch Saint Pierre Church Front.JPG
The Church of Saint Peter near Antioch (modern-day Antakya), the city where the disciples were called "Christians".

The first recorded use of the term (or its cognates in other languages) is in the New Testament, in Acts 11 after Barnabas brought Saul (Paul) to Antioch where they taught the disciples for about a year, the text says: "[...] the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." ( Acts 11:26 ). The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." ( Acts 26:28 ). The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4, which exhorts believers: "Yet if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." ( 1 Peter 4:16 ).

Kenneth Samuel Wuest holds that all three original New Testament verses' usages reflect a derisive element in the term Christian to refer to followers of Christ who did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome. [19] The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames. [20] However Peter's apparent endorsement of the term led to its being preferred over "Nazarenes" and the term Christianoi from 1 Peter becomes the standard term in the Early Church Fathers from Ignatius and Polycarp onwards. [21]

The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus, referring to "the tribe of Christians, so named from him;" [22] Pliny the Younger in correspondence with Trajan; and Tacitus, writing near the end of the 1st century. In the Annals he relates that "by vulgar appellation [they were] commonly called Christians" [23] and identifies Christians as Nero's scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. [24]

Nazarenes

Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is "Nazarenes". Jesus is named as a Nazarene in Math 2:23, while Saul-Paul is said to be Nazarene in Acts 24:5. The latter verse makes it clear that Nazarene also referred to the name of a sect or heresy, as well as the town called Nazareth.

The term Nazarene was also used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus (Against Marcion 4:8) which records that "the Jews call us Nazarenes." While around 331 AD Eusebius records that Christ was called a Nazoraean from the name Nazareth, and that in earlier centuries "Christians" were once called "Nazarenes". [25] The Hebrew equivalent of "Nazarenes", Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian.

Modern usage

The Latin cross and Ichthys symbols, two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion ChristianityPUA.png
The Latin cross and Ichthys symbols, two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion

Definition

A wide range of beliefs and practices are found across the world among those who call themselves Christian. Denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of "Christianity". For example, Timothy Beal notes the disparity of beliefs among those who identify as Christians in the United States as follows:

Although all of them have their historical roots in Christian theology and tradition, and although most would identify themselves as Christian, many would not identify others within the larger category as Christian. Most Baptists and fundamentalists (Christian Fundamentalism), for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian. In fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. [26]

Linda Woodhead attempts to provide a common belief thread for Christians by noting that "Whatever else they might disagree about, Christians are at least united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance." [8] Michael Martin evaluated three historical Christian creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed) to establish a set of basic Christian assumptions which include belief in theism, the historicity of Jesus, the Incarnation, salvation through faith in Jesus, and Jesus as an ethical role model. [27]

Hebrew terms

Nazareth is described as the childhood home of Jesus. Many languages employ the word "Nazarene" as a general designation for those of Christian faith. PikiWiki Israel 17818 Cities in Israel.jpg
Nazareth is described as the childhood home of Jesus. Many languages employ the word "Nazarene" as a general designation for those of Christian faith.

The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism. The term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוֹצְרִי (Notzri—"Nazarene"), a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. [28] Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מְשִׁיחִיִּים (Yehudim Meshihi'im—"Messianic Jews").

Arabic terms

In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians: Naṣrānī (نصراني), plural Naṣārā (نصارى) is generally understood to be derived from Nazareth through the Syriac (Aramaic); Masīḥī (مسيحي) means followers of the Messiah. [29] Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. [30] In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, e.g. "blond people." [31]

Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī (صليبي "Crusader") from ṣalīb (صليب "cross"), which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations. [29] [32] However, Ṣalībī is a modern term; historically, Muslim writers described European Christian Crusaders as al-Faranj or Alfranj (الفرنج) and Firinjīyah (الفرنجيّة) in Arabic. [33] This word comes from the name of the Franks and can be seen in the Arab history text Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ali ibn al-Athir. [34] [35]

Asian terms

The most common Persian word is Masīhī (مسیحی), from Arabic. Other words are Nasrānī (نصرانی), from Syriac for "Nazarene", and Tarsā (ترسا), from Middle Persian word Tarsāg, also meaning "Christian", derived from tars, meaning "fear, respect". [36]

An old Kurdish word for Christian frequently in usage was felle (فەڵە), coming from the root word meaning "to be saved" or "attain salvation". [37]

The Syriac term Nasrani (Nazarene) has also been attached to the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India. In the Indian subcontinent, Christians call themselves Isaai (Hindi : ईसाई, Urdu : عیسائی‎), and are also known by this term to adherents of other religions. [38] This is related to the name they call Jesus, 'Isa Masih, and literally means 'the followers of 'Isa'.

In the past, the Malays used to call the Portuguese Serani from the Arabic Nasrani, but the term now refers to the modern Kristang creoles of Malaysia. In Indonesian language, the term "Nasrani" is also used alongside with "Kristen".

The Chinese word is 基督 徒 (pinyin: jīdū tú), literally "Christ follower." The two characters now pronounced Jīdū in Mandarin Chinese were originally used phonetically to represent the name of Christ. In Vietnam, the same two characters read Cơ đốc , and a "follower of Christianity" is a tín đồ Cơ đốc giáo.

Japanese Christians ("Kurisuchan") in Portuguese costume, 16-17th century JapaneseChristiansInPortugueseCostume16-17thCentury.jpg
Japanese Christians ("Kurisuchan") in Portuguese costume, 16–17th century

In Japan, the term kirishitan (written in Edo period documents 吉利支丹, 切支丹, and in modern Japanese histories as キリシタン), from Portuguese cristão, referred to Roman Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries before the religion was banned by the Tokugawa shogunate. Today, Christians are referred to in Standard Japanese as キリスト教徒, Kirisuto-kyōto or the English-derived term クリスチャン kurisuchan.

Korean still uses 기독교도, Kidok-kyo-do for "Christian", though the Greek form Kurisudo 그리스도 has now replaced the old Sino-Korean Kidok, which refers to Christ himself.

In Thailand, the most common terms are คนคริสต์ (khon khrit) or ชาวคริสต์ (chao khrit) which literally mean "Christ person/people" or "Jesus person/people." The Thai word คริสต์ (khrit) is derived from "Christ."

Russian terms

The region of modern Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia (Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet bloc) has a long history of Christianity and Christian communities on its lands. In ancient times, in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, when this region was called Scythia, the geographical area of Scythians - Christians already lived there. [39] Later the region saw the first states to adopt Christianity officially - initially Armenia (301 AD) and Georgia (337 AD), later Bulgaria (c. 864) and the Great Russian Principality (Kyivan Rus, Russian :Великое княжество Русское, c. 988 AD).

In some areas, people of that time[ when? ] came to denote themselves as Christians (Russian : христиане, крестьяне) and as Russians (Russian : русские). Both terms had strong Christian connotations.[ citation needed ] In time the Russian term "крестьяне" (khrest'yanye) acquired the meaning "peasants of Christian faith" and later "peasants" (the main part of the population of the region), while the term "христиане" (khristianye) retained its religious meaning and the term "русские" (russkiye) began to mean representatives of the heterogeneous Russian nation formed on the basis of common Christian faith and language,[ citation needed ] which strongly influenced the history and development of the region. In the region the term "Pravoslav faith" (Russian : православная вера - Orthodox faith) or "Russian faith" (Russian : русская вера) from earliest times became almost as known as the original "Christian faith" (христианская, крестьянская вера).[ citation needed ] Also in some contexts the term "cossack" (Russian : козак, казак - "free man" by the will of God[ citation needed ]) was used[ by whom? ] to denote "free" Christians of steppe origin and Russian language.

Other non-religious usages

Nominally "Christian" societies made "Christian" a default label for citizenship or for "people like us". [40] In this context, religious or ethnic minorities can use "Christians" or "you Christians" loosely as a shorthand term for mainstream members of society who do not belong to their group - even in a thoroughly secular (though formerly Christian) society. [41]

Demographics

As of the early 21st century, Christianity has approximately 2.4 billion adherents. [42] [43] [44] The faith represents about a third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world. Christians have composed about 33 percent of the world's population for around 100 years. The largest Christian denomination is the Roman Catholic Church, with 1.17 billion adherents, representing half of all Christians. [45]

Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western World, where 70% are Christians. [2] According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey, if current trends continue, Christianity will remain the world's largest religion by the year 2050. By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. While Muslims have an average of 3.1 children per woman—the highest rate of all religious groups, Christians are second, with 2.7 children per woman. High birth rates and conversion were cited as the reason for Christian population growth. A 2015 study found that approximately 10.2 million Muslims converted to Christianity. [46] Christianity is growing in Africa, [47] [48] Asia, [48] [49] Latin America, [50] the Muslim world, [51] and Oceania.

Percentage of Christians worldwide, June 2014 Christianity percent population in each nation World Map Christian data by Pew Research.svg
Percentage of Christians worldwide, June 2014
Christians (self-described) by region(Pew Research Center, 2011) [52] [53] [54]
RegionChristians% Christian
Europe 558,260,00075.2
Latin America–Caribbean 531,280,00090.0
Sub-Saharan Africa 517,340,00062.9
Asia Pacific 286,950,0007.1
North America 266,630,00077.4
Middle East–North Africa 12,710,0003.7
World2,173,180,00031.5

Socioeconomics

According to a study from 2015, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%) and Jews (1.1%). According to the same study it was found that adherents under the classification Irreligion or other religions hold about 34.8% of the total global wealth. [55] A study done by the nonpartisan wealth research firm New World Wealth found that 56.2% of the 13.1 million millionaires in the world were Christians. [56]

A Pew Center study about religion and education around the world in 2016, found that Christians ranked as the second most educated religious group around in the world after Jews with an average of 9.3 years of schooling, [57] and the highest numbers of years of schooling among Christians were found in Germany (13.6), [57] New Zealand (13.5) [57] and Estonia (13.1). [57] Christians were also found to have the second highest number of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita while in absolute numbers ranked in the first place (220 million). [57] Between the various Christian communities, Singapore outranks other nations in terms of Christians who obtain a university degree in institutions of higher education (67%), [57] followed by the Christians of Israel (63%), [58] and the Christians of Georgia (57%). [57]

According to the study, Christians in North America, Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Asia Pacific regions are highly educated since many of the world universities were built by the historic Christian Churches, [57] in addition to the historical evidence that "Christian monks built libraries and, in the days before printing presses, preserved important earlier writings produced in Latin, Greek and Arabic". [57] According to the same study, Christians have a significant amount of gender equality in educational attainment, [57] and the study suggests that one of the reasons is the encouragement of the Protestant Reformers in promoting the education of women, which led to the eradication of illiteracy among females in Protestant communities. [57]

Noted individuals

Christians have made noted contributions to a range of fields, including philanthropy, philosophy, [59] [60] [61] :15 ethics, [62] literature, [12] business and economics, [63] [64] [65] fine arts and architecture, [12] music, [12] [66] theatre and medicine, [67] as well as science and technology, [11] [68] [69] both historically and in modern times. [70]

Eastern Christians (particularly Nestorian Christians) contributed to the Arab Islamic Civilization during the Ummayad and the Abbasid periods by translating works of Greek philosophers to Syriac and afterwards to Arabic. [71] [72] [73] They also excelled in philosophy, science, theology and medicine. [74] [75]

See also

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Protestantism division within Christianity, originating from the Reformation in the 16th century against the Roman Catholic Church, that rejects the Roman Catholic doctrines of papal supremacy and sacraments

Protestantism is the second largest form of Christianity with collectively between 800 million and more than 900 million adherents worldwide or nearly 40% of all Christians. It originated with the 16th century Reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. Protestants reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy and sacraments, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They emphasize the priesthood of all believers, justification by faith alone rather than by good works, and the highest authority of the Bible alone in faith and morals. The "five solae" summarise basic theological differences in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.

Christian population growth is the population growth of the global Christian community. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.19 billion Christians around the world in 2010, more than three times as many as the 600 million recorded in 1910. However, this rate of growth is slower than the overall population growth over the same time period. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center study, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to be 3.0 billion.

Christian cross variants

This is a list of Christian cross variants. The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the corpus.

References

  1. ↑ "Christianity 2015: Religious Diversity and Personal Contact" (PDF). gordonconwell.edu. January 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ANALYSIS   (19 December 2011). "Global Christianity". Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "Discrimination in the EU in 2012" (PDF), Special Eurobarometer , 383, European Union: European Commission, p. 233, 2012, retrieved 14 August 2013 The question asked was "Do you consider yourself to be...?" With a card showing: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Other Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, and Non-believer/Agnostic. Space was given for Other (SPONTANEOUS) and DK. Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu did not reach the 1% threshold.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Todd M.; Grim, Brian J. (2013). The World's Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography (PDF). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ↑ A history of ancient Greek by Maria Chritē, Maria Arapopoulou, Centre for the Greek Language (Thessalonikē, Greece) pg 436 ISBN   0-521-83307-8
  6. ↑ Wilken, Robert Louis. The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 26. ISBN   978-0-300-11884-1.
  7. ↑ Bickerman (1949) p. 145, The Christians got their appellation from "Christus," that is, "the Anointed," the Messiah.
  8. 1 2 3 Woodhead, Linda (2004). Christianity: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. n.p.
  9. ↑ Beal, Timothy (2008). Religion in America: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 35, 39. Beal states that, "Although all of them have their historical roots in Christian theology and tradition, and although most would identify themselves as Christian, many would not identify others within the larger category as Christian. Most Baptists and Fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian. In fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity."
  10. ↑ Schaff, Philip. "V. St. Paul and the Conversion of the Gentiles (Note 496)". History of the Christian Church.
  11. 1 2 Gilley, Sheridan (2006). The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 8, World Christianities C.1815-c.1914. Brian Stanley. Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ISBN   0521814561. ... Many of the scientists who contributed to these developments were Christians...
  12. 1 2 3 4 E. McGrath, Alister (2006). Christianity: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. p. 336. ISBN   1405108991. Virtually every major European composer contributed to the development of church music. Monteverdi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, and Verdi are all examples of composers to have made significant contributions in this sphere. The Catholic church was without question one of the most important patrons of musical developments, and a crucial stimulus to the development of the western musical tradition.
  13. ↑ Baruch A. Shalev, 100 Years of Nobel Prizes (2003), Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, p.57: between 1901 and 2000 reveals that 654 Laureates belong to 28 different religion Most (65.4%) have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference.
  14. ↑ Christ at Etymology Online
  15. ↑ Bickerman, 1949 p. 147, All these Greek terms, formed with the Latin suffix -ianus, exactly as the Latin words of the same derivation, express the idea that the men or things referred to, belong to the person to whose name the suffix is added.
    p. 145, In Latin this suffix produced proper names of the type Marcianus and, on the other hand, derivatives from the name of a person, which referred to his belongings, like fundus Narcissianus, or, by extension, to his adherents, Ciceroniani.
  16. ↑ Messiah at Etymology Online
  17. ↑ "X, n. 10". OED Online. Oxford University Press. March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2019. (Subscription required (help)).Cite uses deprecated parameter |subscription= (help)
  18. ↑ Rogers, Samuel (2004). Webster, Tom; Shipps, Kenneth W. (eds.). The Diary of Samuel Rogers, 1634-1638. Boydell Press. p. 4. ISBN   9781843830436 . Retrieved 8 January 2019. Throughout his diary, Rogers abbreviates 'Christ' to 'X' and the same is true of 'Christian' ('Xian'), 'Antichrist' ('AntiX') and related words.
  19. ↑ #Wuest-1973 p. 19. The word is used three times in the New Testament, and each time as a term of reproach or derision. Here in Antioch, the name Christianos was coined to distinguish the worshippers of the Christ from the Kaisarianos, the worshippers of Caesar.
  20. ↑ #Wuest-1973 p. 19. The city of Antioch in Syria had a reputation for coining nicknames.
  21. ↑ Christine Trevett Christian women and the time of the Apostolic Fathers 2006 "'Christians' (christianoi) was a term first coined in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11: 26) and which appeared next in Christian sources in Ignatius, Eph 11.2; Rom 3.2; Pol 7.3. Cf. too Did 12.4; MPol 3.1; 10.1; 12.1-2; EpDiog 1.1; 4.6; 5.1;"
  22. ↑ Josephus. "Antiquities of the Jews — XVIII, 3:3".
  23. ↑ Tacitus, Cornelius; Murphy, Arthur (1836). The works of Cornelius Tacitus: with an essay on his life and genius, notes, supplements, &c. Thomas Wardle. p. 287.
  24. ↑ Bruce, Frederick Fyvie (1988). The Book of the Acts. Eerdmans. p. 228. ISBN   0-8028-2505-2.
  25. ↑ Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies: Volume 65, Issue 1 University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies - 2002 "... around 331, Eusebius says of the place name Nazareth that 'from this name the Christ was called a Nazoraean, and in ancient times we, who are now called Christians, were once called Nazarenes';6 thus he attributes this designation ..."
  26. ↑ Beal, Timothy (2008). Religion in America: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 35.
  27. ↑ Martin, Michael (1993). The Case Against Christianity. Temple University Press. p. 12. ISBN   1-56639-081-8.
  28. ↑ Nazarene at Etymology Online
  29. 1 2 Society for Internet Research, The Hamas Charter, note 62 (erroneously, "salidi").
  30. ↑ Jeffrey Tayler, Trekking through the Moroccan Sahara.
  31. ↑ "Nasara". Mazyan Bizaf Show.
  32. ↑ Akbar S. Ahmed, Islam, Globalization, and Postmodernity, p 110.
  33. ↑ Rashid al-din Fazl Allâh, quoted in Karl Jahn (ed.) Histoire Universelle de Rasid al-Din Fadl Allah Abul=Khair: I. Histoire des Francs (Texte Persan avec traduction et annotations), Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1951. (Source: M. Ashtiany)
  34. ↑ سنة ٤٩١ - "ذكر ملك الفرنج مدينة أنطاكية" في الكامل في التاريخ
  35. ↑ "Account of al-Faranj seizing Antioch" Year 491AH, The Complete History
  36. ↑ MacKenzie, D. N. (1986). A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-713559-5
  37. ↑ Hazhar Mukriyani, (1990) Hanbanaborina Kurdish-Persian Dictionary Tehran, Soroush press p.527.
  38. ↑ "Catholic priest in saffron robe called 'Isai Baba'". The Indian Express . December 24, 2008. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012.
  39. ↑ Вселенские Соборы читать, скачать - профессор Антон Владимирович Карташёв
  40. ↑ Compare: Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A., eds. (1957). "Christian". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press (published 2005). p. 336. ISBN   9780192802903 . Retrieved 2016-12-05. In modern times the name Christian [...] has tended, in nominally Christian countries, to lose any credal significance and imply only that which is ethically praiseworthy (e.g. 'a Christian action') or socially customary ('Christian name').
  41. ↑ Compare: Sandmel, Samuel (1967). We Jews and You Christians: An Inquiry Into Attitudes. Lippincott. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  42. ↑ 33.39% of 7.174 billion world population (under "People and Society") "World". CIA world facts.
  43. ↑ "The List: The World's Fastest-Growing Religions". foreignpolicy.com. March 2007. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  44. ↑ "Major Religions Ranked by Size". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  45. ↑ Pontifical Yearbook 2010, Catholic News Agency. Accessed September 22, 2011.
  46. ↑ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane Alexander (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 11: 8. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  47. ↑ "Study: Christianity growth soars in Africa – USATODAY.com". USATODAY.COM. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  48. 1 2 Ostling, Richard N. (24 June 2001). "The Battle for Latin America's Soul". TIME.com. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  49. ↑ "In China, Protestantism's Simplicity Yields More Converts Than Catholicism". International Business Times. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  50. ↑ Chris Arsenault. "Evangelicals rise in Latin America" . Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  51. ↑ Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census
  52. ↑ ANALYSIS (19 December 2011). "Europe". Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  53. ↑ ANALYSIS (19 December 2011). "Americas". Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  54. ↑ ANALYSIS (19 December 2011). "Global religious landscape: Christians". Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  55. ↑ "Christians hold largest percentage of global wealth: Report". deccanherald.com. 2015-01-14.
  56. ↑ The religion of millionaires
  57. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Religion and Education Around the World" (PDF). Pew Research Center. December 19, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  58. ↑ "المسيحيون العرب يتفوقون على يهود إسرائيل في التعليم". Bokra. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  59. ↑ A. Spinello, Richard (2012). The Encyclicals of John Paul II: An Introduction and Commentary. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 147. ISBN   1442219424. ... The insights of Christian philosophy “would not have happened without the direct or indirect contribution of Christian faith” (FR 76). Typical Christian philosophers include St. Augustine, St. Bonaventure, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The benefits derived from Christian philosophy are twofold....
  60. ↑ Roy Vincelette, Alan (2009). Recent Catholic Philosophy: The Nineteenth Century. Marquette University Press. ISBN   0874627567. ... .Catholic thinkers contributed extensively to philosophy during the Nineteenth Century. Besides pioneering the revivals of Augustinianism and Thomism, they also helped to initiate such philosophical movements as Romanticism, Traditionalism, Semi-Rationalism, Spiritualism, Ontologism, and Integralism...
  61. ↑ Hyman, J.; Walsh, J.J. (1967). Philosophy in the Middle Ages: The Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Traditions. New York: Harper & Row. OCLC   370638.
  62. ↑ Brown, J. Encyclopaedia Perthensis, Or, Universal Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, Literature, Etc. : Intended to Supersede the Use of Other Books of Reference, Volume 18. University of Minnesota. p. 179. ISBN   0191025135. ... Christians has also contributed greatly to the abolition of slavery, or at least to the mitigation of the rigour of servitude.
  63. ↑ Hillerbrand, Hans J. (2016). Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set. Pickle Partners Publishing. p. 174. ISBN   1787203042. ... In the centuries succeeding the REFORMATION the teaching of Protestantism was consistent on the nature of work. Some Protestant theologians also contributed to the study of economics, especially the nineteenth-century Scottish minister THOMAS CHALMERS....
  64. ↑ Guan, Wenwei (2014). Intellectual Property Theory and Practice: A Critical Examination of China’s TRIPS Compliance and Beyond. Springer. p. 51. ISBN   364255265X. ... According to Max Weber's analysis, Protestant Asceticism contributed to the rise of the capitalism in the West....
  65. ↑ Ernst, Troeltsch (2017). Protestantism and Progress: A Historical Study of the Relation of Protestantism to the Modern World. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN   1351496115. ...It is clear enough without this that the contribution of Protestantism to modern economic development, which is, in point of fact, one of the most characteristic features of our modern world, is to be ascribed, not to Protestantism as a whole, but primarily to Calvinism, Pietism, and the Sectaries, and that even with them this contribution is only an indirect and consequently an involuntary one.
  66. ↑ What Christianity Has Done for the World. Rose Publishing Inc. 2014. ISBN   1628621060. Christian, also contributed much to the world of music. A prolific composer, Bach regularly wrote sacred music, dedicating his efforts to the glory of God.
  67. ↑ S. Kroger, William (2016). Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis in Medicine, Dentistry and Psychology. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN   1787203042. Many prominent Catholic physicians and psychologists have made significant contributions to hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology.
  68. ↑ Steane, Andrew (2014). Faithful to Science: The Role of Science in Religion. OUP Oxford. p. 179. ISBN   0191025135. ... the Christian contribution to science has been uniformly at the top level, but it has reached that level and it has been sufficiently strong overall ...
  69. ↑ L. Johnson, Eric (2009). Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal. InterVarsity Press. p. 63. ISBN   0830875271. ... . Many of the early leaders of the scientific revolution were Christians of various stripes, including Roger Bacon, Copernicus, Kepler, Francis Bacon, Galileo, Newton, Boyle, Pascal, Descartes, Ray, Linnaeus and Gassendi...
  70. ↑ Baruch A. Shalev, 100 Years of Nobel Prizes (2003), Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, p.57: between 1901 and 2000 reveals that 654 Laureates belong to 28 different religions. Most (65.4%) have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. ISBN   978-0935047370
  71. ↑ Hill, Donald. Islamic Science and Engineering. 1993. Edinburgh Univ. Press. ISBN   0-7486-0455-3, p.4
  72. ↑ Brague, Rémi (15 April 2009). The Legend of the Middle Ages. p. 164. ISBN   9780226070803 . Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  73. ↑ Ferguson, Kitty Pythagoras: His Lives and the Legacy of a Rational Universe Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2008, (page number not available – occurs toward end of Chapter 13, "The Wrap-up of Antiquity"). "It was in the Near and Middle East and North Africa that the old traditions of teaching and learning continued, and where Christian scholars were carefully preserving ancient texts and knowledge of the ancient Greek language."
  74. ↑ Rémi Brague, Assyrians contributions to the Islamic civilization
  75. ↑ Britannica, Nestorian

Bibliography

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