Christian

Occurrences in Scripture

The word "Christian" appears three times in the New Testament.

• Acts 11:26: After recording that Barnabas and Saul (Paul) taught in the church at Antioch for a whole year, the text states, "And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." This verse identifies where the name was first used.
• Acts 26:28: After Paul makes his defense before the tribunal, King Agrippa replies, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
• 1 Peter 4:16: "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." The verse presupposes a setting in which believers were persecuted on account of this name.

Meaning and Background of the Word

The Greek Christianos is formed by adding the suffix -ianos, which denotes belonging or allegiance, to Christ (Christos, "anointed one," a translation of the Hebrew Messiah). This suffix is thought to derive from the Latin -ianus, and the name of the Herodians (Herodianoi) in the Gospels is formed in the same way. The name thus carries the sense of "the Christ party" or "those who follow Christ."

In the New Testament, believers referred to themselves chiefly as "disciples," "brethren," "saints," and "believers." Acts also records the movement being called "the Way" (Acts 9:2) and being labeled by its opponents "the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5). For this reason, many scholars believe that "Christian" was originally a name applied to the church by outsiders. The name also appears in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus and the provincial governor Pliny the Younger in the late first and early second centuries, showing that it was used in Roman society to designate this group.

Interpretations and Points of Debate

• The nature of the name: Interpreters differ on whether the name was a mocking or derogatory nickname from the outset or simply a label distinguishing the group. Scholars also disagree over whether the verb in Acts 11:26 implies that the name was officially conferred.
• Agrippa's tone: Some read Acts 26:28 as sarcastic, while others read it as the words of a man half persuaded. Translations render the phrase either as "with few words" or as "almost," yielding slightly different shades of meaning.
• Who is a Christian?: Scripture offers no explicit definition of the word. Consequently, traditions differ in emphasis, some defining it in terms of confession of faith and others in terms of baptism. Churches of the nineteenth-century American Restoration Movement are known to have urged the exclusive use of the biblical name "Christian" in place of denominational names.

In the Korean Church

In Korean, the common word for Christianity (Gidokgyo) is built on a Chinese-character transliteration of "Christ," so the Korean terms for "adherent of Christianity" and "Christian" originally mean the same thing. In Korea, however, the word for Christianity is commonly used to refer only to Protestantism, so whether "Christian" denotes only Protestants or also includes Catholic and Orthodox believers depends on context. Within Korean churches, terms meaning "saint," "church member," and "believer," as well as the English loanword "Christian," are used more often. The native Korean term for "Christian" is used mainly in preaching and Christian education when speaking of the believer's identity and way of life.