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A Christian (helpinfo) is a person who adheres to Christianity an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. "Christian" derives from the Greek word Christ a translation of the Hebrew term Messiah.1

Central to the Christian faith is love or Agape. Christians also believe Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible the Son of God and the savior of mankind from their sins.2 Most Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity ("tri-unity") a description of God as Father Son and Holy Spirit which retains the monotheistic belief of Christianity's Abrahamic heritage through an ineffable confluence. This includes the vast majority of the churches in Christianity. A minority of Christian churches are Nontrinitarians.

The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to describe anything associated with Christianity or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble and good and Christ-like."3 It is also used as a label to identify people who associate with the cultural aspects of Christianity irrespective of personal religious beliefs or practices.citation needed Contents 1 Etymology 2 Early usage 3 Modern usage 3.1 Christian nation 3.2 Hebrew terms 3.3 Arabic terms 3.4 Asian terms 4 Demographics 5 See also 6 Bibliography 7 References Etymology

The Greek word (christianos)meaning "follower of Christ"comes from (christos)meaning "anointed one"4with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to or even belonging to as in slave ownership.5 In the Greek Septuagint christos was used to translate the Hebrew (Maa messiah) meaning "one who is anointed."6 In other European languages equivalent words to 'Christian' are likewise derived from the Greek such as 'Chrtien' in French and 'Cristiano' in Spanish. Depiction of Jesus from whom Christians derive their name as they believe He is the Son of God and the Messiah (Christ) prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Early usage

The first recorded use of the term (or its cognates in other languages) is in the New Testament in Acts 11:26 which states "...in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians." The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26:28 where Herod Agrippa II replies to Paul the Apostle "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian" The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4:16 which exhorts believers "...if you suffer as a Christian do not be ashamed but praise God that you bear that name."

These verses reflect the original derisive use of the term Christian to refer to followers of Christ who did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome.7 The town Antioch which is said to have given them the name Christian had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames.8 The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus referring to "the tribe of Christians so named from him;"9 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"10 and identifies Christians as Nero's scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome.11 Modern usage A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian. There is usually a consensus among many denominations about what defines a Christian but disagreement does exist among some sects and denominations on a common definition of "Christianity." Philosopher Michael Martin in his book The Case Against Christianity evaluated three historical Christian creeds to establish a set of basic assumptions which include belief in theism the historicity of Jesus the Incarnation salvation through faith in Jesus and Jesus as an ethical role model.12 Included in his analysis were the Apostles' Creed the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. The challenge of determining what it means to be Christian is further compounded by theological differences concerning biblical definitions of salvation usually known as the faith vs works controversy. Some believe that the Book of James in particular presents a doctrine of justification based upon worksa position that contradicts Pauls doctrine of justification based upon faith. One writer combines the two views this way: "Works of the law that are outward acts of ritual for the purpose of receiving merit are of no value for attaining salvation. However those who trust in and obey Jesus Christ will produce works that are motivated by the Spirit that will serve to build up the Kingdom of God...."13 Christian nation The cross and Ichthys symbols two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion. Anderson Cooper has reported that in the United States "more than 85 percent is Christian and two-thirds of Americans a number that's climbing consider America a Christian nation. But from there the lines start to blur."14 Hebrew terms As the identification of the Messiah with Jesus is not accepted within Judaism the Talmudic term for Christians in Hebrew is Notzrim ("Nazarenes") originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the village of Nazareth in Israel.15 However Messianic Jews are referred to in modern Hebrew as (Yehudim Meshihi'im). Arabic terms In Arabic-speaking cultures two words are commonly used for Christians: Nasrani () plural "Nasara" () is generally understood to be derived from Nazareth16 through the Syriac (Aramaic); Masihi () means followers of the Messiah.1617 Where there is a distinction Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus.18 In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim white people.18 Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians particularly in a political context is Salibi; this refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations.1719 Asian terms Nasrani or Nasranee may also refer to the Syrian Malabar Nasrani people a Christian ethno-religious group from Kerala India are a mixed race people of Chaldean Malayali Brahmin Syriac Jewish and other Malayali Hindu Castes in decreasing percentage of ethnic ancestry. In the Indian subcontinent Christians also call themselves "Isai" (Hindi: Urdu: ) and are also known by this term to Hindus and others in south Asia.20 This is related to the name they call Jesus "Isa Masih". In the past the Malays used to call the Portuguese Serani which meant "followers of the Nazarene". The term Serani is used for the creole Christian community of Malaysia today. The Chinese word is (pinyin: jd t) literally "Christ follower." Demographics Main article: Christianity by country As of the early 21st century Christianity has around 2.2 billion adherents.212223 The faith represents about a quarter to a third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world with approximately 38000 Christian denominations.24 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 1.166 billion adherents representing half of all Christians.25 Twenty countries with the most Christians Country Christians  % Christian  United States (details) 243186000 78.4%  Brazil (details) 174700000 90.4%  Mexico (details) 105095000 94.5%  Russia (details) 99775000 70.3%  Philippines (details) 90530000 92.4%  Nigeria (details) 76281000 48.2%  Congo Democratic Republic of (details) 63825000 90.0%  Italy (details) 55070000 91.1%  Ethiopia (details) 54978000 64.5%  People's Republic of China (details) 54000000 4.0%  Germany (details) 49400000 59.9%  United Kingdom (details) 44522000 71.8%  Colombia (details) 44502000 97.6%  Ukraine (details) 41973000 91.5%  South Africa (details) 39843000 79.7%  Argentina (details) 37561000 92.7%  Poland (details) 36526000 95.7%  Spain (details) 35568000 77.2%  France (details) 35014000 53.5%  Kenya (details) 34774000 85.1% See also Christianity portal Christendom Christian Church Conversion to Christianity Cultural Christian Lists of Christians Rice Christian referring to people who profess Christianity for material benefits Bibliography Etymology Bickerman Elias J. (April 1949). "The Name of Christians". The Harvard Theological Review 42 (2): 109124. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1507955.  also available in Bickerman Elias J. (1986). Studies in Jewish and Christian history. ISBN 9004043950. http://books.google.com/booksidgqQfAAAAIAAJ&.  (from which page numbers are cited) Wuest Kenneth Samuel (1973). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament. 1. ISBN 9780802822802. http://books.google.com/booksidZHhK3AKkc9EC.  References Bickerman (1949) p. 145 The Christians got their appelation from "Christus" that is "the Anointed" the Messiah. "BBC Religion & Ethics Christianity at a glance" BBC Schaff Philip. "V. St. Paul and the Conversion of the Gentiles (Note 496)". History of the Christian Church. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc1.txt.  Christ at Etymology Online 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. Messiah at Etymology Online #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. #Wuest-1973 p. 19. The city of Antioch in Syria had a reputation for coining nicknames. Josephus. "Antiquities of the Jews - XVIII 3:3". http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-18.htm.  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. http://books.google.com/idE0vy1dAhgj0C.  Bruce Frederick Fyvie (1988). The Book of the Acts. Eerdmans. p. 228. ISBN 0802825052.  Martin Michael (1993). The Case Against Christianity. Temple University Press. p. 12. ISBN 1566390818.  Carter John W. "Faith Works and the Apparent Controversy of Paul and James." Web: 8 Nov 2010. Based on publications by Paige Patterson and G.G. Findlay Cooper Anderson (December 14 2006). "What is a Christian; New Moral Values; Evangelicals and Israel; End of Days; Capitalist Christian; The Seekers". Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees. CNN.com. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/14/acd.02.html.  Nazarene at Etymology Online a b Khaled Ahmed Pakistan Daily Times. a b Society for Internet Research The Hamas Charter note 62 (erroneously "salidi"). a b Jeffrey Tayler Trekking through the Moroccan Sahara. Akbar S. Ahmed Islam Globalization and Postmodernity p 110. "Catholic priest in saffron robe called 'Isai Baba'". The Indian Express. December 24 2008. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Catholic-priest-in-saffron-robe-called---Isai-Baba--/402458/.  33.2% of 6.7 billion world population (under "People") "World". CIA world facts. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html.  "The List: The World's Fastest-Growing Religions". foreignpolicy.com. 2007-03. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.phpstoryid3835. Retrieved 2010-01-04.  "Major Religions Ranked by Size". Adherents.com. http://www.adherents.com/ReligionsByAdherents.html. Retrieved 2009-05-05.  Hinnells The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion p. 441. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/universalchurchseesincreaseinseminariansreportspontificalyearbook/