On OpenDiary I am attempting to formulate a universally acceptable definition of Christian. The best working definition that I’ve managed to come up with thus far goes like this:

A Christian is a theist who believes in and worships the deity described in the Jewish scriptures (Yahweh). A Christian places great importance on Jesus and the four Gospels that are believed to convey his story and teachings. [All/Most] Christians believe Jesus was not merely a man but The Christ – the Messiah referred to in the Jewish scriptures that Christians call the Old Testament.

You can learn more about how I came up with this definition in an entry I posted on May 22 as well as in earlier entries going back to May 17.

If you have any suggestions for how this definition might be improved, feel free to share them at any time.

Today I’d like to focus on the last part of my working definition: “[All/Most] Christians believe Jesus was not merely a man but The Christ – the Messiah referred to in the Jewish scriptures that Christians call the Old Testament.”

As I ponder that sentence, a few questions naturally arise, including these:

—– If Jesus was the Messiah referred to in the Jewish scriptures, why have the vast majority of Jewish people never accepted him as such?

—– If Jesus was the Messiah referred to in the Jewish scriptures, why did Christianity spread much more easily among non-Jews who never accepted the Jewish scriptures as holy writ?

—– Are Jewish people ignorant and/or stupid when it comes to understanding their own scriptures and how Jesus does and doesn’t fit in with them?

—– Are Jewish people evil? Are they rejecting Jesus even though they know he’s the Messiah?

—– Have Jewish people been blinded by Satan? Misled by their rabbis? Too lazy to read the Gospels for themselves and discover the truth about Jesus?

—– Are Jewish people actually right when they say Jesus wasn’t the Messiah? Are Christians actually the ones who have misunderstood the Jewish scriptures and the nature of Jesus?

—– How might someone who is neither Jewish nor Christian decide whether the Jewish or the Christian view of Jesus best captures the truth?

How would you answer any or all of these questions?