Nominal Christian

The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE) defines a nominal Christian as "a person who has not responded in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and Lord." The LCWE notes that such a one "may be a practising or non-practising church member. He may give intellectual assent to basic Christian doctrines and claim to be a Christian. He may be faithful in attending liturgical rites and worship services, and be an active member involved in church affairs."[1] The LCWE also suggests that nominal Christianity "is to be found wherever the church is more than one generation old."[2]

Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk suggest that "nominalism" is a major issue. They assert that "many traditionally Christian populations know nothing of a personal faith, true repentance, and a trust in the finished work of Christ for their salvation", and estimate that 1.2 billion people are "nominal and non-practising 'Christians'."[3]

American Reformed theologian Douglas Wilson disagrees with the category of "nominal Christian" and argues that all who are baptized enter into a covenant with God, and are obliged to serve him; there is, therefore, "no such thing as a merely nominal Christian any more than we can find a man who is a nominal husband".[4] There are, however, "wicked and faithless Christians."[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Christian Witness to Nominal Christians Among Roman Catholics, Lausanne Occasional Paper 10.
  2. ↑ Witness to Nominal Christians Among Protestants, Lausanne Occasional Paper 23.
  3. ↑ Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, Operation World: 21st Century Edition (Paternoster, 2001), 13–14.
  4. ↑ Douglas Wilson, Reformed is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant (Moscow, Idaho: Canon Press, 2000), 96.
  5. ↑ Douglas Wilson, Reformed is Not Enough, 97.

Further reading