The Greatest Christian in history

[Daraxyl]

Seeing as there is a topic "The Greatest Atheist in history", I thought I would start one for the greatest christian in history. 

Or in other words: who lived a life that most closely matches the traditional christian values:
 
   Loving your neighbor as yourself
   No lying or stealing
   Being honest and virtous
   etc....

Ground rules:
1) Since Jesus Christ is typically seen as the definition of being "christian", he is not an option for this topic.

2) This is open to anyone. Christian believers and non-believers, theists and athiests, Moses, Dawkins, or Mrs. Jones down the street.

So, who do you think best lived the christian life and why.

[Artois]

Some would say Jesus is the greatest christian in history, however I believe his mother, Mary, who is untainted with sin, is the greatest testament to Christian virtue.

[Cel]

Some would say Jesus is the greatest christian in history, however I believe his mother, Mary, who is untainted with sin, is the greatest testament to Christian virtue.

Several times through out the bible Mary does sin, like in Luke 2:48 when she rebukes 12 year old Jesus for being at the temple. When Jesus is older he also rebukes Mary a few times for doing something wrong.

That aside, I believe other than Jesus, the greatest christian would be John the Baptist as Jesus once said the greatest person ever born before him was John the Baptist. Greater than Abraham, Moses, or Mary. Jn. 7:28.

I'm quoting these mostly from memory, so if I get this epicly wrong I'm really sorry.

[nerd1]

Some would say Jesus is the greatest christian in history, however I believe his mother, Mary, who is untainted with sin, is the greatest testament to Christian virtue.

Several times through out the bible Mary does sin, like in Luke 2:48 when she rebukes 12 year old Jesus for being at the temple. When Jesus is older he also rebukes Mary a few times for doing something wrong.

That aside, I believe other than Jesus, the greatest christian would be John the Baptist as Jesus once said the greatest person ever born before him was John the Baptist. Greater than Abraham, Moses, or Mary. Jn. 7:28.

I'm quoting these mostly from memory, so if I get this epicly wrong I'm really sorry.

none of them could be defined as christians, they were, in fact, raised to be jewish. the greatest christian would most likely have to be someone who acted after jesus's ascencion into heaven.
Mary never actually sins, she is rebuked by jesus, yes, but that was out of parental concern and ot an attempt to harm jesus, and doing something wrong does not equate to sinning- if I fail a test at school, I have don it wrong, but I have not sinned in failing it.

[Wimbledofy]

Some would say Jesus is the greatest christian in history, however I believe his mother, Mary, who is untainted with sin, is the greatest testament to Christian virtue.

Several times through out the bible Mary does sin, like in Luke 2:48 when she rebukes 12 year old Jesus for being at the temple. When Jesus is older he also rebukes Mary a few times for doing something wrong.

That aside, I believe other than Jesus, the greatest christian would be John the Baptist as Jesus once said the greatest person ever born before him was John the Baptist. Greater than Abraham, Moses, or Mary. Jn. 7:28.

I'm quoting these mostly from memory, so if I get this epicly wrong I'm really sorry.

none of them could be defined as christians, they were, in fact, raised to be jewish. the greatest christian would most likely have to be someone who acted after jesus's ascencion into heaven.
Mary never actually sins, she is rebuked by jesus, yes, but that was out of parental concern and ot an attempt to harm jesus, and doing something wrong does not equate to sinning- if I fail a test at school, I have don it wrong, but I have not sinned in failing it.

depends on what you mean by christian, because they were still christians, thats just not the term that was used in that time a better thing we should say if we want to include them would be "Greatest person of God's chosen people." and failing a test shows that you did not study or prepare for it, wand in the bible it says to do the best in whatever you do(sorry for not knowing the reference)

[Daraxyl]

The popular belief is that the term "Christian" wasn't used till after Christ's time, hence that is why I defined it as thus:

who lived a life that most closely matches the traditional christian values:
 
   Loving your neighbor as yourself
   No lying or stealing
   Being honest and virtous
   etc....

That way we could include those before, during, and after Christ's time.

However, if we are more inclined to talk about the most faithful of God's chosen people, I would pick Abraham.  He was willing to sacrifice Isaac (at God's command) even though God had promised Abraham seed without number (and Abraham wouldn't have that if his son was dead. )

(One could also make the strong argument about Job and his enduring faith even in the face of his trials.)

[Belthus]

Sorry, but "Christian" and "virtuous" are not synonyms. Christianity emphasizes belief over action. If Hitler accepted Jesus as his savior, he would be in Heaven, according to doctrine. It's true that Christianity also encourages virtuous behavior, but it is far from unique in that.

[Cel]

Sorry, but "Christian" and "virtuous" are not synonyms. Christianity emphasizes belief over action. If Hitler accepted Jesus as his savior, he would be in Heaven, according to doctrine. It's true that Christianity also encourages virtuous behavior, but it is far from unique in that.

If Hitler had accepted Jesus as his savior, he wouldn't have been the demonized freak we know him as today. You are correct in that just because you are Christian doesn't mean you're virtuous, but it does mean that you strive to be.

  In other words, just because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, that doesn't mean we now feel free to sin.

  But I suppose we are kinda digressing from the original topic...

[Nepycros]

Sorry, but "Christian" and "virtuous" are not synonyms. Christianity emphasizes belief over action. If Hitler accepted Jesus as his savior, he would be in Heaven, according to doctrine. It's true that Christianity also encourages virtuous behavior, but it is far from unique in that.

If Hitler had accepted Jesus as his savior, he wouldn't have been the demonized freak we know him as today. You are correct in that just because you are Christian doesn't mean you're virtuous, but it does mean that you strive to be.

  In other words, just because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, that doesn't mean we now feel free to sin.

  But I suppose we are kinda digressing from the original topic...

Accepting him as your savior and using him as an example for a 'moral guideline' are two completely different things. And you can't say that just because 'if he was Christian, he wouldn't commit genocide' because you don't know how everyone's psychological mind functions under religious stimuli.

[Belthus]

If Hitler had accepted Jesus as his savior, he wouldn't have been the demonized freak we know him as today.

If Hitler accepted Jesus after he committed his crimes against humanity, he would have been forgiven. Whereas someone who did good deeds in life but never believed in Jesus would go to Hell, according to the doctrine of many sects. So Christianity offers a free pass to some and claims that others, who were truly virtuous people, are going to be tortured with divine approval.

[Cel]

If Hitler had accepted Jesus as his savior, he wouldn't have been the demonized freak we know him as today.

If Hitler accepted Jesus after he committed his crimes against humanity, he would have been forgiven. Whereas someone who did good deeds in life but never believed in Jesus would go to Hell, according to the doctrine of many sects. So Christianity offers a free pass to some and claims that others, who were truly virtuous people, are going to be tortured with divine approval.

That could very well be true, but what I am familiar with is the one that I believe C. S. Lewis stated perfectly so, to quote Aslan, 'All good you do in the name of Tash you do in mine, and all evil you do in my name you do in his.'
   I think that Hitler was already to far gone from himself to ever be saved, but that is just my speculation.

[Belthus]

I think that Hitler was already to far gone from himself to ever be saved, but that is just my speculation.

By focusing on Hitler, you are missing the larger point. Christianity is not primarily about good deeds. It's about faith. A deathbed conversion after a life of genocide is valued more highly than a lifetime of good deeds without belief in Jesus.