who on earth would not consider you a Christian at all? I mean, you're...well, you're Dwight. in my estimation, it would take a pretty weird definition of "Christian" to exclude you from it. a definition that, you know, is at best a pretty severe distortion of the idea of saved-by-grace-through-faith-in-Jesus-Christ.

I've known scads of people who have definitions of Christianity precise enough to exclude people who are far less liberal than Dwight.

Sorry to hear it's within the family, Dwight--that can be tough.

I've never had to deal with people I'm close to having particular problems with my various heterodoxies (I worry, sometimes, that I've intentionally stopped just short of a departure that significant). I have, however, dealt a lot with who I myself consider Christian.

I was raised using lack of belief in the Trinity as a reason to call Mormons, Jehova's Witnesses, followers of the Worldwide Church of God, and other sects cults. Though I still disagree with them on most grounds, I've had to fully back down from the idea that the ways in which our beliefs differ constitute an "essential" enough divide for them to not be Christians.

It's hard doing this because, regardless of the reasons, it can feel like you're saying the ways in which we differe aren't important. Like hell they're not! And it can feel like I'm saying the ways in which we disagree don't matter. The hell they don't! But things that matter, things that are important... all those things are different than the enormous split that I think should be required to consider someone who claims the name of Christ to be wholly cut off from his salvation.

By the way, I only now correctly read your entry. Someone you "consider" your brother, ie: you're talking generally about those that you consider Christian but with whom the sentiment is not returned.

Gotcha. Just took me a minute.