A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

Etymology

The word comes from Old English cristen, from Latin Christianus, from Greek Χριστιανός (khristianos), from Χριστός (khristos) meaning "the anointed". In the (Greek) Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, khristos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ,) (messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed."

The first known usage of the term Χριστιανός (khristianos) can be found in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The term was thus first used to denote those known or perceived to be disciples or followers of Jesus Christ. In the two other New Testament uses of the word (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16), it also refers to the public identity of those who follow Jesus.

The earliest recorded use of the term outside the Bible was when Tacitus recorded that Nero blamed the "Christians" for the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64.

"Christian" also means a member or adherent of a church or other organized group within Christianity. As an adjective, the term may also describe anything associated with Christianity, or even remotely thought to be consistent with Christianity, as in "the Christian thing to do."

In the United States, especially the South and Midwest, the word Christian may also be narrowly used as shorthand for certain denominations or groupings, particularly the Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ or Churches of Christ; for example, "First Christian Church of (name of local town)".

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