not clear, what minimal faith is needed for salvation, for christians

I accept your challenge and I appreciate your wish to remain apart from the "faith vs. works" debate. Unless you otherwise protest, I will be using the King James Bible in reference Romans 10 verse 9 for the following: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" What is minimal you ask? The word itself when applied to salvation could be considered taboo in some circles. Based on the Bible or not, some would question your salvation if you even broached the subject of how little you can get away with doing. That is not my position and is not what I plan on speaking about. I intend to approach this from a "what must I do to be saved" view. You mentioned that Satan believes in God and Christ. This is akin to my belief that you are a human being who for the most part is most likely functional in the way I am. However, if I said that I "believe IN" you, that is different. Let us say you tell me you are working to help needy families in your area. If I say "I believe you" I am stating that I believe you are stating a fact. If I say "I believe in you" I am stating that I believe in your ability to do so. I am acknowledging that you have the wherewithal to accomplish your task. If you are a person of poverty yourself, I might not say "I believe in you" if I do not see such ability in you. When in comes to "believing IN" Christ, you are believing that he has the power and ability to save you, not that you merely "believe" in his existence. I would say "believe IN" Jesus as your Savior. John 3 verse 16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth IN him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" What does Lord mean in the New Testament of the Bible? The problem lies in the basis of the translation. The New Testament is translated from the Greek. Whereas the Old Testament Hebrew has three different words for the word 'lord', the Greek only has one, 'kurios.' That means, LORD (OT for Jehovah), Lord (OT for adownai), and lord (OT for adown) all appear as 'kurios' in the Greek New Testament. In this verse, an opinion of course, but as Jesus has already been identified as the Son of God I would say that we can say that "Lord Jesus" does not refer to his title for owning a large country to the north. We also see God referred to as the "Lord God" so often that is often thought of as a synonymous word meaning the same thing, "God-God." You can take it to it's basic meaning, a man of high office. The usage really doesn't matter, it is always used to describe powerful status and Jesus would most likely be deserving in the Bible. Lastly, the Bible states clearly that Christ's salvation is a gift. Ephesians 2 verse 8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the GIFT of God:" Like any gift, you can only benefit from it if you use it. If you choose not to open the package you gain no benefit at all. How to properly use the gift, well, I believe that believing IN Christ and confessing that he is "gift-giver" is recipe for salvation. When Christmas times comes, do you not openly thank the person who gave you the gift? You are not just thanking but acknowledging them.