I(Mikal) am a Christian

Being a Christian vs. being savedMy opponent opens with an interesting argument - rather than accepting the standard definition of 'Christian', which basically amounts to 'follower of Christ', he instead bases his version on salvation. That is, if you believe in God and that Jesus was sent to die for your sins, are saved, you are a Christian forever. At the heart of it, this seems right - however, this is actually the wrong way about it. My opponent and I are both in agreement salvation is eternal - I am not a Calvinist, but I agree on that point. Under my opponent's definition, famous nontheists like Fidel Castro, Richard Dawkins, Karl Marx, and Josef Stalin would all be considered Christians, despite rejecting the faith.[1] They may all indeed have been saved, but are they Christians? Hardly. Salvation is the pathway to heaven - Christianity is living as a follower of Christ through your life. If you aren't actively following Christ, you aren't a Christian.Being a Christian is completely dependent on youLike previously, my opponent presents a favorable argument - Christianity is a relationship between you and God, and nobody else can declare whether or not you are a 'Christian'. However, this falls into the same trap as before - salvation is not equal to being a Christian. The second chapter, verses 14 to 26 of the Book of James (NIV) notes this difference in an excellent was. James, the book's author, says: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead... Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Issac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did... you see a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them in a different direction? As the body without spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."[2]In other words, faith in Christ (Christianity) is not truly there unless one is doing good deeds. Unfortunately, my opponent has not been doing good deeds, at least as far as we on DDO can know. Contrary to my opponent's statements, it is well-documented that he has denied the name of Jesus among men. In an archive of his home page, from July 25, 2013, he says "I am an atheist and in some ways have a vendetta against the church. I believe how most people view Christianity is wrong and is poisoning America. While I have a few friends who are fine examples of Christians and whom I respect, I believe Christianity causes more harm than good." He lists his favorite books as being God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything and The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins as well as The End of Faith by Sam Harris.[3] Both of these authors are adherents of the New Atheist movement, which is openly hostile to belief in god, adherence to religion, and the religious: they are well known as two of the five most prominent authors of books supporting that view.[4]While a religious conversion in the last half-year is certainly possible, it simply isn't supported by the facts - three hours ago at the time of writing this, in the comments section of another debate, DDO user Geogeer noted this still remained on his profile.[5] This is supported by his profile page stating that, at time of writing, he had updated his page just three hours ago.[6] This does not mesh with the time period when he declared himself as a Christian, during the CCM debate, which was two days ago from the time of writing.[7] Since the end of that debate, he has been involved in two more debates relating to Christianity:[8] one in which he argues that God does not exist and the Bible is not accurate,[9] and another where he argues the Bible is not accurate and Jesus did not exist.[10] My opponent can argue that he has been arguing devil's advocate all along, but he has been involved in over a dozen debates regarding Christianity, and in most of these he argues against Christianity. Even in the ones where he supports it, he states himself as an atheist playing devil's advocate on the topic.[11][12] His cited crucifixion argument[13] was within the same couple of weeks as arguing God doesn't exist.[14][15] Which side is he playing devil's advocate on? Clearly, he is an atheist who likes to argue from both angles for fun. Simply put, by his actions - even after a claimed conversion - my opponent simply is not a Christian by his actions. And even if he was lying about being an atheist, that's hardly something a ture Christ-follower would do. Given the facts I have shown, we must ask ourselves - is Mikal really telling the truth? Has he abandoned his years upon years of atheism? Are his attacks on God, the Bible and Jesus, even after his 'conversion', compatable with being Christian? The answer, my friends, is simply 'no. The timing of his 'conversion' is no coincidence - he did so to claim eligiblity to participate in the CCM debate,[5] which I would wager is to give him an easier likelihood of maintaining his near-perfect win total. It's a good play, but the internet is forever and, based on actions both past and present, we can safely say Mikal is not a Christian. Even if we assume he is saved, do his actions match his faith? No, and that means his claiming faith - Christianity - is dead, and he is not a Christian. Thank you, and I look forward to the next round.References:1. https://en.wikipedia.org...2. James 2:14-263. http://web.archive.org...4. https://en.wikipedia.org... 5. http://www.debate.org...6. http://www.webcitation.org...7. http://www.webcitation.org...8. http://www.webcitation.org...9. http://www.debate.org...10. http://www.debate.org...11. http://www.debate.org...12. http://www.debate.org...13. http://www.debate.org...14. http://www.debate.org...15. http://www.debate.org...