Quote:
Originally Posted by the-economist
A christian is a person who adheres to christianity.
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Yes, it is. And Christianity requires, among other things, that its members not commit murder.
There is a difference between judging someone's fitness to stand before God, and judging someone's behavior. And Christians ARE to judge the behavior of people, particularly those who claim to be Christ followers, so they can be corrected if they are in error. In Luke 17:3b, Jesus says, "Correct any followers of mine who sin, and forgive the ones who say they are sorry."
In addition, no, you can't rightfully claim to be a Christian if you are not attempting to follow Christ's ways. Planning to disobey him (planning to commit murder) is not the same as a crime of passion. Although anyone can be redeemed from anything, they must first acknowledge their error and repent in order for that to occur, and you simply cannot be repentant of a sin and planning it at the same time. Luke 6:46, "Why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord, when you refuse to do what I say?"
As a Christian, I simply cannot acknowledge these men as my brothers because their actions say they are - at least at present - living in opposition to God.