Albert Mohler: Must One Believe in the Resurrection to be a Christian?
Monday, March 24, 2008

This was the question asked for the end of the past week by the editors of The Washington Post and Newsweek for the "On Faith" conversation. Here was the question as stated by the editors: Do you have to believe the resurrection is literally true -- that Jesus came back to life in his body -- to be a Christian?

A similarly framed question is often asked about various Christian doctrines and such questions are unavoidable. If the word "Christian," used as a noun, is to mean anything, it must be defined -- and the definition must include some essential doctrinal elements. The New Testament leaves no choice here, for essential beliefs are explicitly mentioned within the Bible's presentation of the Gospel.
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