Christian Etymology

Christian Etymology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word comes from Greek Χριστιανός (christianos), from Χριστός (christos) meaning "the anointed one."[2] In the (Greek) Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed."[3]

The first known usage of the term Χριστιανός (christianos) can be found in the New Testament in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch." They were disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. The other two New Testament uses of the word also referred to the public identity of the Jews who followed Jesus prior to the adoption of Christianity by non-Jews. The Jewish king said the Apostle Paul had almost persuaded the king "to become a Christian" (Acts 26:28), at the time meaning the Jewish Messianic sect following Jesus. Writing in 1 Peter 4:16, The Message paraphrase, the Apostle Peter encouraged believers who are abused "because you're a Christian, don't give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!"

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.[4]
"Christian" also means a member or adherent of a church or other organized group within Christianity. As an adjective, the term may describe anything associated with or thought to be consistent with Christianity, as in "the Christian thing to do."