I rest my case. God's Word as proof that the title of Christian was first used at Antioch by the disciples of Christ.
Of course followers of Jesus Christ were first called "Christians" at Antioch. That's never been the issue.
Rather, the issue is:
who called them that? Who did the calling?
"...And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." (Acts 11:26). When one "calls" another, the one doing the calling is not the receiver of the call! To further understand what "called" means,
here are the 9 appearances of the word "called."
You've not only failed to prove that any believer ever called
himself "Christian," but you've also refused to respond to the copiously documented facts posted here that clearly prove it was
unbelievers who first "called" the followers of Christ "Christian."
As the final nail in this denominational coffin, here is further documentation:
"
Christian: A follower of the religion of Christ [
Note carefully that Christ never started a religion - John 7:16]. It is probable that the name Christian, like that of Nazarenes and Galileans, was given to the disciples of our Lord in
reproach or contempt. What confirms this opinion is, that the people of Antioch in Syria, Acts 11:26, where they were first called Christians observed by Zosimus, Procopius, and Zonaras, to have been remarkable for their scurrilous
jesting. Some have indeed thought that this name was given by the disciples to themselves; others, that it was imposed on them by divine authority; in either of which cases we should have met with it in the subsequent history of the Acts, and in the Apostolic Epistles, all of which were written some years after; whereas it is found but in two more places in the New Testament, Acts 26:28, where a Jew is the speaker, and in 1 Peter 4:16, where reference appears to be made to the name
as imposed on them by their enemies. The word used, Acts 11:26, signifies simply to be called or named, and when Doddridge and a few others take to imply a divine appointment, they disregard the usus loquendi [established acceptation of the term] which gives no support to that opinion. The words Tacitus, when speaking of the Christians persecuted by Nero, are remarkable, ‘vulgus Christianos appellabat,’ ‘
the vulgar call them Christians.’ Epiphanius says, that they were called Jesseans, either from Jesse, the father of David, or, which is much more probable, from the name of Jesus, whose disciples they were. They were denominated Christians, A. D. 42 or 43; and though the name was first given
reproachfully, they gloried in it, as expressing their adherence to Christ, and they soon generally accepted it."
Richard Watson, Watson’s Bible Dictionary (1832), p. 233.
"
Cristianos, Christian: a word formally not after the Greek but after the Roman manner, denoting attachment to or adherents to Christ. Only occurs as used
by others of them, not by Christians of
themselves. Tacitus (A.D. 96) says (Annals 15, 44),
‘The vulgar call them Christians. The author or origin of this denomination, Christus, had, in the reign of Tiberius been executed by the procurator, Pontius Pilate.’"
Ethelbert William Bullinger, A Critical Lexicon and Concordance of the English and Greek New Testament (1908), p. 152.
"This name (Christian) occurs
but three times in the New Testament, and is
never used by Christians of themselves, only as spoken by or coming from
those without the church. The general names by which the early Christians called themselves were ‘brethren,’ ‘disciples,’ ‘believers,’ and ‘saints.’ The presumption is that the name
‘Christian’ was originated by the heathen."
Thomas W. Doane, Bible Myths (1882), page 567, note 3.
"The name (Christian) given by the Greeks or Romans, probably in
reproach, to the followers of Jesus. It was first used at Antioch."
Easton’s Bible Dictionary.
"Egypt, which you commanded to me, my dearest Servianus, I have found to be wholly fickle and inconsistent, and continually wafted about every breath of fame. The
worshippers of Serapis (here) are called Christians, and those who are
devoted to the god Serapis (I find), call themselves Bishops of Christ."
The Emperor Adrian to Servianus, written A.D. 134.
If you go to
Zodhiates Word Studies, he tells you that when they were called Christians at Antioch, using the word ‘
crematezo,’ it was a "
divine warning." In other words, be forewarned, avoid this word and the use of it. And that’s what the apostles did. You will
never read any of these New Testament writers using the term ‘christian’ to describe themselves.
And so, as per the OP:
Be not deceived, for the word "Christianity" is not anywhere in the Bible. And there is zero historical or other evidence that Jesus is the founder of either Christianity or any other religion.
The documented historical facts and scriptural proofs clearly validate that statement.
As the takeaway to the cracking of this programmed denominational nut, I strongly suggest that when we witness, we do so in the boldness of the name of Jesus Christ and not in the cowardice of the world's politically correct denominational label of "Christian."
