What are the Characteristics of a NT Christian?

[Regina]

The only qualifier for being a Christian is having some kind of observance for the Christian faith. That's it. Beyond that there's no "We're the true Christians and they are not".

I don't think that many people are seriously saying that ALL Christians believe in X, Y, and Z. As one of the first responses in this thread pointed out, a lot of us were raised as Christians. I was a Catholic once and I was actually really into it as a teenager, but I also never had a problem reconciling my sexuality with it, that's not why I left. There's Christians (and people of other faiths) who do practice their religion in a way that might not make sense to you, to me or to anyone. But they are still the religion they label themselves as, because they do follow the belief to an extent even if it's on their own terms.

However (and this is a big however), this is not because Christianity is inherently a liberal religion which leaves people that choice. We've made it that way through 500 years of secular enlightenment and development of liberal values. That you can sit there and classify yourself as a "NT Christian" who completely disregards the Old Testament is a mark of the time you live in. You won't be burned at the stake for that in contemporary times. I'm happy for you that you've come to that interpretation.

The problem atheists have is that there are still other Christians, some quite powerful and influential, who believe in things like Creationist and abstinence-only education for schools, as well as other types of science denial, and that is very harmful and we have a right to criticise that. Even if there was only one Christian in the world who believed Adam and Eve were real, that's still a silly opinion and it deserves criticism and ridicule.