基督教名詞概念

基督教、天主教、新教、基督徒、天主教徒等各有什麼含義？

基督教 / Christianity

(noun) the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ (Oxford English Dictionary)
(noun) the religion based on the life and teachings of Christ (Longman Active Study English-Chinese Dictionary)
(noun) the religion based on the life and teachings of Christ (Collins Dictionary)
Religion stemming from the teachings of Jesus in the 1st century ad.(Britannica Online Encyclopedia)
世界上主要宗教之一，公元一世紀産生於亞細亞的西部地區，奉耶穌為救世主。公元四世紀成為羅馬帝國的國教，公元十一世紀分裂為天主教和東西教。公元十六世紀宗教改革以後，又陸續從天主教分裂出許多新的教派，合稱新教。我國所稱基督教，多指新教。(現代漢語詞典。商務印書館)
編者案：「基督教」是不同宗教 (religion，即回教、佛教、道教等) 中的其中一個。此宗教信仰乃基於耶穌基督及其教導。基督教包括不同的基督教會 (Christian Church)，主要有天主教、東正教及新教。

(noun) the part of the Christian Church which acknowledges the Pope as its head, especially as it has developed since the Reformation (Oxford English Dictionary)
(noun) the Christian Church over which the pope presides (Collins Dictionary)
Christian church that has been the decisive spiritual force in the history of Western civilization. Along with Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism, it is one of the three major branches of Christianity. (Britannica Online Encyclopedia)
以羅馬教皇為教會最高統治者的基督教派。明代傳入我國。也叫羅馬公教。(現代漢語詞典。商務印書館)

Along with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism became one of three major forces in Christianity. Britannica Online Encyclopedia
基督教新教，以因信稱義，推崇《聖經》權威，認為信徒皆可直接與上帝相通為其特點。與天主教、東正教共為基督教三大分支。新教的早期歷史抗羅宗(反抗羅馬的宗派)一詞最早見於1529年神聖羅馬帝國議會施派爾(Speyer)會議的文件。(Britannica Online (Taiwan)

One of the three major branches of Christianity. (Britannica Online Encyclopedia)
(noun) a Christian Church acknowledging the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople (Oxford English Dictionary)
the Christian Church dominant in Eastern Europe, which has the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople as its head (Collins Dictionary)
基督教的一派。11世紀中葉，隨着羅馬帝國的分裂，基督教分裂為東西兩部，以東羅馬帝國首都君士坦丁堡為中心的東部教會自命為「正宗的教會」，故稱正教或東正教。(現代漢語詞典。商務印書館)

(noun) the part of the Christian Church which acknowledges the Pope as its head, especially as it has developed since the Reformation (Oxford English Dictionary)
(noun) the Christian Church over which the pope presides (Collins Dictionary)
以羅馬教皇為教會最高統治者的基督教派。明代傳入我國。也叫羅馬公教。(現代漢語詞典。商務印書館)
編者案：「天主教」一詞雖有「教」，但不是指一宗教(religion)，乃是基督教的一個教會(church)。編者認為「天主教會」一詞更合適，或使用「公教會」更合原意。

(noun) a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Christianity (Oxford English Dictionary)
(noun) a person who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ (Longman Active Study English-Chinese Dictionary)
(noun) a person who believes in and follows Jesus Christ (Collins Dictionary)
編者案：根據以上英文字典解釋，「基督徒」即：相信耶穌基督的人；相信耶穌基督教導的人；相信並跟從耶穌基督的人。「基督徒」一詞沒有指明哪個基督教會，乃泛指相信並跟從耶穌的人。

(noun) a member of this (Roman Catholic) Church (Oxford English Dictionary)
(noun) a member of the branch of the Christian religion (the Roman Catholic Church) whose leader (Pope) rules from Rome (Longman Active Study English-Chinese Dictionary)
(noun) a member of the Roman Catholic Church (Collins Dictionary)
編者案：天主教會的成員(member)，嚴格來說不應稱為「教徒」，因為天主教不是一個宗教(religion)，乃是一個信仰耶穌基督的教會(church)。「天主教徒」自稱為「基督徒」(christian)。

(noun) a member or follower of any of the Western Christian Churches that are separate from the Roman Catholic Church in accordance with the principles of the Reformation. ORIGIN: Protestants are so called after the declaration (Latin protestatio) of Martin Luther and his supporters dissenting from the decision of the Diet of Spires (1529), which reaffirmed the edict of the Diet of Worms against the Reformation. (Oxford English Dictionary)
(noun) a member of a part of the Christian church that separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century (Longman Active Study English-Chinese Dictionary)
(noun) a follower of any of the Christian Churches that separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century (Collins Dictionary)
編者案：在華人社區裡，基督教新教徒不會自稱為「新教徒」(Protestant)，通常自稱為「基督徒」(christian)，稱天主教的為「天主教徒」(Catholic)。