“Christians” isn't a name called by the non-believers (“pagans”) of Antioch!

Dear in Christ,

There's a popular notion that the disciples of Christ were called by the name “Christians” by the non-believers (they say “pagans”, whatever they mean) of Antioch. They use Acts 11:26 to prove their point. (Please note that the Strong's number for only the relevant word is retained in the scriptures taken from the King James Version.)

Act 11:26: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called^[G5537] Christians first in Antioch.

Please note that the scripture doesn't say that the people of Antioch called the disciples as “Christians”, it says that the location at which they were called as “Christians” was Antioch. If you are familiar with grammar, the verb “called” is used in its intransitive form (one that doesn't take a direct object).

The Greek word that is translated as “called” in Acts 11:26.

G5537

(χρηματίζω, chrēmatizō, khray-mat-id'-zo)

From G5536; to utter an oracle (compare the original sense of G5530), that is, divinely intimate; by implication (compare the secular sense of G5532) to constitute a firm for business, that is, (genitive) bear as a title: - be called, be admonished (warned) of God, reveal, speak.

Please examine the other scriptures in which this word is used:

Mat 2:12: And being warned of God^[G5537] in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Mat 2:22: But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God^[G5537] in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
Luke 2:26: And it was revealed^[G5537] unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
Act 10:22: And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God^[G5537] by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
Rom 7:3: So then if, while [her] husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called^[G5537] an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Heb 8:5: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God^[G5537] when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Heb 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned of God^[G5537] of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Heb 12:25: See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake^[G5537] on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape,] if we turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven:

Even in those scriptures where the word isn't rendered as “warned of God” or “admonished of God”, it's pretty obvious that the intended meaning was “to proclaim”, “to declare” or “to pronounce”, mostly in intransitive form.

There's nothing in Acts 11:26 to prove that it was the non-Christians of Antioch that called the disciples as
“Christians”. While we examine the above scriptures that uses the same Greek word, it becomes obvious that what happened at Antioch was a divine declaration, revelation or pronouncement.

If “Christian” were a derogatory name, why did Peter use it?

1Pe 4:16: Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

If “Christian” were a derogatory term, Peter could have used some other, more acceptable, term, like “believer”.

I rejoice in being labelled as a “Christian” (a disciple), though I don't have anything to do with any of the flavors of the religion that goes by that name.

In Christ,

Tomsan Kattackal

---

Moral of the story: Don't trust everything that scholars tell you and you find on the internet. STUDY yourself.