Why use the term "nazarene"?

[theseed]

Hi everybody :wave:

Why do followers of the church of the Nazarene use the term Nazarene? I'm assuming you all believe that Jesus was born in Bethleham. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[theseed]

Never mind. I remember now, it was an NT term for disciples of Christ.

[herev]

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he was raised in Nazareth, thus he was a Nazarene

[HeatherJay]

Right...we are the church of THE Nazarene...meaning the church of Jesus Christ. :)

[theseed]

According to Wikipedia, Nazarene refered to the followers of Christ.

Acts 24:5 (New American Standard Bible)

New American Standard Bible (http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/?action=getVersionInfo&vid=49) (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation (http://lockman.gospelcom.net/tlf/copyright.php)
http://www.biblegateway.com/bg_versions/bgview.php?what=55 (http://www.biblegateway.com/bg_versions/bgclick.php?what=55) [/URL] (http://www.biblegateway.com/bg_versions/bgclick.php?what=3)


5"For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout [[URL="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2024:5;&version=49;#fen-NASB-27775a"]a (http://www.biblegateway.com/bg_versions/bgclick.php?what=2)]the world, and a ringleader of the (A (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2024:5;&version=49;#cen-NASB-27775A))sect of the Nazarenes.

[IndianaJesusfreak]

Matthew 2:23. (NIV)

and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

[msbojingles]

ok, I asked my (nazerene) pastor about this..lol

he said:

Nazereth was an extremely poor town (as is evidenced in the Bible and history), and was also the town where Jesus grew up (which we all know)

The Nazerene church started when people were noticing in the Methodist church that poor people were not being treated the same as the wealthier ones, and the Nazerene church was born out of that.

SO, because of the nature of the reason he gave, I looked it up, and this is what I found:

"The Church of the Nazarene was founded in 1895 in Los Angeles, California by Phineas Bresee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Bresee). Bresee, himself, a former Methodist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist) minister, sought to return to Wesley's original goals of preaching to reach the poor and needy in the population." <from wikipedia>