English translation: active/ dedicated/ spirited/those living in Christ
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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:
lebendige Christen
English translation:
active/ dedicated/ spirited/those living in Christ
...as opposed to nominal Christians. I think "active" or "committed" are equally appropriate. I agree, Anne-Kathrin, that being born again is a rite (spiritual regeneration via the sacrament of baptism) for Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians, but for many other followers it is not a rite but rather the acceptance of Jesus Christ as one's personal Saviour (which may or may not be symbolised by baptism). Here, though, I agree it's probably not the apt term.
it's about the living who are now with the Lord ;)
15:10 Jan 13, 2011
As I wrote, this is a biography, it is about a missionary in the 19th cent. What is meant is that he met active/dedicated etc... Christians... it is not about the living and the dead, of course.
Unless the text is about communing with the spirits, the person in question could hardly be said to have encountered non-living christians (though or she could have tripped over one)!
Perhaps the text is meant as a Monty Python-style comedy!
This could, for example, be about someone who has read about historical Christians and now meets some living ones, but from such a tiny scrap of a sentence it's not possible to tell what the author is getting at.
Meiner Ansicht nach hängt die Übersetzung stark vom gesamten Stil des Textes ab, auch davon, in welcher Zeit (Gegenwart? antikes Rom? etc.) der Text angesiedelt ist. "Living Christians" finde ich allerdings grundsätzlich unpassend - es sei denn, es wird tatsächlich zwischen lebendigen und toten Christen unterschieden.
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +5