Reply #15: Here are where I see the problems with all that [View All]

First, as hard as it can be to accept, "Christian" is a term that can only be self-applied. I cannot judge whether someone else is a "Christian". It is a name that one takes on oneself. Of course, this means some pretty odious people (see Bush, Falwell, Robertson, et al) get to call themselves Christian, and I have to just take it.

But only so far with the taking it part. I can call them on their behavior. And I think it's fair to point out where their behavior diverges from at least the pretty widely accepted idea of Christian behavior.

The bigger part of the question comes down to what calling oneself a Christian means. I don't necessarily mean by that what beliefs it means a person holds. I mean, why does someone call themselves Christian? God doesn't give a whit about what a person calls themselves. Of this, I'm sure. And I'm also sure Falwell and company would strongly disagree. I don't believe any particular profession is of substance to God. I think God cares about: love one another. The rest, as Rabbi Hillel said, is commentary. So "Christian" is a a human construct. It's a self-identifier. But what it means can be so broad as to almost negate it as an identifier. The only reason to use the term is to set a bar that you would have to meet. It shouldn't be something done to make you look better, but to force you to act better. Am I making sense?

To some, it means a particular profession of faith. To some, it means trying to follow the teachings of Christ. Some would be horrified if a person who was uncertain of Jesus's divinity maintained that they were Christian. Others would not. Do you see what I mean?

And the final problem here is the idea that because someone wishes to follow a set of beliefs that their behavior is always perfectly in sync with those beliefs. Impossible, as we're human. So every single self-professed Christian, alive or dead, has fallen from the ideal. Every single one. Being fallible, making mistakes, missing the mark (the real definition of "sin") is absolutely part of being a Christian. It's the striving that matters.

And I have just unwittingly written a novel. My apologies to all if you've gotten this far.