Over the past years, I have been noticing an increasing gap between the life and teachings of Jesus and the lives of those who claim to follow and obey him, called Christians (I am not saying everyone, so I hope people don't get defensive right off the bat...). As a result, I've noticed many who truly want to follow Jesus as best they can disassociating themselves from the word Christian for names like Christ-follower or other non-adjective, phrasal descriptions. I have a problem with a mindset I see running behind the change. I feel like a majority of those people don't want to redeem the term Christian from those who have misrepresented it with their lives. Rather, they just make up another name like Christ-follower (Which, incidentally, means basically the same thing as the term Christian: "follower of the Way" or "follower of Christ). People have been doing the same pitch and run routine for a long time now and I'm getting tired of it... Catholic v. Protestant, Baptist v. Methodist, Eastern Orthodox v. Roman Catholic, or even when a person get's tired of a church because it "doesn't suit their needs" and leaves without a second thought of trying to make it better.
With that said, I've heard something recently that makes me wonder about any of these terms we use. I've been hearing more and more that the term Christian, whose original use is recorded in the book of Acts, was originally a negative and condescending term used by those who opposed the followers of Christ or the Way. Although, I haven't fully researched this personally (so take that into account, but don't throw up defenses if this stuff is seemingly "unorthodox"), this idea has got me wondering...even though I still think the pitch and run mindset is bad, I am beginning to wonder if, because of subtle mindsets people have, even among the church, adjective labels we use do more to divide us than to give distinction.
I truly feel that many people, especially those who claim to follow Jesus Christ, are holding these terms in such a way that they seperate or isolate us from each other, not just distinguish.
So I propose a shift in thinking that will be manifested by literally the words that come out of our mouths. For example- I, Peter Elliott, am no longer a Christian, Republican, Middle-class, Kansan, Caucasian. And you, my reader, are no longer a Muslim, Democrat, Lower-classs, New Yorker (Change adjectives as is appropriate).
I am a human.
You are a human.
We are nothing more, nothing less. Because we all do believe different things, and that is natural and good, it would be foolish to leave our langauge and descriptions just at that. So, furthermore,...
I am a human....who follows Jesus, agrees with certain political outlooks, has inherited a certain social status, and was born in a certain city. You are a human....who believes things that are different or similar to me, but we are both just human. Nothing more, nothing less, perfectly human.
The way I see it: to be co-humans means we are truly related (which is the way God created us): no matter how much we try and disassociate ourselves from each other, we are one. We are blood.
Because of this.....I am the father of a young Muslim boy who will detonate a bomb on his chest tomorrow. I am the son of Hitler, the grandchild of Gandhi; Mother Theresa and Saddam Hussein are my aunt and uncle. Hindus and Atheists are my brothers and sisters, and as delusional as I may think he is, Fred Phelps is my father.
No matter how we try to distance or dissassociate ourselves from those we don't agree with or like, we are still one. As the church, then, we need to unify ourselves and own the junk of our family members (e.g., even though I never killed a Muslim during the Crusades, one of my relatives did, so I must seek forgiveness and reconciliation for what my blood did or what has been done to my blood). That is the only way we will ever fully become those who follow Jesus. He did not come to restore Judaism itself or start another religion, he came to reveal God, God's truths, and restore all of humanity to God and itself.
We, both humans and those who claim follow Jesus, have done a pretty good job of undoing that work, and we must seek an end to that through our words and lives. No, I don't think what Hitler did or what Fred Phelps is doing are right, but they are still family. Those who attacked us on 9/11 and those we are attacking now are our relatives.
I am not saying the adjectives are wrong. What I am saying is that I think we need to re-examine how we use them, possibly through a period of not using them. Once those who believe come to the realization of how we've misused them, then we will be ready to properly use them again, if we find them still needed.
We are all family, no matter how you cut it, we have the same source and father, so let us work to restore ourselves to each other. Then we will begin to see the truth of Jesus in powerful new ways and the battle-scars we've given ourselves and the planet will begin to heal.
One Love. One World.
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