My experience with Christianity during my early, formative years, was that nobody called themselves a Christian, but instead identified with their denomination:
“I’m a Presbyterian”
“I’m a Lutheran,”
“I’m Catholic.”
Sometimes people would only name the church they attended: the local Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian or Catholic Church.
The only time I heard anyone referred to as a Christian was second-hand, and always disparagingly:
“Oh, they’re Christians” (roll eyes);
“She’s one of those crazy born-agains” (snicker snicker);
“They’re Jesus freaks” (the index finger twirling in circles and pointing at the brain as if to say “Nuts!”).
In my family growing up, somehow church was a part of life, but Christ, God and the Bible were not. There was never any mention of Jesus, or the incorporation of God into life (except for the Christmas creche, thankfully), and the only Bible I saw was one given to me by my liberal church with the expectation that one never read it (because it was never expected we read it in church or Sunday school), and so we never did.
The Biblical Jesus was not preached, and so I never understood who Jesus is, why He came to earth, or why He died.
Underlying this was the attitude that we are somehow more spiritual than the next person, or respectful to world peace than the next person, by keeping our Christianity (the more common term being “spirituality”) hush hush.
I have com to conclude that this is a ruse to cover the fact that very little is known about Jesus—personally or Biblically—and that we are to find Him, if not embarrassing, then too controversial to discuss in public, or too much a “fairly tale or myth” to admit in any way that we adhere to His life and His being the Savior.
What is actually going on here, I believe, is loyalty to “religion” (i.e. church attendance), as well as a belief in pluralism and not wanting be offensive by believing in Christ.
But where this all falls apart is that, people follow and pledge allegiance to all sorts of individuals, places and groups that are controversial and claim to be “the only way.” It doesn’t stop them in the least from talking about, boasting, praising and being actively and visibly involved with those people, places and groups.
Just a list of a few that come to mind: The Republican, Libertarian, Democratic, and Socialist parties; pro-abortion, pro-marijuana, pro-assisted suicide, pro-women’s liberation ideologies—even pluralism claims to be the only way—pluralism itself is the claiming of an absolute truth (ironic, isn’t it, that many people of many faiths are indeed very offended by pluralism).
I’ve heard many church-goers, who won’t say a word about Christ or God, ever, in a conversation, make numerous statements and repeated attempts to strike up a conversation involving the above dicey topics, without any fear of offending those they are speaking to (yet they claim to keep quiet about “faith” because it might offend someone).
In addition, the idea that faith is private, and therefore, we keep it to ourselves, again doesn’t follow the logic and practice of what people actually do: For instance, the following are readily shared:
Health issues—the same folks who won’t mention Christ have no qualms about sharing intimate details of what’s going on with their bladder;
Grandchildren and pictures of grandchildren (especially on the internet where there is no control over privacy whatsoever) are flaunted and praised;
Complaints about interpersonal relations with a spouse, co-worker, boss or neighbor:
I hear details shared about spouses and one’s own children especially, in the normal flow of conversation, that amaze me in the personal nature of the sharing (in what is not a confidential exchange between people but amidst a group of ladies out to lunch, or guys meeting for breakfast).
We share deeply personal sentiments and opinions all the time: to say that Christ is off-limits because He is somehow too special or personal….well, it just doesn’t hold water and sounds, to me, much more like an excuse.
In all of this, I am keenly aware that only God knows the heart. I do not claim to know the heart of any person. I know my heart was once just like those who thought they were superior to and above the whole “Jesus thing.”
However, the Bible does say that we will know the followers of Christ by their fruit. And as much as, again, some church-goes would like to say that their kindness is how they live their faith, that isn’t a Biblical faith. And I’ve learned this first-hand in my own conversion (not to mention my pre-Christian “kindness” was very subjective and circumstantial!)
Jesus, in His Word, says
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:23b-26).
“Therefore they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent’” (John 6:28-29).
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.’” John 6:35-36
Charity is a work; it’s not the only work.
Belief in God through His Son is also a work.
That is a key element often missing from liberal, Unitarian, pluralistic belief systems. The relationship with Christ and the entirety of His teaching in His Word is missing, either due to being marked as irrelevant, less important, or downright “wrong.”
Those who believe that their charitable acts can leave Christ out, and who actually believe they are better than those folks whose works include proclaiming Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, are only fooling themselves in their pride.
They think they have the upper hand on spirituality over those “Jesus Freaks” and “Bible thumpers.” But that’s pretty gutsy, if not tragically risky, when one considers that the ultimate Jesus freaks were the apostles, who helped set the bar, and Jesus Christ, who is the bar.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who believes in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned” (John 15:4-6).
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led away from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4).
Jesus is thee Bible thumper, if you will, and so when those who read His Word and follow Him are mocked, Jesus Himself is mocked.
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me” (John 15:18-21).
If we don’t know Christ, we will rely on ourselves and other humans for our spirituality. We may do it even under the banner of a Christian denomination or a spiritual practice or church. But let’s be honest: who are we, really, following and believing in? Is it God, like we have convinced ourselves—God without the Bible, Holy Spirit and Christ?
Paul’s words succinctly sum up the reality of that sorely misguided approach:
“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you…?” (Galatians 3:1a).
copyright Barb Harwood
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