Stop Calling Yourself Christian

I continue to describe my religious and spiritual identity as Christian. But I’ll be the first to say I’m not most people’s idea of a traditional Christian. I do not, for example, accept the doctrine that the only way to God or heaven is by reciting a formula that Jesus himself never used or insisted upon. Similarly, I don’t agree that everything in the Bible must always be interpreted and applied in a literal sense. And I cannot accept the idea that Christianity (or any religion) has cornered the market on wisdom or truth. Finally, I believe that what Jesus did—especially the way he treated other people—is every bit as important as what the Bible tells us Jesus said.

Now that you have my preamble, I have a few things I am compelled to write—words inspired by the biblical prophets. If you’re already familiar with them, you’ll know that Amos, Micah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, John the Baptist and others were people who said things in God’s name that made powerful people angry. That’s something Jesus also did (Luke 4:14-29), and was a major reason he was condemned by the religious authorities of his day and murdered by the Roman Empire.

Simply put, I am sick and tired of hearing people in the habit of encouraging everyone else to ask “What would Jesus do?” fail to ask this same question when cruelty is being openly promoted by leaders of our government.

THEREFORE, PLEASE STOP CALLING YOURSELF CHRISTIAN

• • If you think Jesus would not mind treating illegal immigrants as if they’re less than fully human, unworthy of dignity and respect simply because of their legal status.
  • If you believe Jesus would have no problem singling out a group of people on the basis of their racial, cultural, sexual, or gender-based identity to be ridiculed and have their rights taken away from them.
  • If you think Jesus would be indifferent when an elected official uses his power to support tax cuts that benefit very wealthy individuals and corporations while also gutting government-funded programs that help the poorest and most vulnerable people in our nation. 
  • If you think Jesus would not care when international aid programs that keep hundreds of thousands of children from starving are abruptly ended, with nothing to replace them.
  • If you believe Jesus wouldn’t mind that government workers who use their knowledge and talents to make the world a safer and better place receive sudden termination notices that their jobs don’t exist anymore.

After all, we’re talking about a Savior who said “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life” (Mark 10:45 & Matt. 20:28). Need a simple test to figure out what Jesus might say or do regarding a particular behavior, proposal, or policy? There is none better than this passage from the Letter to the Philippians 2:3-8:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.

photo by Alberico Bartoccini via Unsplash