Hey, you out there!

Okay, I know there are some people reading this.  Now, it’s your turn. 

• Do you consider yourself a Christian? 
• Do you know why you are a Christian? 
• Do you attend church? 
• Why do you attend church (or why don’t you attend church)?
• What do you struggle with?

Please comment below, even if it is anonymously.

Wrong Answer #3: Prosperity (Being a Christian will make my life better.)

I am not a Christian because it will make my life better, easier, and definitely not to make me more financially prosperous.  It is not about joining the right country club or making the right connections, either with influential people or even worse, a close connection with the “Big Guy” upstairs.  God is the King, and kings always have hangers-on who follow the king because they want more influence and access to the royal “gravy train.”  The only love that this answer includes is the love of self and the love of money.  Neither is a good reason to be a Christian.  Sure, Christians have been successful and influential, but successful and influential people have become Christians and have had their lives turned upside down.  Check out Paul of Tarsus in the book of Acts.  He had a great career going, he was a rising star.  Then, he began following Jesus and he got beaten, stoned (not the kind with drugs), shipwrecked, cursed, jailed, etc.  Not exactly success and prosperity as we normally see it, right?

At the same time, this is a dangerous answer to label as “wrong” because there are some true aspects to it as well, but I’ll talk about those later.

Wrong Answer #2: The Heavenly Insurance Policy

One of the evangelism techniques taught is to scare an individual into believing that they are going to go to hell when they die and that they need Jesus to get into Heaven.  The thing is, though I don’t know how effective this technique is, it is reducing Jesus into a ticket to Heaven, or a heavenly insurance policy. 

There is a story of an ancient Sufi (Muslim) mystic named Rabia Basri where she walked through the streets of Basra (now Iraq) carrying a lit torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other.  When asked what she was doing, she said that the water was to douse the fires of hell and the torch was to burn up the rewards of Paradise.  That way, people would not serve God to escape the fires of hell or to get into heaven, but to serve God for the sake of one’s love for God alone.

Jesus is not a ticket.  He is not an insurance policy.  And, a follower of Christ cannot just say the Sinner’s Prayer or get baptized and then live however they want knowing that the policy is in the drawer.  Christian faith is not about heaven or hell, even if they might play a role in it.  I am not a Christian for fear of hell or hope of heaven!

Check back next time for Wrong Answer #3!

The “Not” Answers

I am a Christian.  I am happy about that.  I have no intention or desire of changing that.  There are reasons I am a Christian, but there are wrong answers (for me) for being a Christian.

Wrong Answer #1:  Because I’m an American

Personally, I hate this answer (okay, I hate all of these answers).  The United States has been culturally Christian, in part because the European immigrants were culturally Christian, which is because Christianity and the political structure of Europe overlapped in some very un-Christian ways.  But, many of our “Founding Fathers” (to whom I am very grateful, I do love this country and its wonderful Constitution, especially the freedom of religion clause) were theists, disbelieving in the divinity of Christ and other essential Christian teachings.  A person can be a patriotic American and be an atheist, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, or anything else under the sun.  A person can be a Bible-believing, Christ-following Christian and be from (and living in) any country on this planet (and possibly beyond this planet).  Christian and American are two totally different categories.  Saying that they are the same is some version of syncretism or even possibly a version of caesaropapism.  

Agree?  Disagree?  Write a comment!

Check back tomorrow for Wrong Answer #2!

The Easy Answers

There are many easy answers to the question: Why am I a Christian?  The easiest of them all is that I was born to Christian parents, baptized as a Christian, was taught to be a Christian, and grew up as a Christian.  This is all true, and not something to be taken lightly.  Our context as we grow up plays a huge role in who we grow up to be.  I for one am working hard to raise my children in the faith, to explain what we do and why we do it.  But, that is not enough.  Tradition has power, but tradition does not have within it the power of truth.  Just because something was handed down to me, even from antiquity, does not make it true.  My tradition is different from yours, and from everyone’s all over the world.  Tradition is relative.

Why am I a Christian?  Another easy answer is that it works for me.  Reading Scripture, praying, and attending weekly worship services help me in good times and bad.  The way I interpret the world based on my theology helps me make sense of everything; it gives me a sense of purpose and belonging.  The moral guidance of Scripture and the church help me to be a better person.  I think this answer is getting closer, but not there yet.  My faith, my religion is useful to me.  There is power in that.  But, this is still individual.  It’s still about me.  What is useful to me is not necessarily useful to you.  Usefulness is also relative.

Why am I a Christian?  Because it is true.  That is the only answer that holds true power, but it is also too easy.  If the story that Scripture tells about the world is not true, if God did not in fact come in the flesh, die, and rise again, then I would believe and hope in vain.  My faith is more than the comfort of eating turkey on Christmas Day or the usefulness of my Internet browser.  My faith is based on my interaction with the base level of reality in the universe.  But, it is not an intellectual assent to a list of statements, it is not based on signing an affirmation of faith.  There are many things stated by churches and Christians around the world that I don’t believe to be true.  There are even things in the Bible that make me back away from a literalistic “inerrant” view of Scripture.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  There are true statements about God, Jesus, the Bible, the church, and learning and molding your life around them is important.  But, that is not the substance of my faith.  That is not why I am a Christian. 

So, why am I a Christian?

Calling All Questioners!

I realize that this blog is new, and I might not have many readers yet.  But, are there any other Nicodemus’ out there?  Anyone else (especially those invested in the church as pastors, staff, council members, Sunday school teachers, etc.) who want to ask the big, scary questions, but are afraid of what they might find?

Because, here is the truth.  If you ask the question “Why am I a Christian?” you might find that the answers you can come up with are hollow.  You might find that your reasons for being a Christian, for belonging to a certain church, are similar to your reasons for shopping at a specific grocery store.  Are convenience, familiarity, and good prices the reason you go to church?  Is it because you know the people there?  Because your kids “need church”?

If you do join me in asking the big, scary questions, I hope you will be brave.  I hope you will search your heart, your life, and even your Bible.  Because, even though I’m asking these questions, and feeling a bit scared in doing so, I know in my deepest heart that Jesus is holding me securely in his hand and will never let me go.

My God is big enough to handle questions.  Is yours?


Please comment with the questions you have!

Why am I a Christian?

The man crept through the darkened streets, casting furtive glances over his shoulder.  Was anyone watching?  Did anyone see him?  He found the door, and knocked gently, praying that the one inside would hear, but praying also that he would not.

The door creaked open, the glow of an oil lamp spilling onto the man’s feet.  “Come.”  The word was loud against the quiet of the night, an invitation and a challenge.  The man entered and closed the door quickly.

“Rabbi,” he breathed.  In front of him stood a man with a gentle face, illuminated by the lamp. 

“Welcome, Nicodemus,” said the Rabbi. 

---

I am Nicodemus.  Like the Pharisee who visited Jesus that night so long ago, I am a religious leader, wary of asking my questions in public.  But, some questions just need to be asked. 

I have been a Christian my whole life, studied at a respected seminary, and hold a position of leadership at my church.  I have far to go in my journey as a faithful disciple, but I am working at it.  But, recently I came across a pair of questions that made me step back and think.

1) Why am I a Christian?

2) Why should others be Christians?

It is not as though I doubt Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  But, these questions floored me because I am not able to give a good answer.  As a follower of Jesus and as a leader, I should be able to give good answers to these questions, but right now I cannot.  By a “good answer” I mean a well thought out, cogent answer that speaks to my whole being, that comes from my heart and contains all of my passion.  An answer that contains my love for God in all my heart and soul, mind and strength, body and spirit, as well as my love for my neighbor.

I can give some quick, snappy answers, answers that I have heard, consent to, and can rattle off without much thought or introspection.  But, how would that benefit me or anyone else?  Wouldn’t it be better to dig deep and sit with the questions?  Wouldn’t it be better to pray through the questions?

Note:

Why Anonymous?  The questions I am asking are good, honest questions, so, why hide my identity?  This is definitely not as high-stakes as those bloggers who could lose their jobs or lives if they are found out.  But, unfortunately, not everyone is accepting of those asking big questions, especially if those asking are in positions of church leadership.  I honestly believe that exploring these questions will ultimately lead to a stronger faith for myself and for others, but sometimes weak spots must first be destroyed before being rebuilt stronger.  I feel that the honesty of anonymity would be helpful in that.  If you don’t think there can be honesty in anonymity, then don’t read this!