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?