I have a Labarum tattooed above my left wrist, and whenever people ask me, "what's that symbol on your arm?" I always get a little flustered. It's not because I'm ashamed that I'm a Christian, but rather I am ashamed at what Christianity has come to mean to so many people. Some days I find myself trying to hide my tattoo when I'm around people I just met. The church has done a great job at getting the story of Jesus to the masses, but has done an abysmal job of communicating the truth of Christianity, and living Jesus' teachings (myself included). After studying the medieval church in my Western Civ class, I've really began to wonder whether or not most of the Christianity that has existed through the centuries has been an impostor. If ever I were to become an agnostic, it wouldn't be from studying science; it would be from studying history.
So, what is a Christian? If this question was posed to most Christians, I doubt many would have a good answer. And, if someone who was clueless about Christianity asked this, they would be more confused than ever. I've thought long and hard about this question, as many Christians have. How do you explain Christianity to a person who is unfamiliar to it, and in a way that makes sense? To Christians and most Americans, it sounds normal to say, "well, God sent His son, in the form of a first century Jewish rabbi, to die for our sins, and then resurrected Him." But, to the uninitiated, this might sound just a little weird.
Aristotle taught that something was good, if it was doing what it is supposed to do, and becoming what it is supposed to be. In other words, if an acorn was becoming a tree, then it was a good acorn. This applies to humans as well. If one is being a human and becoming more human, then they are a good human being. When someone does something that is cruel to another living thing we usually call that person inhumane. We instinctively know that hurting another living thing is out of character with what it means to be human. This truth -that humans were created to be human- is at the core of Christianity, and in the person of Jesus, God demonstrated how to be human.
Genesis teaches us that humans were created in the image of God. Most Christians have no clue as to what this means. We were discussing this in class once, and my prof said that this didn't mean that God looks like a human, because God is spirit. One student raised his hand, and said, "but, doesn't it say that God walked with Adam and Eve? I've heard that this was Jesus, so God must look like us." I'm usually reluctant to speak in class, but I just had to say something at this point. The Genesis creation poem is painting a picture, and the picture is of God as King over everything. In the Ancient Near East, where this story was written, kings would erect statues of themselves in remote parts of their kingdom. This statue represented their rule. When the people of that city would see that statue, it would remind them who was ruling. This is the picture being painted when it says we were created in God's image. Being human is to represent the rule of God.
So, then how does one represent God's rule? John says that, "God is love." Jesus says that the greatest command is to love God with all your heart, mind and soul AND to love your neighbor as yourself. John also says that if you say you love God but hate your brother, then you are a liar. Paul says the greatest of faith, hope and love is love. The very nature of God is love, and so is his rule. Put very simply, being human is to be in a loving relationship with God, people and creation. This is what you find throughout scripture starting with Adam and Eve.
I know there is much more to get into theologically, but this is how I would start to answer the question: What is a Christian? Being a Christian is truly being human. Perhaps in another post I'll get into what I think about Christ's death, resurrection and what it means to be saved, but I think this is a good start.
