One last thought…
I hesitated to add anything more to original post, God Is Too Big for One (Mere) Religion because I didn’t want disrupt the closing message of the cross. But, I also find it interesting that if we, Christians, really believe Jesus was who we say he was – namely – the Son of God (and I certainly do), then there was no one who ever walked the earth who was more right than He was. And certainly, his “rightness” put him in a position to judge and condemn everyone who has ever lived. And yet, he didn’t. He chose instead to show us what it meant to do the right thing for the sake of others; and ultimately, for the sake of the world. I wonder. Why do we have such a hard time accepting this? We (Christians that is) may be right on any number of social issues, but what good does it really do us. Instead, perhaps we should be thinking of what cross we need to bear in this world to bring salvation to our neighbors and our communities at large. This is something I have been asking myself. Is it more important for me to be right or is it more important for me to do the right thing?
The other thing I find interesting is the fact those first Christians considered themselves followers of “the Way”. In contrast, the term “Christian” came about because those skeptical or even in opposition to “the Way” coined the word to identify or single out those first followers of Jesus. It was, at least initially, a derogatory term.
Think about how these two approaches of naming our faith play out. To declare yourself a follower of “the Way” would imply you were about doing. In other words, you can say it is a declaration about living a certain “way”. In contrast, when the term Christian is used, it’s not unheard of to find yourself in a defensive posture attempting to prove being a Christian is not a bad thing (as the person giving you this title might assume). It then becomes one of those discussions where a person has to show they are “right” and not “wrong” in being who they are. I have found this to be true in my own life because there are some Christians I really do not want to be associated with. So, if someone asks me if I am a Christian, I will take great pains to ensure they understand my definition of the term.
In the end, though, the term Christian comes across as little more than a label, which is just one more in a whole list of other labels we use like Democrat, Republican, American, Latino, African American, White, or any other term you would like to add (Could we include save, redeemed, sanctified or any other label we use to distinguish ourselves to the list? Seems like a fair question). When it comes to the Way, though, it doesn’t really work as a label. To say your “the Way” just doesn’t make sense. You can say you’re a part of it, or trying to live it, or even learning about it; but you just can’t say you are it. Seems like those first Christians had a point.
Then again, the term “Christian” was originally designed as a slur, meaning “little Christs.” They were trying to be like Christ, and the non-believers thought that ridiculous.