Am I a Christian?

Am I a Christian? This is a complex question to answer because the word “Christian” is not a simple word. If it means a follower of Jesus as the promised Messiah, then I am certainly a Christian. But the word has other levels of meaning. If it means an adherent of the religious system that has come to be known as Christianity, then I have some issues.

People tend to think of Christianity as a religion that is separate from and in opposition to Judaism. I am convinced that Jesus had no intention of starting a new religion, that he and all his immediate followers were self-consciously adherents and teachers of Judaism. Jesus was a Torah-observant Jew.

After the deviation in the second century brought about by the Fiscus Judaicus, of which we have spoken elsewhere, most of Christianity took on some positions which seem to me to be contrary to scripture. They cast aside their identification with God’s people, Israel, and considered themselves to have replaced Israel in God’s plan. They shrugged off God’s law as a standard of behavior. They dismissed the Sabbaths and holy days that God commanded and instituted replacements with no biblical warrant. Most of these deviations still affect the bulk of Christianity today.

The term “Christian” is used very rarely in the New Testament. It is never used by Jesus, or even by the apostle Paul. The first mention is in Acts 11:26 where it says that “the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch” following the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. It doesn’t say who was calling them this. It could easily have been their opponents, using it as a term of mockery — greasy ones. In any case, the passage doesn’t endorse this term; it only reports it.

There is an occasion a few years later that Paul has an opportunity to use the term, but chooses not to. In Acts 26 Paul is making an extended defense before King Agrippa, including the statement that he was saying nothing beyond what the prophets and and Moses said would happen (26:22). When he asks Agrippa if he believes the prophets, Agrippa responds, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” (26:28). Paul replies, avoiding using the same term in response, “Short time or long– I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” (26:29) It seems like Paul is not endorsing the use of that term to describe his faith.

There is only one other mention in the New Testament of the term “Christian” or any of its derivatives. It occurs in the first epistle of Peter, and it’s the only time that it’s used by a follower of Jesus. Peter is discussing the suffering that the disciples are experiencing. He says, “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” (I Peter 4:15-16) The term could still be a term of mockery by those who are causing the suffering, but Peter exhorts them to be proud that they bear the name of Christ, even in suffering.

Many pastors and teachers talk as if the purpose of the New Testament is to teach us how to be good Christians. I think that is the wrong metric, as it never claims that. It teaches us to be followers of God and disciples of Jesus.

When I am asked for my religious preference, “Christian” is not a term that I choose to identify with. That makes it tricky when there is a list from which to choose. But when possible, I will use a description along the lines of: “Follower of Jesus the Jew”.