I don't want to be a Christian

I have been a believer in God and the Bible for a relatively short time, even though I grew up in the church. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior my junior year of high school, and even went on to attempt an Associate Degree in Theology at a bible college in Southern California. If you asked just about anyone who knows me - or just read the last two sentences - you would likely come to the conclusion that I am what most individuals would classify as Christian. But as I scroll through headlines and news articles, I've determined I don't really want that title anymore.

Now before believers get their panties in a bunch and accuse me of being ashamed of the Gospel, let me explain.

There are few people in America who haven't heard of the Westborough Baptist Church, though in case the name doesn't ring any bells, they are the so-called "Christian" group that goes around all over the country protesting at the funerals of our soldiers who didn't make it home alive, spewing hatred and lies in the form of big posters that claim that God killed them because they were gay.

Our scientists are laughed at in almost every circle because they make outrageous claims with no relevancy to the small facts they discovered.

There are "Christians" standing outside courthouses demanding that homosexuals not be allowed to marry because it is against the Bible, and they think our Christian nation needs to uphold that. Those same types of Christians bomb dozens of abortions clinics each year. Our scientists are laughed at in almost every circle because they make outrageous claims with no relevancy to the small facts they discovered.

The unfortunate reality in America is that a lot of people really despise what Christians have become. The entire body of Christ is being ridiculed by the masses for the hatred, ignorance, and brow-beating done by a few. Generally speaking, if you ask just about any atheist out there for a description of a Christian, they will give you something along the lines of, "Someone who uses an outdated book to try to force other people to behave, and ignores any evidence that might disprove their belief system."

Now, I hate stereotypes more than most people, so if you're an atheist who doesn't think that way, feel free to let me know. However, having a very large group of atheist friends that always seem to forget I'm in the room, I can speak from experience that they all think I'm nuts for sticking to my belief in God.
Christians are being stereotyped just as often as other groups of people, and the key words used to describe us are dumb and proud and hate-filled.

Which breaks my heart, believe me. But that is exactly why I don't want to be called a Christian by anyone. I want to be known as a follower of Christ.

By dictionary definition, they aren't much different. A Christian should be a follower of Christ, and a follower of Christ is a Christian. But the societal definitions have changed drastically. In today's world, Christians are followers of their pastors, not of Jesus. Christians are known as the ones who hate science and necessitate that all believers in the Bible need to set aside proven facts to believe what some uneducated "scholar" decided should be taught at the pulpit. Christians are the ones that preach all this love and hope while simultaneously living the exact opposite.

It's sad. It really is. If Christians were followers of Christ (as the very name would suggest), we would do our very best to learn all there was to know about our God. The word of our pastors would not be enough - until we read it for ourselves, we may as well be listening to a sermon of silence. We would read the articles that challenge our faith and search for answers, and do our best to be educated in all the science we can possibly take to be better grounded in our faith. We would not only say "Love your neighbor," but we would practice it in all things, from work to school to that awful rush hour and everything in between.

The worst part of this whole mess is that all of this could be avoided if we studied our Bibles. If you don't know Christ's character, how on earth can you claim to be His follower? If you know more about Kim Kardashian's buttocks than you do the heart of your Savior, you should not call yourself a Christian. You defame and deface the God you claim to love by playing the devil's advocate in Jesus' name.

So I don't want to be known as a Christian. I don't want to be associated with the crowd that the world knows as Christians, because they are showing their own hearts, not God's. My job is to demonstrate to the people around me who God is, not to beat them down with a gold cross around my neck. If I must be labeled, label me a follower of Christ. And if anyone asks if I'm a Christian, I will correct them, and then happily explain the difference.

I don't want to be a Christian

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