Why I hate the word "Christian."

Why I hate the word "Christian".

I don't blame most of my non-believing friends from backing away from our churches and so-called "Christianity".  Not one bit.  As a matter of fact, I hate referring to myself as a Christian.  It puts me into a category that, SO MANY TIMES, by only mentioning the word, has slammed a witnessing door firmly shut.  The reason is simply because the meaning behind it has become widely understood in a negative way. 

I have met some of the most dishonest, back-stabbing, mean-hearted hypocrites in many such holy societies.  Do I sound bitter?  Well, maybe.  But please don't get me wrong, I don't think church is a bad thing at all, no; but there certainly is much room for improvement.  And that improvement needs to start and certainly not end at, where I derive my baseline vitals.

Let me speak plain- I think of my faith as a human body.  The first basic indicators you would want to check to see how the body is functioning are baseline vitals, being-

1. Heart rhythm: rate and strength

2. Blood pressure: being high or low

3. Respiration's: deep, shallow, rapid, normal, or none. 

If one of these basic functions becomes compromised, hindered or damaged-- the effects will be seen throughout the entire body and its presentation, whether obvious or subtle.

So let’s say the pastor is the brain, the ministry gurus, (meaning the ones who put together all the classes, fundraisers, studies, etc) are the lungs, the steady portion of the congregation is the blood and God is the heart.  Without any one of these factors none of them could function, right?  There is more to the body you say? 

Well, from my point of view let’s say this; the rest of the extremities are made up of the parents leading their children, role models in the work place, the missionaries here and there in the world- so on and so forth.

Someone starts to gossip.  It travels through the veins of the church.  The lungs get
wind of it and start breathing a little more.  The brain hears about it and tries to ignore it.

. . . That little lie turns some of the members into a clot.  The flow is weakened; people begin to get hurt and stop coming to church.  The heart rate is getting more rapid as the news gets further.  Everybody’s talking so much they don't feel the thumping in their chest. 

The clot of evil gets too large, the size of which is closing doors congesting the body’s rhythm and blocking life. What the Pastor ignored has been lodged back in his face.  It’s blocking his functions, his power.  Gods pumping, thumping- but the dam afoot hinders his flow.

Then that friend you keep inviting to church finally comes. 

He or she listens to the music, hears the message but sees the truth.  The life from the lungs breathing healthy, Christ filled air is too shallow, not enough. The body is weak.  Now what’s left of the true believers inside rush as fast as they can to the heart; God is the only thing that can keep the body alive now.

The longer there’s blockage, the more the ministry dies.  And that friend that you kept inviting, telling him/her how much they needed to come is shaking their head; for this place is just as mixed up as their world.

Our church today needs an AED.  You've all seen them; on the drama show where the doctor takes the paddles, places them to the dying victim's chest and yells "Clear!" God is the only one I know who, in such a case as this, can slap on the pads to our church-ized chests, analyze and SHOCK!  Most "Christians" I know need a bolt of lightening to the heart, because they are so very dead. 

That is what I mean when I say I hate the word "Christian".  It is dead to me, lifeless.  I watch many who claim this title stomp and spit on everything it should mean.

"Giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed:" 2 Corinthians 6:3

It is blamed and those of us who are truly believers in Christ pay dearly for it.  Did you ever listen to that commentary on one of the first DC Talk CD's? 

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians; who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

I choose to be a Believer.  Not because religion tells me to, not because of tradition or family heritage, not for any other reason than this- because of what I KNOW to be true.  That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, lived, died and rose again so that we could live- If we choose to . . .

So, overall I think that the Christianity really isn't what most churches make it out to be and I hate the meaning they have married to my beliefs, in the eyes of the world.  Not only that, but so many other religions and occults claim to be Christianity as well!  Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness to name a few.  I pray that God would shine through all the clutter and whoever is watching me would see who He really is by my actions.

The number one thing wrong with the "Christians" I speak of: they don't know the God that truly defines the title they claim to hold.