First Congregational United Church of Christ – Eugene, Oregon

ON BEING CHRISTIAN A Youth/Adult Class On What Does it Mean to be a Christian Today?

Christian Beginnings

The word “Christian” was first used by non-Christians in Antioch ten years or so after the death of Jesus to identify his followers and it appears only three times in the entire New Testament (Acts 11:26, 26:28, I Peter 4:16). Christians themselves did not seem to use the name until the middle of the second century, C.E., having chosen to be known simply as “Followers of the Way.” Often thought to be a derivation of the Greek word Christos for “Christ”, the original Greek spelling of the word “Christian” in all three of the biblical citations above indicates that it is actually a derivation of the word Chrestos, which is an adjective for “good” or “kindly,” thus suggesting that the earliest Christians were identified more by their demeanor and behavior than by their beliefs. The most plausible explanation for the formulation of the word christianos or Christianity, is that Roman people of influence had coined it and that the Hellenistic population adopted it out of respect for Roman authority. There is further evidence that the word was coined to provide a legal designation for those people who claimed an identity apart from the Jewish commonwealth, and that therefore while no longer subject to Jewish jurisdiction they had no share in the Jewish religious privileges, either. Instead, the designation of “Christian” characterized these people as belonging to the household or clientele of Christos, or the Christ. Consequently, anyone who confessed that the designa- tion “Christian” applied to him or her would automatically be subject to the rules and laws dealing with this group. Under the law, to be known as a Christian could result in a person suffering severe legal consequences such as imprisonment, and in some cases, even death. Hence the frequent expression in the New Testament: “suffering for the name.” Documents of the ancient church show that the new designation was originally not popular with the people to whom it was given. The Evangelist Luke, other than acknow- ledging that the name originated in Antioch, does not use it as a self-designation in his own writings. The situation changed by the second century when Ignatius, one of the early church fathers, accepted the charge brought against him by the authorities and proudly called himself a “Christian.” As we often find in the history of the church, a nickname or taunting epithet was transformed by the people concerned into a title of honor. By the end of the second century, the title of “Christian” seems to have been accepted generally as a self-designation by the members of the church. The Roman authorities, who first designated the disciples of Jesus as Christians, attempted thereby to characterize them as a political group or party, held together by their loyalty to the party head, Christos, or Christ. While originally given as a juridical convenience without implying a derogatory sense, the pagan mob must at a very early time have associated it with heinous crimes and vices as Tacitus, the Roman historian, makes clear in his description of the mobs reaction to Polycarp, one of the early martyrs of the church: “This is the father of the Christians, who has made it his business to destroy our gods, and who instructs multitudes not to offer sacrifices or to take part in the official First Congregational United Church of Christ – Eugene, Oregon worship.” In other words, by the second century the designation “Christian” had become associated with charges of sedition and atheism. What in the ancient church had been described simply as the “Way” or the “Way of the Lord,” eventually took on a broader meaning. The ending (ismos) was added to the term christian, thus rendering it christianismos, or “Christianity,” thereby placing the Christian faith on a parallel with the philosophical schools of Hellenism and proclaiming it as having its own organizing principle apart from Judasim. Ignatius emphasized the fact that Christ is the Teacher who all Christians follow. Christianity, therefore, became a way of life, not an abstract philosophy, and had a rational or reasonable foundation. The Christian system went back to Jesus, the Teacher, and to live as a Christian, therefore, meant to live in accordance with the teachings of Jesus. But what were the authentic teachings of Jesus? How was a person living in the latter part of the first century or in the second century to know for certain what Jesus had actually said? There were few if any living witnesses still alive who had actually heard him speak. A collection of sayings attributed to him was apparently being circulated among the early churches, but not all of the sayings matched up with other sayings also alleged to have been spoken by Jesus, with some actually contradicting one another. By the second century, more than twenty different Gospels were in existence and were being circulated within and among the churches, all claiming to be “inspired” witnesses to the truth. Cliques and special interest groups formed around one spokesperson or another who often espoused different interpretations as to what Jesus said and did. Early Christianity, far from being a cohesive and unified movement, became divided among various groups and splinter-groups—some of which differed from one another in both belief and practice. Today people often point to the four Gospels of the New Testament and assume that what is recorded there is the sum total of what actually came from the lips of Jesus. But how can anyone be sure of that when those four gospels represent only a small fraction of the many gospels that had been written and circulated? Who said Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were “authentic” and that significantly different gospel versions were not? How could a person believe and follow the teachings in one book while another person chose to follow the directions in another—and yet both still claim to be “Christian?” Constantine’s desire to unite the Empire through the unification of the church in the fourth century led to a codification of the Faith in the Nicene Creed, the establishment of Orthodox Christianity, and the use of heresy trials to guard and maintain the purity of the faith. This was accompanied by the church’s formal rejection of most of the other Gospels as being heretical in favor of the four we now have and their eventual canonization along with the other writings that now comprise our New Testament. For the next seven centuries, the Christian Church remained unified by its creeds and under the direction of the Pope. In 1054, the great schism occurred and the church spit between the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East. Then, in 1517, Martin Luther posted his demands for reform and the Protestant Reformation was launched, along with the eventual splintering of the Church into hundreds of different denominations and religious practices and beliefs. Currently, there are an estimated 950-plus different denominations, sects, and cults in existence, all of which claim to be “Christian.”

So what do we mean when we say . . . “I am a Christian?”