Are you a Christian?

As a youngster, when one of my little Protestant friends would ask me: "Are you a Christian?" I would hesitate, a bit embarrassed, and then blurt out: "No, I'm a Catholic." Even back then this question made me defensive.

Lately, I got interested in the litmus test many Christians use and now I know why I get defensive. They use this question: "What do you believe?" It doesn't seem to matter what you do — as long as you believe in the "right things." The right things come from a long list drawn up by a group of 318 bishops in the year 325 AD at the Council of Nicaea, and edited at Constantinople in 381 AD.

You remember: The Christians had split into many different sects, and the emperor needed one religion to impose on his conquered nations; so he forced the bishops to come up with a creed. He didn't care what it said. What he got, he called Christianity. Believing in this list makes you a Christian. OK, maybe it does, but I can't see how it makes you a follower of Christ.

And let's be honest about this title: Jesus was not a Christian, he was a Jew. He was born a Jew, lived in a Jewish family in a Jewish town and died a Jew. Jesus didn't recite the Nicene Creed. Neither did Mary Magdalene or Peter, James or John, or any of the followers of Christ until the year 325 AD. Were they Christians?

I received a beautiful letter from an anonymous person last week who wants to convert me. She outlined her faith in God and Christ but once again, she said nothing about what she does. It was all about what she believed — the infancy narratives, the atonement theory, the divinity of Christ, the resurrection and ascension etc. Very close, I think, to the words of the Nicene Creed.

But she said nothing about feeding the poor in downtown Macon. Nothing about helping to curb the amount of teenage pregnancies and gang wars and crime in Middle Georgia. Nothing about standing up to our race problems and stopping the prejudice and discrimination that permeates our churches and clubs and businesses like an ever-growing cancer. She said nothing about loving people who are different from us. I don't know, aren't these the kinds of things Christ would be concerned about?

I know that Paul says: "Faith without works" is the road to salvation. (Romans 3:28) But "works" for Paul was the Jewish law, all 613 statements of it. Paul wanted to break away from Judaism and this was his way of saying it (Gal. 2:11). But he certainly didn't tell his converts that all they had to do was "believe" and they could do whatever they wanted — in fact, just the opposite. His famous statement to the Corinthians (1Cor. 13:2) makes it clear that if he had enough faith to move mountains but didn't love his neighbor, he'd be nothing.

If all it takes to be a Christian is to say: "I believe," both Paul and I want to be something more than that. We want to be followers of a young charismatic Jewish man who captured the hearts of all who watched him "walk the talk." Words like Messiah and Son of Man and Son of God are meaningless to 21st century ears, but words like: "Don't judge others" and "Forgive others" and "Love others" still ring true if we live it. And I think Jesus lived it.

Today, when someone asks me if I'm a Christian, it still puts me on the defensive. It's like being asked if I'm a Republican. Sure, I'm all for lower taxes and less government, but I don't want my political party issuing religious dogma and telling me what I have to believe, so I don't say I'm a Republican. Or, am I a Democrat? Sure, I want to help the disadvantaged, but I don't want to create a whole society of free-loaders who pay no taxes and live off the largesse of those who do, so I don't say I'm a Democrat.

It's the same thing with this question: "Am I a Christian?" Sure, I think Christianity has done a tremendous amount of salvific things over the ages and still does here in Middle Georgia. I admire the work of the Salvation Army and Loaves and Fishes and Daybreak and most of the other Christian charitable organizations, but I don't condone things like the Medieval Inquisition, the Salem Witch Hunts, and our modern day prejudices and discriminations — all of which flew and still fly — under the banner of Christianity.

So, am I a Christian? Not really. I'd rather say I am a follower of Christ.

Dr. Bill Cummings is the CEO of Cummings Consolidated Corporation and Cummings Management Consultants. His blog is www.progressiveheretic.com.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Are you a Christian? ."