Lately I've been wondering what I should call myself. Specifically, what would I say are my "Religious views"? Currently in my Facebook profile I don't have anything listed. The reasons for this are complicated. In short, I'd rather not identify myself with any particular group, because in every group there are whackos that believe things or act in ways that I'd rather not be associated with. I have no problem sharing my faith with someone who is asking, but I'm not going to call myself "Christian" when the term can mean so many different things to different people.
What other people call themselves
Out of curiousity, I took a little "survey" of my facebook friends that also go to my church. Of the 50 or so that fit that category, here is what they had listed as their "religious views":
Christ Follower 17
Nothing at all 14
Christian 13
Baptist 4
There were also several unique entries that I'll discuss below.
I was surprised at how few people actually put "Baptist", although I do go to a pretty un-Baptist Baptist church. (We just changed our name to take the word "Baptist" out of our name...)
Also interesting is the dominance of "Christ follower". I suspect the reason for this is a sermon our pastor gave a while ago where he made a pitch for that term. While I don't mind it, it's prett un-original, and that disqualifies it for me.
In any case, I've had the desire to actually fill that space with something, since several other entries in my profile indicate that I do have beliefs of some kind. Here are the other unique "religious views" of some of my other facebook friends:
The supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples in and through Jesus Christ!
Jesus is LORD
Set Free
Redeeming love has been my plea...
I don't believe in atheists
I'm saved by grace, thru faith, not because of anything I've done - it's a gift of God!
Godfearer
Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords
God is my ALL
Some of those are interesting, but none are exactly what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that shows exactly where I am: Pretty much in line with a lot of traditional Protestant beliefs (but not all) but with a desire to stretch those beliefs as far as I can. I question not for the sake of questioning, but to test these beliefs to see what is strong and what is weak, what is worth keeping, and what is open for change.
Options
So far I've kicked around a lot of labels, but most have been disqualified because they seem too arrogant. (Some also don't really fit me anyway) This category includes:
Thinking Christian
Discerning Christian
Intelligent Christian
Maverick Christian
Open-minded Christian
Reasonable Christian
Reasoning Christian
Intellectual Christian
Rational Christian
Freethinking Christian
Other labels that come close but are too negative (emphasizing the questioning or skeptical side of my faith) include:
Skeptical Christian
Doubting Christian
Questioning Christian
Current Possibilities
So far, there are two options that I am still considering. Here's the first:
Heterodox Christian
Wikipedia gives this description of the term:
The term heterodox is occasionally used by some Christians to refer to themselves when they are in disagreement with orthodox understandings, but voice this disagreement while still maintaining the overall value of the tradition. The heterodox Christian therefore remains in the tradition and attempts to stimulate constructive dialog around issues with which they disagree. [source]
I like that! I have a friend that this term fits perfectly (way better than it fits me) but I still like it a lot. However, the word "heterodox" has some pretty negative connotations, and I'm sure it would make friends and family worry more than I'd like.
The final option I'm considering is simply to put one or more scripture references.
Right now I would probably use the following:
Mark 12:30, Acts 17:11
or simply
I Thessalonians 5:21
I'm also considering:
Luke 12:57
Isaiah 1:18
Proverbs 10:14
Prov 19:2
Mark 9:24
Phil 1:9-10
1 Cor 10:15
Any Suggestions?
So what about you? What do you have on your facebook profile? Do you have any suggestions for me?
6 comments:
I am one of the people that has Godfearer on my Facebook page. My main reasons for this are:
1. It is ambiguous
2. Fear is an expression for extreme reverence or awe
3. That at times when you don't have the reverence or awe of God then you should fear him
4. It was a term to describe Gentiles who followed God but did not fully convert to Judaism, guess they didn't like the idea of circumcision, but really total conversion wasn't required of them.
I like that ambiguity because it allows me to change, to question, and fall where I may on a spectrum of belief in God. Reverence and awe because I find that lacking when it comes to how people describe God, and try to fit him in their nice box of their chosen theology. Fear because when I do what I know I shouldn't, or don't do when I should, because God is the ultimate one that I will have to answer to.
As for your choice of Heterodox Christian I like it, partly because every Christian holds to heterodoxy. Orthodoxy is define by the group not by what is actually true. All Protestants are heterodox to Catholics, and the reverse is true. The negative side of being Heterodox is that Christians have a history of killing heretics without seeing their hypocrisy.
Using a verse I don't think will actually express what your views are, and in some ways don't necessarily reflect how you think. Take Acts 17:11 for example the Bereans are more noble because they search the scriptures (the word just means "writings" it is only assumed to be the Old Testament), I think they are "noble" because they believed Paul but that is another matter. Your journey for the truth goes beyond what is written in the Bible into science and history. The Bereans don't actually investigate beyond what Paul says and what is in their "writings" as far as the text tells us. So that would make you more "noble" because you seek out the truth in other arenas and don't just listen to what people tell you.
Mark,
Thanks for your comments; I thought about you when I was writing this.
I agree that using the Berean verse isn't great either; the anachronism you point out is enough of a pet peeve of mine when others do it, that I'd probably better avoid it myself.
I'm actually leaning toward putting simply "1 Thessalonians 5:17". The simple phrase (if anyone cares enough to look it up) of "Test everything. Hold on to the good." is pretty much what I aspire to. Whether I'm successful in that is another story.
The fact that it is a verse from the Bible places me (sort of) somewhere in that tradition, but the verse itself emphasizes my desire to subject the beliefs of that tradition to tests of common sense, Scripture, and other forms of knowledge, including scientific knowledge. Using only the reference also requires a little more effort, which thwarts casual browsing, and I like that too.
-Joe
Just a suggestion, but what I usually refer to my self as is one of several things, all of which are rooted in Scripture, and all of which God uses to call His people.
Yahuwdy - One who belongs to and is related to Yahuweh.
Yisra'el - One who strives with and is empowered by God.
Ekklesia - Fromt the Greek meaning Called Out. The word errantly replaced by the pagan moniker church.
Chrestusian - Useful implement, and upright one. This was later corrupted to Christian which is from the Greek Christianos meaning drugged and whitewashed as opposed to the original titled taken by the followers of the way, which was based on Chrestusianos meaning useful implement and upright one.
I choose to use Hebrew and Greek names, because those are the ones that the authors of Scripture used, they are the ones that Yahuweh inspired. They also tend to make people ask, "what does that mean." and start an interesting conversation.
James,
I like your suggestions for the reasons you give: They're biblical, and God uses them to refer to us.
However, I wouldn't use them myself for one reason: Perception. In my profession (science & engineering) I'm constantly fighting the perception that "religious people" are stupid, naive, or just plain weird. While the names you suggest may mean something to you, they certainly don't mean anything to 99.999% of people, so calling myself a Yahuwdy would just be perceived as weird.
It is important to me for my faith to be relevant to my peers, and this requires me to not use words that are hard to understand, or that others may understand in a way other than I intend.
I hope that makes sense.
-Joe
Mine says "I believe, help me in my unbelief"
This statement describes my walk and my struggles quite well.
At the moment, I simply have "Lord Jesus Christ" as my religious view. I like the "heterodox Christian" one though, as I think it accurately describes me.
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