What does it mean to identify as Christian?

by Robert Jensen

In a world with so many different denominations and theologies, what can we know about a person who says, “I am a Christian”?

Does that mean one believes the resurrection is a historical fact? Does a Christian search the Bible for meaning in literal or symbolic terms? Is God a being, a force, an entity, or simply the name humans give to that which we don’t understand? What is more central to being a Christian -- a firm belief in doctrine, faith in one’s heart, love in the world?

Given that more than three-quarters of the U.S. public identifies as Christian and that religion is increasingly central in political life, these questions should interest us all. That’s why, even though I’ve been a secular person my whole life, I began spending more time at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, a church in Austin, TX, with an active social-justice ministry. Eventually I joined, even though I still don’t think of God and Christ in traditional terms.

When I wrote an essay about that decision, some of the theologically conservative people in the regional Presbyterian organization took offense. A complaint was lodged against my church and a committee was sent to investigate. That committee judged the process by which I was admitted “irregular” and recommended that I be removed from the active membership roll. In June, the full regional body -- called Mission Presbytery, representing 157 churches in central and south Texas -- voted 156-114 to declare my membership “null and void” and directed officials to instruct St. Andrew’s and its elders on appropriate standards for membership.

I listened during that meeting but was barred from speaking by the Presbytery leadership. Some of the speakers rejected any notion I was Christian, while others argued I should be admitted as a struggling member of the faith. One person proclaimed, “I think he’s already been born again.” It was a surreal experience, listening to the state of my soul being evaluated and hearing the varying diagnoses.

While St. Andrew’s prepares an appeal of that action, my membership is in limbo. But more important than the outcome of this dispute is the broader conversation: What does it mean to be a Christian?

I don’t claim to have the answer. Instead, I’m interested in the search for understanding, which is reflected in the following faith statement I provided to the Presbytery meeting:

On God: I believe God is a name we give to the mystery of the world that is beyond our capacity to understand. I believe that the energy of the universe is ordered by forces I cannot comprehend.

On Jesus: I believe Christ offered a way into that mystery that still has meaning today.

On the Holy Ghost: There are moments in my life when I feel a connection to other people and to Creation that rides a spirit which flows through me yet is beyond me.

I believe that Holy Spirit can only be nurtured in real community, where people make commitments to each other. I have found that community in St. Andrew’s. I have tried to open myself up to our pastor’s teaching, to the members of the congregation, and to the church’s work in the world.

Abe Osheroff, a friend of mine who just turned 90 years old, told me recently that he had come to see that in his life he had no destination, just a direction -- toward ever-greater love and ever-expanding justice.

I believe that when we are truly open to the wonder of Creation, that direction becomes clear. I am trying to walk a path in that direction. I find that it is hard, as Jesus said it would be. In Matthew 7:12-14, he said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

I believe that is true.

Is that a Christian statement of faith? Apparently not to the 156 delegates to the Mission Presbytery meeting who wanted me out.

After the vote, one of them asked me why -- given that I didn’t think of Christ as the risen Lord -- I wanted to be part of a Christian church. Why not find another vehicle for my spiritual questions? “Why not,” he said, smiling, “just become a Unitarian?”

The answer is in part about St. Andrew’s; it’s the community in which I feel at home in this search. But more than that, I live in a predominantly Christian country. Like many, I was raised on the stories of the Bible; they are part of the teachings of the culture, no matter what one’s religion. I think of them as my stories, to which I have a claim.

The question isn’t why do I insist on calling myself a Christian, but rather why do others need to close off the discussion on what the term means?

Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center http://thirdcoastactivist.org/. He is the author of The Heart of Whiteness: Race, Racism, and White Privilege and Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity (City Lights Books). He can be reached at rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.