What is a Christian Now?

I HAVE heard people refer to “Born-Again Christians” (i.e. various Protestant sects) as “Christians” — and everyone else is a non-Christian!

Yet the original, or oldest, Christians are the Roman Catholics, and Catholics see themselves as Christian, and followers of Christ. They call themselves “Christians”.

I hope to show that this is an attempt to hijack the word for Evangelical Charismatic Protestant sects, and to show what a Christian really is, and what it really means today.

In simple historical terms, a Christian is a Roman Catholic — or else a member of a denomination that is in protest of Catholicism.

I guess that the same could be said about the word, “gay”; it was once explained to me that homosexuals arranged a campaign demanding equal rights and equal treatment in the belief that they as “Good As You”.

This was abbreviated to a G.A.Y. campaign, and we all gradually became familiar with GAY marches and parades around the world.

Later, this came to replace the word “gay” in the English language, such that most people now take “homosexual” and “gay” as interchangeable having the exact same meaning.

But some folk resent the “hijacking” of the word, “gay”. It used to mean light of heart, happy, content. The new meaning is in poor taste.

I remember seeing Tom Hanks collect his Oscar for the movie called “Philadelphia”, and suggesting in his acceptance speech, that when homosexuals die of HIV/AIDS, they go to heaven — Christian heaven! Seriously.

Yet Christians and homosexuals do not mix. If homosexuals can hijack “gay” AND “Christian”, then what’s next — English?

But, when you think about it some more, you see that Christianity is pretty much the default position — if you are British you are probably Christian of one type or another, practising or not; it’s a Christian country and part of Christendom.

All British culture is based on Christianity, the laws too — the history of the country is one hundred per cent Christian — from the Crusades through the Reformation to the present.

So it almost goes without saying that a person is a Christian.

It’s pretty much that simple; if you are not a practising Muslim or Hindu, for example, and even if you are atheist, then you are a Christian simply be default — the Church and State are together in that the Bishops sit in the House of Lords and pass all our laws in the name of the Queen, who is The Defender of The Faith and head of the Anglican Church.

Mind you, I can see why people might actually LIKE the sects to steal the “Christian” moniker, the Latin “christianus” meant cretin; the Romans used to throw Christians to the lions, and because the Christian martyrs refused to give up their religion, to run away, or even to fight back, they were thought to be acting like complete idiots.

Throughout the Roman Empire (i.e. the civilised world), if someone was stupid, they were called “Christian”. The word meant that.

Being called a “Christian” back then was a grave insult!

Romans were proud, and would stand up for their family, their loved ones, their liberty, for their country, their rights, and especially their own lives.

Hmm. The Romans may have had a point!

Personally, I don’t tend to use the “gay” word, and I think I can handle both meanings.

“Christian” is something I see used, abused and misused far more often — so it is more annoying. The Catholics have a point, but so do the sects, and maybe even the Christian gays too.

In conclusion, the only sensible way is to think in terms of culture and history, and, to a lesser degree, of personal experience and judgement.

If you do that, then you would have to therefore accept Christianity as being all-inclusive — the default position for the great, unwashed, idiotic, masses (including Catholics, sects and gays).  And this means that the Protestant sects are wrong in claiming the word for their own exclusive use!

In closing, here’s a cautionary note: even though we have a definition of Christianity that includes most (the evangelical sects are a minority), the main problem seems to be where the minority is located — the so-called Bible-Belt of the USA.

The Protestant sects wield a lot of influence over the White House; apparently, schoolchildren in the USA are being taught that Evolution is nonsense, and that Adam and Eve is true!