"Christian"

Something that struck me in The Birth Narratives article were the statistics that the Newsweek Poll found:

"A NEWSWEEK Poll found that 84 percent of American adults consider themselves Christians, and 82 percent see Jesus as God or the son of God. Seventy-nine percent say they believe in the virgin birth, and 67 percent think the Christmas story--from the angels' appearance to the Star of Bethlehem--is historically accurate."

I was shocked to see that 84 percent of Americans consider themselves Christian. That got me thinking about what it means to be a Christian. To me, it means both accepting Jesus as the Son of God and trying to live out your life in the way Jesus taught. But do eighty-four percent of Americans agree with me? Probably not. In fact, I'm guessing it's far from that. So then what qualifies as being Christian? Accepting Jesus as the Messiah? Showing love and compassion? Going to church on Christmas Eve?

It seems to me that the word "Christian" gets a bad reputation because of the wide variety of the definitions people put on that word. Nobody quite knows what to expect from a Christian, and thus is often disappointed. It's a shame, really. And I don't think anyone has their definition wrong. Everybody is entitled to be a Christian in whatever way they so choose. But often, people throw that label around and don't think of the implications it could be causing for "Christians" everywhere.