Who Are You?

Are you a true Christian? Or are you a false Christian, a pseudo-Christian or a "Bible-ist"? Read on, and find out.

It's not that difficult to know whether or not you are a true Christian. True Christians follow the teachings of Christ. It's simple, really. Jesus Christ taught us that we should live lives of simplicity, tolerance, compassion, non-violence and service to others. If you attempt to lead a life according to those precepts, taught so many years ago by Jesus, you are a true Christian.

Pseudo-Christians

• Pseudo-Christians and "Bible-ists", on the other hand, may call themselves Christians, but their lives betray them.
• Pseudo-Christians, despite labeling themselves Christian, don't follow the teachings of Christ. They lead lives of materialism, selfishness and disregard for the impact of their lives on their fellow man and the Earth on which we all depend.
• Pseudo-Christians are intolerant of the lifestyles of others.
• Pseudo-Christians only have compassion for those who believe as they do, and they disregard Jesus' admonition against the sin of violence, including war.
• Pseudo-Christians can also be called "Bible-ists". Bible-ists interpret some version of the Bible in whatever manner suits their beliefs. The Bible is not, as the Bible-ists would have others believe, the "Word of God".

The Bible is, rather, a complex and often contradictory recording of innumerable oral histories. In many cases those oral histories are of uncertain origin. And there is no one Bible. There are thousands of translations of that record of oral histories, modified by various religious persuasions to suit their own purposes.

True Christians

• True Christians take the Bible for what it is, and don't allow pseudo-Christian Biblical interpretations to interfere with a desire to live the life of a true believer in the teachings of Christ.
• True Christians are open-minded, and tolerant of the beliefs and lifestyles of other.
• True Christians don't try and force their lifestyle, or religious beliefs, on others (and they recognize the importance of separation of church and state).
• True Christians don't throw stones and aren't judgmental. They are concerned about the planet on which they and their fellow humans must live, and work to save God's beautiful Earth from the ravages of environmental degradation and overpopulation.
• True Christians seek to avoid the complexity and materialism of modern life, that leads people away from the teachings of Christ and from a spiritually essential connection to God's Earth.
• True Christians avoid the enslavement of materialism and the waste, both spiritual and literal, it causes.
• True Christians oppose violence, whether in the form of corporal punishment or in the sanctioned murder that the governments of the world call war.
• True Christians put people before profits, and realize corporate capitalism and communism are equally un-Christian.

Jesus' teachings, of course, are similar to the teachings of the great teachers, including Buddha and Mohammed, of all the major religions. Jesus' teachings, like those of the other great teachers, have been subverted throughout history by governments and religions seeking self-serving political and financial rewards. The distortion and perversion of Jesus' teachings by organized religion and it usurpation by malevolent political groups is one of the greatest evils facing America, and the world, today. By mislabeling themselves "Christian", many organized religions and political groups have presumed the moral high ground in the pursuit of their anything but Christ-like agenda.

Simply calling yourself a Christian means nothing. What matters is the life one leads. There are many people living the life of a true Christian that don't consider themselves Christian, and millions who call themselves Christian that lead lives that are the opposite of Christ's teachings.

It is not easy being a true Christian in a society where it is difficult to find a religious community that is truly Christian. Many supposed Christian denominations in the world today are pseudo-Christian, and most are strongly "Bible-ist". It is not easy being a true Christian in a society that encourages consumption and materialism. It is not easy being a true Christian in a world where money is worshipped above all else. But now, more than ever, true Christians need to take back the true meaning of the word "Christian" from the pseudo-Christians and the "Bible-ists".

Christ marched to the beat of a different drummer. So can you, and thereby live the life of a true Christian, whether you choose to call yourself one or not.