Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective.
- Rob Bell
What do you think?
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About Me
- Paul & Wanda Moores
- I'm a former youth pastor trying to become a marketplace missionary. I'm married to a wonderful woman named Wanda and have been for 11+ years. We have recently adopted a beautiful girl whom we named Annalise.
19 comments:
ça me fait penser.
Give me a second while I lok up the definitions again...seriously I've never know since elementary school and no matter how many times I look it up it seems that I slipped through the cracks of language arts...Well it definitly is both. I think as adjective it helps to keep the space between Christians and normal people (the rest of society) which is not good. It brings "holyness" to all Christians do and forms a gap...therefore I agree.
I think that tension between "chritian" being an adjective is playing itself out a lot in the realm of music. We are starting to see a growing amout of bands and artists who don't want their music labelled "christian", even though they themselves are Christian. The christian label brings certain expectations, that some people just don't want to be associated with.
The band MuteMath even went so far as to sue their record company because they were going to be marketed as a christian band. While I think that's a touch extreme, it shows the length that some people are willing to go to shed the adjective christian label.
I don't think Christian can be an adjective. What makes something Christian? Do we live in a Christian country? Is music really Christian? What is the criteria that makes something Christian?
Great "QUESTIONS" the Drew.
Boomer, do you agree with the statement or with yourself?
i think the word "Christian" is negative in both connotations.
sam
Hi Sam (D. I think),
Just wanting to unpack your comment a little more. Do you mean that people who are trying to be like Jesus (the true definition of the noun Christian) are negative or doing negative?
The adjective Christian is just so overused that it is becoming ineffective.
Yes - Christian is a great noun; the best in fact...when applied to a follower of Jesus.
Possibly the most misrepresented word when applied to anything (other nouns) else.
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new thought
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However, Postalpedia might suggest that the term Christian as an adjective could have near limitless uses when applied to any redemptive act. The implication? The Christian as an adjective is possibly more at work in our world today then ever before - describing acts of ANYONE who shows redemption and grace.
Ya dig?
I deleted the post above to clarify it. Sorry Paul.
So then the act and the person are not separated?? I would be OK with that if there were no assumptions made there. That the act and the person MUST be as one and that the act OR the person don't validate the use of the name.
Ya dig??
i think the word "Christian" is most effective when used as an adverb. The truth, from where I stand, is that using the word to describe a noun or as a noun, is in itself arrogant and deceptive. If it is used to describe actions and/or deeds then it actually is something measureable, tangible and can be understood as something "Christ-like" by more than just the do-er of said action and/or deed. People are people. Even if someone doesn't believe in Christ, their actions *could* be seen as "Christ-like" even if not performed in his name. Because you do something charitable or nice for someone and I do the same thing does the worth of that action mean any less to the person on the receiving end? I don't think so. That's just my humble (or not so humble) opinion.
Sam
(PS: Yes, it is SdB)
Thanks for hearing me.
Always a pleasure to talk to you Sam. You have given me lots to chew on.
No probs "hearing you". I believe that's a Christ-like thing.
COuld you clarify that for me a wee bit Paul? I think I get what your saying but my mind is mostly fried today.....
Thanks yo!
I was trying to restate what you said. That the (Christian) act and the (Christian) person are inseparable. They do not exist independently. As far as what my friend Sam was saying, I was trying to hold Christians to a high standard. That if you say you are something, you'd better act like it.
I'm pretty sure that I did not mean that the act and person are inseperable....lets assume that we can seperate them. Then what?
Lets assume that anyone can be apart of 'kingdom work' even though they do not know Jesus. Lets take Christian as an adjective for what an adjective is: a descriptive word. Can anyone have Christian actions if the word Christian is just a descriptor? Yes.
I think that is what I was trying to get at.
The Christian as an adjective is possibly more at work in our world today then ever before - describing acts of ANYONE who shows redemption and grace.
So then the "Noun" Christian by definition should also be displaying "adjective" Christian acts.
Maybe a great post would be "What is a Christian"?
Yes - inside my heart of hearts I agree!
I'll check in on the next post...
Oye...you guys make my head hurt. There. I have responded.
when used to qualify action, i prefer the adjective "christian" to the adjective "biblical", otherwise we have all sorts of wonderful potential to end up as leprous, warmongering, polygamist, mysogenist, self-harming (yada yada paradox upon paradox) murderers. the bible is definitely a good book to read to the end ;)
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