2. What is Christianity?

Current mood: voluminous

As I was growing up, being a Christian meant that you belived in God and Jesus, and you went to church. Well, you might go to church, if you were a "good" one. If you were really holy, you went every Sunday and even on Wednesday. You were among the "strong" and "faithfull" if you lived a "blameless" life. This lifestyle entailed the following stipulations as a teenager: don't cuss, don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs, don't get pregnant or get someone pregnant before you're married and get married immediately if you do. That's the reader's digest condensed version from my home town.
There's a whole new set of rules to follow when you get older. Of course you have to keep going to church, abstaining from alcohol, drugs, etc... but now you should be involved at church as well. You should sing in the choir, teach Sunday School, be on a committee, and generally be as visible as possible while you appear to be a model citizen in the community. You should be sure to "protect your witness" by never being seen in less than ideal surroundings or with less than ideal people.
You should always vote Republican, because Republicans have morals, and you should be sure that your entire life is saturated by conservativism. (Not sure if that's a real word, but I'm using it anyway) What is Conservativism? Well, it's being sure that you're not duped by that liberal media for one thing. You soak yourself in news, art, music, literature, conversation, and relationships that are "Christian" or conservative. Avoid anything secular like the plague.
I could go on, but I'll summarize by saying this: This lifestyle provides you with a formula for appearing as "sinless" as possible. Visible sins are the ones that are publically condemned. If you don't steal or live an alternative lifestyle, or anything else that's obvious, you are "righteous". This seems a bit complex to me.
The word Christian is used as an adjective all too often. I've decided to make it more important to me as a noun.
Christian: one who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ
To be incredibly simple, Christianity is living your life as Jesus lived his.
So what does real Christianity look like if it's not going to church and following all the rules? I promise I'm not completely negative about this. I'll continue later.

Currently listening : Mockingbird By Derek Webb Release date: 27 December, 2005