A Radical Christian?

Since we love to label things, label me a radical Christian.  There, it’s out there and I stand by it.  I even named my blog "A Radical Christian!"

So what is a radical Christian? Well, first let me say it is NOT any type of organized movement, sect, denomination, or official flavor of Christianity.  If you Google “radical Christian,” whatever you find will most likely not match what I’m talking about.

First and foremost, a radical Christian is a Christian (pure genius, huh?!?).  But the “Christian” label is so distorted nowadays that no one can seem to agree on what it means.  A follower of Jesus, the Christ?  Yes.  A member of a body of fellow Christian believers?  Yes.  Get much beyond that and we’re liable to be calling each other un-Christian names!

That’s where the “radical” in radical Christian comes in.  Not a radical in the sense of some wild-eyed fanatic, standing on a soapbox and yelling at folks on street corners (those people creep me out, too).  "Radical" comes from the Latin radicalis and means “from the root.”  Radical Christianity attempts to get back to the very roots of earliest Christianity.  To strip away the man-made additions and return to the foundations of belief.

Easier said than done.  In fact, I’d say most of our modern denominations came from someone’s attempt some time in the past to get back to Christian basics.  And then what happened?  Each denomination started adding some man-made improvements to Christ’s basics.  Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.  Sometimes by doctrine, sometimes by tradition.  Either way, we all have added extra rigging (yes, even non-denominational churches).

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong in having denominations, if it’s for the right reasons and in the right spirit. But that's a topic for later (maybe). 

To not offend anyone else, I’ll focus a minute on my own Christian tribe. I affiliate with Baptists.  From the many denominations I’ve been exposed to, Baptists most closely represent what I understand to be a New Testament church model (well, in many ways anyhow).  We Baptists pride ourselves in rejecting creeds and using only the Bible as our basis of belief.  But guess what.  Many (let's be honest: most) Baptist congregations have added rigid man-made rules.  Since we Baptists tend not to write things down, our straightjackets typically come from traditions (although we also have the dreaded Church Bylaws. Aaagh!!!).  I’ve picked on my own tribe here (we're such easy targets), but let’s face it: every denomination does it!

The radical Christian doesn’t haphazardly toss out doctrine, or traditions, or historical understandings, or anything else.  Those are fine if they help to shine light on Scripture and reveal truth.  But it has to take its proper place and—if found wanting—needs to be changed or shed. 

Instead, we should focus on the essentials… those core Christian beliefs that define us. And the list is probably a lot shorter than you might think.   I’ll tackle those in a future posting…..