" and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with[b] the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”(Acts 11:26)
Can you recall the first time you identified with a group or were called something. I don't mean called in a taunting or derogatory way, but called something that you were proud to be called.
There are usually dates associated with these "callings." But sometimes it takes time to grow into the name. I like that Acts says they were first called "Christians." They'd been known as the Way before that. But ultimately this was the first branding if you will.
When I was a child I would claim to be an Episcopalian, when asked what religion I was. I didn't have the understanding that what I actually am is a Christian who happens to worship and practice my faith in a distinctive way. There are many "Christians," of various types. We vary in piety, liturgy, interpretation of scripture, theology and many other things, but we utltimately share a core value and that is faith in Jesus Christ. Where we go with that faith, and how we live it in the world may not be identical but we live and move and have our being in that core.
So what I'm saying is that you can call me a Christian, but please understand we don't all fit neatly into a box.
Blessings,
Ed
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