What are you? What have you been?

[Not_Now.Soon]

So this is a question of how do you identify yourself. What labels and discriptions do you choose, or have had in your life. The only rule is that it has to be something that you currently describe yourself as, or have described yourself as. Not a discription that someone else gave you that you disagreed with.

It's just a question, but often how we think of ourselves and think of others affects how we relate to them and feel a connection to them. Here's some some examples and what I mean.

For me I am a man, which on it's own has affected my views of what people complain about when they complain about men. Pretty easy to be defensive about. I am also Christian. Though I've had this discription for a long time, how I see it and relate to it and relate to it has changed over time. I also used to consider myself an intellectual, or at least saw these qualities as high ones to have. Since then it's changed and I value kindness more. But the discription is in my history and has affected who I am and who
I feel are easy to relate to and be drawn to.

Those are only three discription of myself that I've had or currently have. Just giving them as an example to the question. Hopefully if anyone else wants to answer we can all get to know something about eachother that we didn't know before. As a community of Christians and anyone seeking conversation about Christianity, it might help all of us to know how any of us see ourselves.

 

[evenifigoalone]

Christian, but that's a given. Female. Anime nerd. INFP. Libertarian. Artist.

Former: Dog enthusiast. Future dog breeder. Collie lover (still am, but don't use as a descriptive). To some degree the "free thinking" label is in the past, as it's something I took pride in as a teenager when I thought I was a budding philosopher. I think it still does apply, but I don't treat it as part of my identity.

 

[Eugene]

.
OLD!

I was athletic a good part of my life, and need to get back to the gym. Four years ago I was still pressing 200 lbs overhead in three sets of 8 reps.

My granddaughter was named to the all-state basketball team as a senior, challenged me to one-on-one, and I beat her about ten years ago; she didn't like my hands on style of knocking her down if she got in my way.

I am Christian and my love for God grows daily. I have been retired now near sixteen years, married 59 years, have my computer at a desk next to our bed, and spend the day talking to my wife as we watch game shows.

As to doctrines I am non-denominational, OSAS, believe in receiving the Holy Spirit since believing on Christ, and believe in ranks of the resurrection depending upon our spiritual walk; the bride hath made herself ready; Rev 19:7. Paul said it this way in Php 3:8, he wanted to win Christ. I'm not sure this is what you're looking for.

 

[Mike S]

Strong traditional Christian, husband, father, libertarian/conservative, sailor (for six years while in the Navy), veteran, Yankee.

 

[jasonc]

Strong traditional Christian, husband, father, libertarian/conservative, sailor (for six years while in the Navy), veteran, Yankee.

Bah yankees,vile creatures,lol

 

[evenifigoalone]

Oh yeah, doctrine-wise....
Consider myself nondenominational as I don't feel like I should be tied down in loyalty to any denomination or their doctrine (as I will change my views if thoroughly convinced), but actually baptist in doctrine. Former fundamentalist, maybe still am depending on how you define it. OSAS, apathetic creationist.

 

[smaller]

Philippians 3:8
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

I played the game of my own life, and lost it, well, kind of...:yes And it's a good thing to lose.

 

[Mike S]

Bah yankees,vile creatures,lol

How about Navy?

 

[jasonc]

How about Navy?

Lol.squids,they need hot sauce

 

[Mike S]

That's better, I thought maybe you missed that and I was off the hook.

 

[jasonc]

That's better, I thought maybe you missed that and I was off the hook.

No.yankees aren't edible

 

[Ph8th]

Blessesd

 

[Not_Now.Soon]

.
OLD!

I was athletic a good part of my life, and need to get back to the gym. Four years ago I was still pressing 200 lbs overhead in three sets of 8 reps.

My granddaughter was named to the all-state basketball team as a senior, challenged me to one-on-one, and I beat her about ten years ago; she didn't like my hands on style of knocking her down if she got in my way.

I am Christian and my love for God grows daily. I have been retired now near sixteen years, married 59 years, have my computer at a desk next to our bed, and spend the day talking to my wife as we watch game shows.

As to doctrines I am non-denominational, OSAS, believe in receiving the Holy Spirit since believing on Christ, and believe in ranks of the resurrection depending upon our spiritual walk; the bride hath made herself ready; Rev 19:7. Paul said it this way in Php 3:8, he wanted to win Christ. I'm not sure this is what you're looking for.

Sure. It was mostly meant as an open ended question. Kind of like a conversation starter, or a get to know ya sort of question.

 

[Obadiah]

I think this is a great idea for a thread, especially among those like most of us who consider the use (or refusal to use) the label "Christian" to be significant.

As for me, I don't really have a problem with using labels that relate to my job, ministry, hobbies, etc. Currently my newest job title is "Long Term Caregiver" for developmentally disabled people. It's also something I consider a ministry title as I work for an openly Christian company that encourages us to actually "minister" to our clients, and the job is (surprisingly) making use of the spiritual gifts and talents God gave me that were originally meant to be used for youth ministry until the organized church shut me out of that kind of ministry because I no longer fit their secular image of a youth pastor as being the young rock star type with a 25 year old wife and a brood of young children hanging around. But that rant's for another thread, eh? :yes

I also worked in an actual paid job position as a church sound engineer for several years. That was not my main calling from God, nor my main job but it did take advantage of other talents and abilities God gave me, so I didn't mind being known by that title either. "Those who are faithful with a little...", right? That is as long as people made an effort to understand the extent of what I did and how important this was to their worship service. Not all understood this. But I didn't mind the title as it described what I did as my job to those in the know.

In the past I've also worked as a youth pastor for many years. While this was my official and necessary job title on my paychecks and on church records, I didn't refer to myself as this in actual ministry situations even though this was my true main calling from God, confirmed in many ways over the years. I didn't disagree with what the title meant, I just didn't want any of the teenagers I worked with to "put me up on a pedestal" because of a title. (And I didn't want to submit myself to the temptation of arrogance that using such titles can bring on in some people like myself.) If they are going to look up to me or put me on a pedestal, I want it to be because they respected my ability to allow God to use the spiritual gifts He gave me to work through me to minister to them, not because an organized church gave me a job title. I think this attitude worked well because today I'm still in contact with many of those former teenagers who are now grown adults, and they've told me how much it meant to them, and how much God's influence on them at that time has held them in their faith so far up into being middle aged adults.

But the title "Christian" is a the really tough one for me. This is a title that over the centuries I believe has been abused and misused so much that so many people in the world just don't understand it's real meaning. I'm always torn between the idea that saying I'm NOT a Christian is denying God (so I don't say that), and the idea that saying I AM a Christian give the hearer the wrong impression by bringing up images in their minds of the many things in history as well as in their own lives that people have done in the name of Christianity but were very "unchristian" things indeed. That's why I identify myself as a Christian on this forum. I see the only other alternative of saying I'm NOT a Christian as a denial of Christ, plus I like to assume that unlike in the secular world, at least people here will understand what the title actually means.

So the title of "Christian" is a real struggle for me. In fact, even just in my own life I've seen so much hatred and backstabbing done by people who claim the title "Christian" (far more than I've seen among non-christians) that when I am dealing with businesses, individuals, or whomever in the real world and I see that little fish symbol, cross, or other indication of Christianity associated with an otherwise not necessarily Christian business or organization it makes me want to run the other way. While running my own business for about 15 years I never once identified myself as a Christian in any way in any of my advertising. I saw no point in it as no one is going to accept Christ because they see a tiny cross printed on my business card. The only purpose could be a selfish desire to entice other Christians to use my services because it makes them feel an affinity with me and then I can make more money off of them. I just can't use Christianity as a money making tool. Besides, even though I wanted to be a testimony for Christ, I knew all to well that the concept of Christianity among the secular world where I did business no longer represents the relationship I have with God in my heart. So I avoided outwardly identifying myself as Christian in my business and only looked for opportunities to testify through my actions and words whenever I could.

This is not meant as a slight against true Christianity. It is the sad result of far to many people (far too many true Christians included) who have done far to many non-christian things in the name of Christianity or just on their own, but still tarnishing Christianity to all who know the person identifies themselves with that title. This bothers me deeply and, in fact, makes me downright mad because of all the titles I've had or could have had in my life, by far "Christian" is the most important of all. But people have ruined the word to the point that I seldom use it anymore and therefore have to work a lot harder to show people Christianity by my actions and speech rather than by simply saying I am one. And that's a much harder thing to not fail at too! :yes Therefore I no longer use any indicators of being a Christian in my life such as those little fish symbol bumper stickers, openly associating myself with a particular church congregation or denomination when there is no other purpose than to identify myself as a Christan, or even carrying a Bible purposely in a way to make sure other people see it and therefore identify me as a Christian. (Does an auto mechanic always carry around his auto repair manual in a way to make sure people see it and therefore assume he is a mechanic? Or does he let the world know he is a mechanic by doing good mechanical work so that his customers will talk about him and recommend him to their friends?) I want to be a testimony for God in my life, I really do. But I worry that the title of Christian gives the wrong testimony to too many of the world's people who need the most to see what a true relationship with God really is.