I’ve had enough conversations with various people around the country to know that there is not a universal definition of “Christian.” I’ll never forget hearing that in some parts of the world, “Christian” means an arrogant, morally corrupt, manipulative westerner. In other places, it means someone who is generally a good person and goes to church a couple times a year. Others define it as someone who believes in Jesus, attends mass and confession, and accepts the Pope as the head of the church. Yet, others identify “Christian” with the coercive global power that invaded countries and subjected them to colonization and severe abuse, all in the name of Jesus.

Which one of these, if any, is correct? Or are all of them true? And if all of them are true of people calling themselves Christians, does that mean Christianity, the Bible, and Jesus himself are like all those people? Or are the people and their various definitions of what it means to be Christian faulty? Is there a way to be a Christian, a Christ follower, that is different from all of the ways described above? In today's episode we're going to have an opportunity to explore that question.