On Being Christian

In the September 2006 issue of National Geographic magazine there is an interview of Alaa Al Aswany, author of The Yacoubian Building, the best selling novel in the Middle East.

According to National Geographic, Dr. Al Aswany is a dentist and a self-described expert on the American way of life.

The interviewer, Karen M. Kostyal, quotes Dr. Al Aswany as saying, "...I was born Muslim, so I am Muslim. If I had been born Christian, I would have been Christian.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who think this way. Their reasoning is: I am not Muslim, I am not Buddhist, I am not a follower of Confucius, nor am I Hare Krishna, and I am not an atheist, so I must be a Christian.

That demonstrates a total intellectual ignorance of what a Christian is.

I am surprised that a man so brilliant and revered as Dr. Al Aswany is so unaware.

One does not become a Christian either by being "born a Christian," or by proclamation. (If one proclaims oneself a space scientist, that does not make him a space scientist.)

A Christian is a follower of Christ.

But more than that.

A Christian is a person who has recognized the sovereign God as perfect and as one who cannot even look upon imperfection, let alone blatant sin.

A Christian is one who has then recognized that he/she is therefore a sinner, along with everyone ever born, and has no hope of being in God's presence, never mind living eternally in Heaven.

He/she further recognizes that that sinful state earns eternal death, separation from God for eternity in a place we call "Hell," from which there is no escape, and where there is eternal torment like a blazing furnace forever...a place where Heaven can be seen, but not reached, and where he/she is eternally alone (not partying with his/her friends, as some purport).

A Christian is a sinner who has confessed that Jesus is Lord (technically the second person of the Godhead, which we call the Trinity, hence: Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and who believes that God has raised Him from the dead.

A Christian has placed his/her trust in the fact that Jesus went to the cross of Calvary willingly, and there fulfilled all of the requirements of God's moral Law on his/her behalf, leaving no sin-debt to be paid.

One cannot assume the Christianity of his/her parents, but must enter into a relationship with God in a personal way.

All of this information is found in God's Word, both the Living Word (Christ) and the written Word, The Bible.

There is no further revelation either required or appropriate.

Christianity is very narrow.

Jesus, Himself, told us that the life-path that leads to eternal destruction is very wide and lots of people are on it.

He further said that the path to eternal life is very narrow and few people find it.

Christianity is not about behavior, it is about being given an eternal relationship with God through faith in Christ.

If one is focused on Jesus, behavior will take care of itself.

I am astonished that a person as brilliant as Mr. Al Aswany has never learned this about what a Christian is.

It is my prayer that he will read this post and come to accept the claims of Christ on his life and become a Christian, not based on where he was born, but when he was born again.

I will pray to this end.

But I will not hold my breath.