What makes a Christian is a popular question these days. As one who is usually counted out, I try to avoid participating in the calculation. That is more a moral than an academic sentiment, however. It asks for courtesy in granting others equal opportunity for self definition and not merely religiously.

But, we academics are category folk: we box things in to examine them more closely. We may not keep our boxes once our examination is through, but it is hard to think without them. Even the much lauded “thinking outside the box” requires the existence of a box, no? So, for the sake of answering the question, I would say that – for me – the Christian box contains those who believe that humankind is saved through the merits and mercy of Jesus Christ. As for what “saved” means, that happens outside my box. There, in an unboxable conversation, the issues are legion and, not least, concern whether salvation includes a literal, physical resurrection for Jesus and, through him, for the world. Christians over the centuries have disagreed about this and, based on the extant texts of the New Testament, equally rational interpretations reach opposite conclusions.

Continue »