Is the word "Christian" positive, negative or neutral?

[BurtWorm]

Do you think, in other words, that describing someone as "Christian" is saying something positive, neutral, or negative about them?

Please vote according to whether you consider yourself a Christian, an atheist/agnostic or a non-Christian theist.

[Ecumenist]

1. That's a dumb question because it's completely subjective...

How can a poll be genuine when you ask a question that is subjective and changes depending on the beliefs and feelings of the polled? Goofy and pointless.

[BurtWorm]

2. The question isn't "Is this a dumb question."

That's someone else's poll. ;)

PS: I have my reasons for asking it.

How do you feel about this statement?: George W. Bush is a Christian. The way you feel about that statement should tell you something about how you feel about the word "Christian."

[Ecumenist]

7. OKay, how about it's an idiotic question...

I am a Christian and bush is about as much a Christian as he is in need of a hysterectomy. What's your point? I stand by my original point.

BTW, I believe that "Christian" is all of the choices, depending on how it's used. It's become a pejorative because of the hypocritical idiots and folks who have completely skewed what Christianity is about.

[BurtWorm]

8. So you feel positive about the word "Christian." You think it's a positive word.

I am an atheist. I see it as a neutral term. I'm most interested in how non-Christians view the word. You're just part of the control group. ;)

PS: Incidentally, how do you feel about the word "atheist?" Or "Muslim?"

[Ecumenist]

10. I believe that the word is perceived as all three things you asked.

Reread my complete post. An Atheist is just that--an Atheist. If you made that choice, then, that's your choice. A Muslim is fine and I see nothing wrong with what a TRUE Muslim believes and how they see life. I am not a bigot and have always believed that though I may not have made the same choice my fellow human being has, it doesn't make it any less important or worthy than the choice seomone else make. Perhaps, I'm a bit different than other people who identify as Christian and I consider myself to be relatively orthodox on all the salient points of Christianity, though I am nondenominational.

[BurtWorm]

17. None of that seems relevant to the questions.

If I say to you, "I am an atheist," do you think I've just said something positive, negative or neutral about myself? How does it hit you? I'm not asking for a definitive reading on the words "atheist" or "Christian."

I'm looking for how different people perceive the word--or, just as interesting to me, how they feel the word ought to be perceived.

[On the Road]

13. For What It's Worth,

I think this is an interesting breakdown. There already appear to be different patterns among the three religious group.

[BurtWorm]

15. To me, it's worth a lot.

:toast:

[Realityhack]

25. um...

because thats how you do research on peoples attitudes?

Seriously. This is no professional study but this is exactly the same as breaking down 'do you approve of x' into diffrent segments (attends church regularly, doesn't ever, etc.).

The entire POINT is that the question is subjective but you can still potentially learn interesting things about the overall population (again this is far from a real poll but if it where...).

[gateley]

3. I am ashamed and sad to say 'negative' -- and it's because the banner of

Christianity has become some sort of club. I've worked with people who speak disparagingly of others who aren't Christian -- huh? I think it was the birth of the Religious Right when I started feeling a negative reaction to the Christian Club.

I have many friends who are Christian and live their lives accordingly, but people like them don't get the press. I also know people who AREN'T Christian who live the same loving, selfless, giving lives.

I also don't get why it's so necessary to declare "I'm a Christian" -- but many people feel it is shortly after meeting someone for the first time. It's almost like saying "I'm HIV-free" or something.

I love the tenets of Christianity. Like Islam and other religions, certain people have cast a shadow over the true meaning.

And I couldn't vote. I know there's SOMETHING, I just don't know what and I believe we're all part of whatever that is.


Edit spelling.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. I feel much as you do

I was raised a Christian (albeit a very liberal one), and my family still follows that faith. I have no problem with anyone following their own path in such matters--what bothers me is when anyone attempts to force their beliefs on me, which is what one sees the Religious Right (in both Christianity and Islam) doing.

[gateley]

9. I was raised Catholic -- back in the days of Latin Mass and 12 years of

Catholic schools. I figured out in the 4th grade that much of what I was being taught just didn't make sense. And the loving God I was supposed to worship couldn't be ALL that loving if he could toss non-Catholics into hell for all eternity. (They've since changed that particular Law of God :eyes:)

If you go back to the genesis of all religions -- the message is love, understanding, acceptance. It's the people who've screwed it up.

And it's because of the extremists -- the people -- that I experience negative responses to organized religions.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. I think that is why so many are turning to spirituality

it is private, not institutionalized, and can be very open.

[gateley]

18. And in my case, much more meaningful and REAL. nt

[Ecumenist]

11. Actually, Gately, Christ taught that we are NOT to conduct

ourselves in the way that so many so proudly and boldly do today. He made pointed out the example of the Pharisees, a sect who went around blowing their own horns and admonished Christians NOT to behave that way. I have to agree with you 100% and have to say that I am angered and shamed by these so called "Christians" who sully Christ every time they open their mouths.

[gateley]

19. What Christ taught was right and good and came from love. What man has

done -- to all religions -- is heartbreaking.

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. What was that Gandhi quote?

I like your Christ. I don't care much for your Christians.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. You are getting to the heart of perception, I believe

It will be interesting to see how people's perceptions differ. It may be helpful in a day or so, after most have participated in the poll, to discuss the findings in another thread.

[BurtWorm]

6. Thank you.

I agree with you. It will be interesting.

I always find a lot of atheists in this group who take the word to mean something positive, which, frankly, surprises me.

[YankeyMCC]

14. That is a key question isn't it

and that is what everyone who considers themselves Christian should be concerned with. In 1000 years what will the xian symbols represent to people?

We are surrounded by religious symbols from ancient times that have essentially lost their significances as symbols of divinity but have come to represent secular ideas such as justice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Justice), knowledge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva) and others.

Will a cross come to symbolize a place to go for help if you're hungry or without shelter in the future? Or will it represent something less welcoming and inclusive?

[Meshuga]

16. I'm a non-Christian theist who sees the term as neutral

It doesn't make me think favorably or unfavorably about the person.

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. When I describe someone, that is not a term I generally use unless I am

describing a close-minded bible-belt bigot. Mostly because I don't care about religion, and don't talk about religion to my acquaintences. For the most part, I don't know if they are christians unless they ANNOUNCE it, like it's supposed to be something important, in which case 95% of the time they fit my description.

i'm getting real tired of living in the bible-belt.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

22. As my husband says,

if a salesman makes a point of telling him they are Christian, the first thing he does is check his wallet. Around here (Arkansas) Christians who wear their religion on their sleeves, as it were, are generally some kind of con artist.

[Random_Australian]

23. I voted neutral, because you simply cannot know anything about someone from just that.

duh.

[Igel]

24. I've used it all three ways.

I consider myself a lapsed Christian.

Whether or not it's pejorative, endearing, neutral, or shows approval depends on the context and who I'm talking to.

To somebody in my sect, or at times with people outside my sect, "Christian" is my usual way of asserting that I believe Christ approves of what's being described. It basically says there's an overlap between my beliefs and what I see or observe.

Outside my sect, in reasoned discourse, I'm likely to use it in a neutral, non-judgmental fashion: My beliefs were Christian, the Pope is Christian, Dobson is Christian, Clinton is Christian and so is *. It basically says something about how those involved view themselves, with a rather broad definition.

To those in my sect, and at times with people outside my sect, "Christian" can be pejorative. But they have to share my views, or at least be familiar enough with my views to recognize when it's pejorative. "Christian rock", "Christian preaching", "good Christian conduct" are all frequently pejorative, and certainly ironic.

In this, "Christian" is just a fairly normal word, and its denotation and connotation vary by context.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. It depends on the context

I'm a monotheist who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. That makes me a Christian by traditional definitions.

However, I've also heard Jewish people use it as a synonym for "Gentile," understandable if they grew up in a community where those two religions dominate, but problematic today.

On the other hand, the fundamentalists have hijacked the term, so that to them (and to people who are not associated with mainstream Christianity) it has come to mean "fundamentalist." I first heard that usage when I was in junior high school, and a missionary kid back in the U.S. on furlough said that the students at her missionary kid boarding school were all Christians, because "they don't smoke or swear or dance." My parents didn't approve of smoking (for health reasons, not for religious reasons) or swearing (my dad for religious reasons, but my mom because she thought it was crude), but they thought dancing was just fine, so I was surprised.

That attitude has gotten worse in recent years, to the extent that some fundamentalists say things like "Catholics and Christians." Message to those who don't know their church history: the Catholics were around for nearly 1900 years before your reactionary variety of religion was invented, and we know for a fact that the early Christians did not build huge "campuses" or promise wealth to their followers.

[Marrah_G]

27. I am going to be completely honest, and I hope not to offend.

I am a polytheist- My first reaction to the word Christian is Negative. It takes a great deal of effort for me to force myself to remember that not all Christians think I am a baby-killing, satan-worshipping monster.

before any Du Christians get to upset, please place yourself in my shoes. Discrimination, hatred and fear of those from my faith is still accepted, encouraged and applauded in most of the world.

Yes, I know you are not all like that- but I am being honest, my very first gut reaction is "defense" whenever someone says they are Christian. It takes some work to deal with my own distrust and some fear so I do not treat others as badly as others treat people of my faith.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

28. I once had a conversation with a new member of my church, someone

who had grown up in the heart of the Bible Belt. She said that down South, she would immediately bristle if someone referred to themselves as "Christian," because most such people were arrogant and narrow-minded.

After moving up here, she very reluctantly came to our church to hear her sister, a member of the choir, sing a solo. She was astonished at how different the atmosphere was, how the sermon was positive instead of condemning, and how much community service we did. She decided that this was a safe place to explore her strong spiritual longings, something which the largely fundamentalist churches in her former home had not been.

[Marrah_G]

30. I've had some great experiences in Christian churches.

And I know some pretty amazing Christians. My mother being one. She is deeply Catholic, but unlike many she has practiced her faith every single day. A lifetime of caring for others, while never preaching.

[anon504]

36. Same experience I have had

My mother was the same way, and raised me to be the same. Doing what you can to help others is an integral part of being a real Christian.

[knitter4democracy]

29. Heck, I'm a Christian, and I agree with you.

It's mostly neutral for me, but if someone starts speaking in Christian code and calls himself or herself a Christian, I bristle. I spent five years at an evangelical Christian college (double major, double minor) and still bear the scars. Most of the people I went to college with probably would say that, since converting to Eastern Orthodoxy, I'm not Christian, either. They sure as heck won't post any of our faith news (baptisms, home church, etc.) in our alumni rag.

[Chovexani]

31. Ditto.

It's gotten a hell of a lot worse since I moved to AZ, too. I'm not used to dealing with this many wingnuts, and though there's a lot of Pagans and a big New Age community there are metric craptons of megachurches out here. I've gotten more shit for wearing a pentacle in a year and a half out here than I ever did back east. And most of it's been from the type of people who have Jesus fish on the back of their earth raping SUV.

I've also got personal baggage of my own with Christianity, because I was born again and left the church because I was basically rejected due to too much thinking for myself. I really try not to be one of those Christian bashing Witches because really, it's just immature and more than a little hypocritical, but I admit to looking at someone who calls him/herself a Christian with a jaundiced eye. It's something I really need to train myself out of, but living out here isn't doing anything to help that. :(

[Marrah_G]

34. I don't think you ever get past having the initial twinge of defensiveness

The main thing is to be able to push past it and remind yourself that there are alot of good ones out there and that the bad ones are just louder and more obnoxious.

[TZ]

33. I kind of agree with you

I'm Jewish not polytheist so I haven't had nearly as bad an experience as you. But Christian irritates me so often the self identified Christians first praise Jews and then promptly try to convert me. Or be horrified that I don't completely support Israel in all its policies.
In fairness I have met plenty of non-judgemental Christians (and actually had a very good very relgious Catholic friend who never ONCE tried to convert me) but I guess the really irritating people stand out.

[hyphenate]

32. I think it depends on the adjective

associated with the text of "Christian." If you say fundamentalist, it's negative, if you say progressive, it's positive. For some of those I've seen online, who post to some "Christian" web boards, it's definitely negative--for those who always start their sentences, "I'm a Christian, but...." and then follow it up with some intolerant viewpoint that they're trying to pass off as "helpful or meaningful." they just don't get it, and never will.

[kwassa]

35. If Christian weren't a positive term, I wouldn't be involved in a church

Of course my definition is one who strives to act as Christ would have. I am aware that fundies have tried to hijack the term, but I reject that attempt as false interpretation. The concept that the Bible is inerrant is ignorant in the extreme, as it rejects all historical knowledge of the faith, yet many so-called believers ascribe to that view, which is a recent historical invention, by the way. Essentially, a translation of available Greek texts in the era of King James is inerrant, so God must have helped those scholars out, and an itinerant English preacher wandering around American in the late 19th century figured this inerrant quality out, so God must have told him, too.

[zonmoy]

37. I have found christianity to be an incredible negative at least in my life.

and the biggest cause of my now believing that god is evil.

[Quantess]

38. I recently watched "Jesus Camp" on Discovery channel.

I think Jesus sounds like he was a great guy, however, I am not a Christian, and I'm not religious in any way.

I am devoted to being "AGNOSTIC". I know there is something beyond this life, but you can't read about it in books. The Bible was not written by God any sooner than the Q'ran was. God doesn't write books, people do.

[saltpoint]

39. For me it depends on who's wielding it and why.

It's in the caption beneath the picture of Francis of Assissi but also in the news report on Pat Robertson. When it's used across that vast a distance, it is so generic as to be meaningless. From what I can tell, the Francis model is more humane in every single component of the definition.

In day-to-day speech I may call Bill Moyers a Christian minister, which he is, among many other things, in a tone and context suggesting that he's earned the certificate with hard work and genuine intellectual inquiry.

Also in day-to-day speech I may refer to Jim Dobson as "a fundie nutbag," bypassing "Christian" altogether to get at the essence of his twisted agenda.

[Jamastiene]

40. My first question is always, "What kind of Christian?"

Tranlation: "Are we talking liberal Christian or that hateful bunch of so-called 'Christians'?" For me, the two really do mean something different.