Being Christian in today's often turbulent and upside down world can be somewhat of a challenge in the post-modern society we are currently living in. Certainly that's not a surprise to anyone, and if it is, I'd love to know where you've been living.

It seems six months over the past two years I'm reading reports or news stories regarding statistics gleaned through opinion polls from such organizations as The Pew Foundation or The Barna Group, stating that while 70% of Americans consider themselves to be Christian. I find that fascinating when you consider that 52% of these apparently believe Jesus is not the only way to God or heaven.

A previous Pew Poll report, released in February 2007, discovered that 28% of adults leave the church of their youth after high school to join another religion or adopt no religion at all. The report didn't go into why they changed faiths or became athiest or agnostic, but I have my own ideas, part of which involves the biblical illiteracy that plagues many of the churches in America today.

So here is the conundrum: there are a lot of people out there who think they are, or claim to be, Christian. So what exactly does it mean to be a Christian? How do you tell who they are and what they believe? The best place to find the answer to that question is The Bible.

The basic answer is this: A Christian is a person who believes in God, has acknowleged all people have sinned against God (Romans 3:23), believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (John 3:16) and is God (John 1:1). They believe Jesus died on the cross for forgivenss of their sins. (Acts 16:31). A Christian will have confessed and repented of their sins (Romans 10:9) declaring Jesus as Lord. After that it's all about living according to and obeying God's will as discovered through worship, prayer, hanging with other Christians, studying the Bible, and serving others.

Part of the problem some may have with all of that today, as I see it, has the to do with the notion that there is no absolute truth. What hinders many in understanding what it means to be Christian is the belief that truth is subjective and identifiable by one's own personal understanding or feelings. In the overzealous desire to give every man or woman's ideas and opinions equal voice, the definition of truth (and with it the definition of tolerance, but that's another blog) has been turned on it's ear. Here's the thing... The Bible is filled with absolute truths.

For instance, the words of Jesus himself:

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus was a very absolute kind of guy. You either believe Him, or you don't, which is why many people get offended by the absolute nature of His teachings. Jesus being the Way, however, is one of the core teachings of the church and which aptly identifies Christian from a non-Christian beliefs. If you choose not to believe Jesus words about who He is and the way of salvation He provides...you're not a Christian.

That is the simple, absolute truth, and it makes people very uncomfortable.

So what do we do with that kind of absolute belief in a society which seeks to make everyone feel comfortable? You learn to live with discomfort, and rejection. Rather than modifying the truth of the Bible or what it means to be a Follower of Jesus Christ...aka a Christian...by conforming to popular or socially acceptable post-modern notions, you speak and model Jesus' teachings to everyone while standing firm in the truth, with grace and kindness. And you love. Those people who don't agree with you, your brothers and sisters in Christ, and especially those who hate you.

You show love to everyone.

John 13: 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." The Apostle John wrote: 1 John 3 "And this is His commandment: We must believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us."

In this crazy upside down world, if those of us who confess Christ as Savior, believing what He said about Himself and what he taught as the truth, loving one another and proclaiming the good news of the gospel would live like we do, then maybe, just maybe, a few of those people, who think they get it but have lost something in the translation, will understand what it truly means to be a Christian, how it changes everything, and want to know Jesus too.