In a blogger mooooood...

Yeah, that's right. I'm definitely in the blogging sort of mood today. Perhaps that is because I'm bored at work, but what else is new?
I had a number of epiphanies today about the world of faith. This is what I figured.
Faith is an intensely personal aspect of someone's life. Whether they be Christian, Muslim, Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, agnostic, atheist, whatever. The point is, NO TWO PEOPLE from any given group of believers or unbelievers look exactly alike. That's because we belong to this silly little group called humanity.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
Each individual is different, regardless of belief system. Because of that, there is no possible way to say that "no true Christian/Muslim/Scientologist/Jew/agnostic/atheist/etc. would do that/think that/believe that." That is a logical fallacy. It's the No True Scotsman argument, and it's fruitless. No fruit there.
Therefore, people have no right to assert that someone else is not a true whatever-they-are.
To be honest, that is what has kept me away from faith for so long--the constant imposition of others' Faith Boxes on me. By that, I simply mean that people have a concept that explains what it looks like to be a person of their faith, a box. And maybe they fit into their own box--maybe not--but they often try to fit others into the same box. And sorry, but it just doesn't work that way.
I will use Christianity as an example because it is the faith system I am most familiar with. Many Christians are conservative. Not all are. The many often try to say that "liberal" Christians are less Christian than they are. Not true. Many Christians believe that Israel needs to be protected by America at all costs. Not all do. Those who don't are accused of...I don't know, not protecting God's chosen people. And are therefore considered less Christian. This, to me, is ridiculous. If someone doesn't believe, obviously they are not a Christian, but if they do...well. To borrow the format with apologies to Tomato Nation's article "Yes, You Are (A Feminist)," this is what I have to say.

Christian
–noun
1.
a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity.
2.
a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, are an adherent of Christianity, or are a person who exemplifies Christ's teachings in your life, you are a Christian.
Yes, you are.
Christianity does not require your passport, or drivers' license, or a credit card. You can be American, or Israeli, or British, or Bhutanese. You can go to church every Sunday, every Easter, or not at all. You can quote Scripture off the top of your head or not be able to remember where to find John 3:16. You can memorize the entire Bible.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, are an adherent of Christianity, or are a person who exemplifies Christ's teachings in your life, you are a Christian.
Yes, you are.
You can have long hair, short hair, grey hair, no hair. You can hate tattoos or have full-body coverage. You can pierce your ears, pierce your nose, pierce your nipples, or pierce nothing at all. You can cover up all of your skin or run around naked. You can wear make-up or go au naturale. None of that matters.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, are an adherent of Christianity, or are a person who exemplifies Christ's teachings in your life, you are a Christian.
Yes, you are.
You can believe that the world was created in six days, or you can believe in the Big Bang. You can believe whatever you want about evolution. You can believe that once saved, people are always saved, or you can believe that people can lose grace. You can believe Revelation is literal, or you can take it as an allegory. You can sprinkle, or you can dunk, or not believe baptism is necessary at all. You can sing hymns quietly, or not at all, or you can dance around and wave your arms. You can pray in silence, or in solitude, or with hundreds of others. You can believe that you should take the message of Jesus to Timbuktu, Finland, your next-door neighbor, or your own dear self. You can tell everyone you meet or no one.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, are an adherent of Christianity, or are a person who exemplifies Christ's teachings in your life, you are a Christian.
Yes, you are.
You can be pro-life or pro-choice. You can support capital punishment or fight for the lives of those on death row. You can vote Republican, or Democratic, or Green Party, or Libertarian, or not at all, or "that guy has cool hair." You can support universal health care or not. You can support the right to bear arms or not. None of that is important.
You see, it really is that simple. There is always more to it, but the fact is, you may find some people who match up with you on some points, but there will never be a person who agrees with you about everything.

It's such a personal thing. If Christianity or any other religion is a personal relationship between her or him and god, then shouldn't their god be the one to decide who's in the club?