Article June 10, 1996 Issue

A QUESTIONS & ANSWERS EXCHANGE

clergywoman with contributions from reader

Several months ago, this column included some questions without answers. We invited readers to respond from their own study and daily experience in seeking to understand God. This column, and columns in future weeks, offer excerpts from some of the many answers we received to those questions.

Q. What do you think it means to be a Christian? Are there theological and/or behavioral qualifications?—from a clergywoman in Missouri

A. After Christ Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus, we are told in the New Testament that Bartimaeus "followed Jesus in the way" (Mark 10:52). This way is described in Jesus' own words in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matt., chaps. 5–7). He includes instructions to refrain from judging another, to love our enemies, to pray for those who despitefully use and persecute us, to guard against the temptations to be angry, lustful, self-righteous. Jesus also healed the sick, and he instructed his followers to heal. Being a Christian means daily living these qualities and doing these works so that others may see them and glorify God. Healing the sick, feeding the spiritually hungry, and loving even our enemies are both the purpose and evidence of Christianity.—from a reader in Massachusetts

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