I consider myself Christian more through philosophy than faith. What do I mean by this? Is that truly being a Christian? What truly is being a Christian? I have troubled myself with these questions for so long, ever since I truly began to grow a perspective upon the universe. Seemingly years and year of thought I have put into what it means to be a Christian, how I am as a Christian, and philosophy on life itself, and I finally seem to have reached an answer that both pleases my reason and speculation.

    First off, what do I mean by I am a Christian more through philosophy than faith? To start, let me say that I was raised with no basis for religion, no predetermined beliefs. My parents never read me a Bible before I went to bed, nor did they tell me much about Jesus or God in general. This allows me to have an open interpretation of the universe, it allows me to get to choose what I believe as an individual. I have had many friends of the Christian faith from a young age, but however I only began to delve into what Christianity really is recently. I came to define Christianity as the following of Christ’s ways, or the taking of Christ as a role model in life. Notice, I have not mentioned an afterlife. In my interpretation of Christianity, being Christian is not about absolutely believing that there is an afterlife, that Christ is the son of God, and that there even is a God. Christianity in my life is more of a way of life, a philosophy, than a religion.

    Many people seem to say that by believing Christ is Lord and savior, etc, you get a free pass into Heaven. That even if you live righteously and purely, you will still not be allowed into Heaven. This is not what I believe. I believe that to live a life as close to the example of Christ is what really matters. I do not think that accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and then going about being a spiteful person will get you into Heaven. I believe not to worry about whether you’re going to heaven or not, or whether there is one or not. I believe in living a righteous life for the simple reward of living a righteous life. I believe that living a righteous life is it’s own reward, and if there is a just God, he’d smile upon this.

    As there are hundreds of religions and thousands more devout followers of those religions, I have decided that one should not worry about which is right, which is wrong, and what rules you must follow. One, instead of stressing about an afterlife, should strive to live this one righteously, to make this one worth it. If there is something afterwards, great. If not, oh well, you lived a great and righteous life that sets an example for everyone else.