Worthy of the Name
. . . and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
—Acts 11:26
We do not often consider the meaning of the title Christian. It is indeed a title, for it assumes that the bearer of it is associated with Christ. And of all the titles used by men, I know of no other title of nobility that is so often misapplied.
In his book To Call Oneself a Christian, Gregory of Nyssa discussed the tremendous significance of this name. For comparison, he pointed out that though a man may wish to call himself a doctor or a lawyer, he shouldn’t do so unless he is worthy of the title. To be worthy, he must fully understand what the title implies, he must know from experience what he is being called, and he must be practicing the art to which he lays claim. Only then will the title not be a misnomer.
The title Christian connects us with the name of Christ. A royal name, this is a title of authority: Christ, the anointed one, the King. And as the King of kings, associated with the name are phrases like justice itself and wisdom and power and truth and goodness and life and salvation and lack of change and permanence and perfection.
So how are we to understand the title Christian? To quote Gregory, “If one can give a definition of Christianity, we shall define it as follows: Christianity is an imitation of the divine nature.” If we are to be truly Christian, we must have a clear understanding and appreciation of the incorruptible nature of our Lord and we must strive to copy that in our lives. We must be imitators of him if Christian is not to be a misnomer.
Of the Cappadocian Fathers, Gregory of Nyssa is often lost in the shadow of Basil the Great. Gregory seems to have a more tender heart and mystical character than his older brother. In another book titled, On What It is Necessary for a Christian To Be (also titled On Perfection), Gregory further discusses what it means to be a Christian.
The marks of the true Christian are those we know in connection with Christ. Those that we have room for we imitate, and those which our nature does not approximate by imitation, we reverence and worship.
By Gregory’s definition, are we true Christians? Do we reverence and worship those aspects of the divine nature that we fail to imitate? Things like justice itself and wisdom and power and truth and goodness and life and salvation and lack of change and permanence and perfection? Do we even think about such things in this way?
With every title comes an obligation. A title is meant to tell others something important about its bearer. Have you ever wished that someone had not called himself a Christian? Have you ever driven down the road and been cut off by a fellow with an ????? sticker on his car? Have you ever met someone who had no understanding of real Christianity and often boasted of his faith and his scandalous life to whomever would listen? Such people can be difficult to endure. But are we not all like that when we call ourselves Christians and do not act like we are imitators of the divine nature? Or, even worse, when we don’t even aspire to be imitators of it? Do we want to be like Christ? Do we even contemplate what it means to be like him? If we are going to claim a holy title, then we must realize that with it comes an obligation to live a holy life.
Thomas S. Buchanan is the George W. Laird Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware. He has studied at UCSD, Northwestern University, and MIT, and has held visiting professorships at the University of Western Australia and the University of Aix-Marseille. He has served as department chairman, deputy dean, and institute director, president of the American Society of Biomechanics, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. He is on the Board of Trustees of Saint Katherine College, the editorial board of Touchstone, and the board of The Fellowship of St. James.
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