There are those who would make Christianity a belief system, and those who argue that it is not a religion but a relationship.

Outsiders would say, by any historic definition, Christianity is a religion; as formulaic and stifling as any other encased, if not fossilized belief system.

But I would argue that authentic, enduring, living Christianity is far from any of these – and even further from those who would claim some abstracted political or philosophical territory in the name of this – or any – historic faith.

Also by Morf: And God Said, “Let There Be Guns”

In fact I would say that Christianity is – and has always been – a rallying cry for compassion and justice – a relentless, unyielding pursuit of holiness and wholeness – a reaching for the always out of reach, a life lived with the full and conscious knowledge that what matters most will never be captured or defined, that love is always in motion and real faith is never finished.

And real Christians learn very quickly that they too will be crucified for their faith – and it is the religious among us who so eagerly nail them to a cross.

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Morf Morford considers himself a free-range Christian who is convinced that God expects far more of us than we can ever imagine, but somehow thinks God knows more than we do. To pay his bills, he’s been a teacher for adults (including those in his local county jail) in a variety of setting including Tribal colleges, vocational schools and at the university level in the People’s Republic of China. Within an academic context, he also writes an irreverent ESL blog and for the Burnside Writers Collective. As he’s getting older, he finds himself less tolerant of pettiness and dairy products.