How should a Christian be?

Shannon TL Kearns article published on his website (United States) in 2012, freely translated by Z. Dub

I want to continue on the line of my previous posts and raise a matter, then offer my answer on a variety of different topics. I am not trying to provide definitive answers, but rather to raise those I see as provocative and/or essential questions, to which the Church should be able to answer (even if the answer ended up being: we do not need this idea).Today's question is: CDo you have to be a Christian?
 
I know this question is risky. I thought about it and rethought before doing it. In the end, I decided to do it despite its complicated nature. As a queer person I have often dealt with people who told me that I can't be a Christian, so I know how these questions are used to reproach and diminish people. I know what kind of question it is: it serves to trace clear boundaries about who is inside and who is outside. This is not the reason why I am lifting the question.

In the tradition in which I grew up, there were clear guidelines on how a Christian had to appear and act: he did not have to drink (or at least not being alcoholic), he should not swear, he had to smoke, he should not have sex before the wedding. To be a good Christian you had to be part of a church that believed in the Bible and regularly go to worship; You had to read the Bible every day and share your faith with others.

I think many of us familiarize with this tradition. We know the pain that caused not to be up to these standards well. I know I have suffered for years thinking that I was not good enough and that God could not love me, because I continued to sin. I am not interested in creating a new list of things that must be done to be a "good Christian", but I think it is important to wonder what Jesus means to follow. I have long been of the idea that anyone who wants to boast the term "Christian" should be in able to do it by itself, but I think that in the tradition of the historical/progressive Protestant churches they have watered down the term "Christian" so much that it now means nothing as regards the behavior. We have abandoned the list of what you have to be or not to be (which is a good thing), but we have not replaced it with anything, except for a vague sense of "kind being" and "doing good things".

I must say that I don't believe in eternal damnation, so if I do this question I am not talking about salvation or paradise.

But should those who claim to follow Jesus appear different from the world around them? Shouldn't they have different values, different things to cling to?And if so, which one? What does it mean to take the life of Jesus and the message of the Gospel seriously? What does it mean to live and work for the kingdom of God?

Are there any practice that we should encourage Christians, both on a personal and community level? Daily prayer, reading of the Scriptures, being part of a community of faith (whatever it means), serve the community?

If someone were to come to you and say: "How is a Christian different from the simple being a good person?", what would be your answer? There are certain behaviors that are decidedly inconsistent for a follower of Jesus, and if so, what are they?

Complicated questions, I know. Tomorrow I will give my answer. I would like to hear your opinion if you find these questions useful, and what are your answers.

Original text: What Does to Christian Look Like?