“Christianity” and the trouble with labels

Back in the early 1990's, a new style of music gained popularity. Unlike the heavily made-up artists of the 1980’s, these new musicians wore ripped jeans, baggy sweatshirts, and thrift-store T-shirts. Disheveled and unkempt was the new look, a far cry from the flashy, ultra-primped “hair metal” bands that came before them.

The music itself was characterized by distorted electric guitars, screaming vocals, and thrashy drums. No more sappy love ballads, these new angst-filled songs were raw, speaking to the lost souls of Generation X.

Bands at the forefront included Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, and The Smashing Pumpkins. However, the leader of the pack was Nirvana, fronted by the prototypical anti-hero Kurt Cobain. His raspy voice resonated with millions, and yet he shunned his fame and fortune as a curse, which made the public love him even more.

Like any new movement in popular culture, the media needed a label, not just for the genre but the whole lifestyle it embodied. In the early days, Nirvana-like music had many potential names, such as “Grunge”, “New Wave”, and “Seattle Sound”. Cobain, as the unofficial spokesman, initially thought it should be called New Wave music. 

Interviewer: Y’know this whole grunge thing, this in quotations “grunge”. All I want to know is, where did the term come from?

Cobain: I have no idea. I think some rumors are that Jonathan Poneman said it one time sarcastically and it just caught on.

Interviewer: Who’s that?

Cobain: He’s one of the head honchos at Sub Pop Records. But no one set out to market this music as that. That’s just what happens when the media catches on. They have to call it something. I like it as much as New Wave. I would have been proud to be a New Waver fifteen years ago.1

However, the New Wave label never stuck. Instead, it was named something entirely different by a little-known music executive. Finally, the industry had its label. Regardless of Cobain’s opinion, it’s been Grunge ever since.

Labels

The world loves labels. Any new movement needs a term to denote the shared characteristics and similar themes. In music, the media is often the driving force behind labeling, since it's their job to review, analyze, and classify it for the general public. Labeling is a convenient aid to communication - group characteristics can be quickly conveyed to the unfamiliar. However, not all music is the same. Nirvana’s sound was different from Soundgarden, and neither were the same as Pearl Jam. 

Labels are based on generalization, and they’re typically often applied by those on the outside looking in. Naturally, this leads to stereotyping, where all members of a particular classification are assumed to have the same characteristics by outsiders. Stereotypes lead to prejudice - “pre-judging” individuals based on the assumed characteristics of a group that they may (or may not) belong to. Such assumptions can be dangerous - to ASSUME is to make an ASS out of U and ME. Taken to the extreme, prejudice leads to racism, sexism, ageism, discrimination, hate crimes, murder, wars, and genocide. Nasty stuff.

Such is the trouble with labels: they can be misleading. As helpful as they can be, they don’t hold true all of the time. Not all grunge bands were equally grungy. Mix in flavors of punk rock, alternative, and heavy metal and the lines get even more blurry. Initially, the “Grunge” label helped to describe some bands’ music, but it later led to stereotypical assumptions about style and direction. In fact, when bands get pigeon-holed into genres, they can have difficulty breaking out into different styles as their art and talents evolve. Sometimes labels can turn into walls that keep people in predetermined boxes.

Christianos

In the mid-first century, a new belief system took the Roman Empire by storm. It was characterized by generosity, joy, forgiveness, kindness, and peaceful civil obedience – a stark contrast to the riots and revolts among the various people groups within the Roman Empire. Those who adhered to this new worldview were frequently harassed by members of the established Jewish religion. But the more the authorities tried to suppress it, the more it spread.

As with every movement, the public needed a label, some box to compartmentalize it. Around this time, an ex-Pharisee named Saul was converted to “the Way”.

Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. (Acts 11:25-26)

And there we have it: the citizens of Antioch labeled all those who profess faith in Jesus as Christians. It was a fitting name, given that their whole belief system hinged on Jesus as the Savior of the world. The Jews called this role messiah, while the Greek term was christos, which is where “Christian” (christianos) came from. 

Notice that believers themselves didn’t come up with the name. Just like Kurt Cobain initially called his music New Wave, early believers called it The Way. But it didn’t stick. The public chose another term, and it’s been Christianity ever since.

However, if we look closely in the Bible, the term christianos occurs infrequently. Three times, to be specific. Here are the other two:

Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:28)

If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. (2 Pet 4:16)

The first two occurrences are by non-believers who apply the label to believers. The third is used by the Apostle Peter in reference to persecution, which was a common occurrence back then. The Apostle Paul, who wrote over half the books in the New Testament, doesn’t use the term at all. Neither does Jesus himself. In all cases, christianos referred to a person who had publicly declared allegiance to Jesus as their Savior. However, since then, the term has evolved to encompass virtually anything that pertains to church culture. 

Everything’s “Christian”

Missionaries over the last two centuries have unquestionably changed the culture of sub-Saharan Africa. When I visited rural Zambia, the echoes of their preaching were everywhere. Driving through small towns, virtually every business had a Christian name - “Happy Jesus Food Store” or “God My Savior Coffee Shop” or “Heavenly Father Car Repairs”. Does that mean they were all extensions of God’s kingdom? Unlikely. Most rural Zambians consider themselves Christian, even though few know Jesus personally or ever attend church. Many simultaneously practice witchcraft. The names of their small businesses were simply nods to their colonial past. 

Nowadays, “Christian” means a lot of different things to different people. On the one hand, it can mean “one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ,”2 like it did back in the first century. On the other hand, it can refer to anything that even hints of Jesus, the Bible, or the church. 

Various nations have been labeled Christian because that was the official religion of state-sponsored churches. Historically, this included the Roman Empire (after 380 AD), the Russian Empire, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, and the French Empire. Currently, Christian nations include Argentina, Armenia, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, Serbia, Tonga, Vatican City, and Zambia (with all those “Happy Jesus” grocery stores). Does that mean everything within their borders aligns with God’s will? Of course not. Or do their respective governments always practice biblical principles? Again, the answer is a resounding no. Many Christian governments throughout history have committed terrible crimes against humanity. In the Middle Ages, the Crusades mobilized Christian armies to liberate Jerusalem and other holy sites from Muslim rule, with countless atrocities committed along the way. Centuries later, the Protestant Revolution led to fierce conflict between opposing denominations in Renaissance Europe, to the point abuse, murder, and genocide carried out by Christian nations. Clearly, this label can be inaccurate.

Nowadays, profits in various Christian industries reach into the billions. Christian book publishers brought in $1.2 billion in sales in 2020 alone.3 Christian music is also a multi-billion dollar industry that drives our ever-present appetite for new songs to sing in church, transmit over the radio, and perform in concerts. Does that mean everyone who works in these industries has an active faith in Christ? Probably many, but certainly not all. Christian clothing companies tout faith-based messages on their products. But what exactly is a Christian clothing? A T-shirt with “Jesus in my homeboy” silkscreened on the front? A company that pours its profits back into the church? There are even Christian breath mints: each Testa-mint is stamped with a cross and wrapped in a Bible verse. Why suck a Tic Tac when you can share the gospel while you freshen your breath? If only evangelism was that simple. 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Christian media or products, but that doesn’t equate to faith in Christ. Business owners, authors, publishers, and musicians don’t have to believe in Jesus to be labelled as Christian. At best, they’re trying to live out their genuine faith in today’s content-hungry world. At worst, they may be employing the age-old marketing technique of using Jesus to make a buck. Most are probably somewhere in between. Either way, professing Christianity isn’t the same as following Christ.

In 2010, the global population of people that identified as Christian was about 2.2 billion, just under a third of everyone on earth.4 However, if the world ended tomorrow, would 2.2 billion people go to heaven? Not according to the Bible. 

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Mt 7:21)

Like Grunge music, Christianity is a label within popular culture. It’s dangerous, because it implies active faith, holiness, and righteousness. However, those who tout it may not actually have any of those things. 

Ironically, Jesus himself didn’t live in a Christian nation or dress in Christian clothing. He didn’t listen to Christian music or make regular purchases from his local Christian bookstore. He definitely didn’t use Christian breath mints. In fact, if Jesus walked the earth today, would he even consider himself a Christian? 

Not sure.

Summary

“Christian” is society’s label for anything that hints of Jesus, but it’s not the same as actually taking up our cross and following him. On the few occasions the Bible uses the term christianos, it always refers to a person, not a product, company, or nation.

Therefore, let’s be careful that we aren’t preaching (or following) Christianity. Adopting this cultural label isn’t the same as faith in Christ. For many people, the term carries associations that may be decidedly ungodly (like hypocrisy and judgment).

So, what do we do when asked if we’re a Christian? The Bible says to have an answer for those who question our faith (1 Pet 3:15) and to never deny Jesus (Mt 10:32-33), but it says nothing about confessing Christianity. The simple solution is to ignore the Christian part and just tell others what’s going on inside of us.

“I love God with everything I am and believe the Bible with my whole heart.”

“I’ve given my life to Jesus.”

“If loving God with my whole heart, mind, body, and strength means being a Christian, then yeah, for sure!”

Forget the label and get to the heart of the matter. It’s all about Jesus. 

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

Christianity can’t save us. Only Jesus. And let’s remember who gave us that label: the world, not God.

So be careful about professing Christianity. It may be the most widely misapplied label in history. What was once an accurate descriptor of those belonging to Christ has since been grossly watered down. 

The pioneer of Grunge didn’t have anything to do with naming the music he represented. Quite honestly, Kurt Cobain probably didn’t care what people called it. He and the rest of Nirvana just made music their way. Similarly, let’s not worry about any earthly label. Instead, let’s “set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col 3:2). 

We belong to Christ, not Christianity. 

References: 

1. LiveNirvana! Transcript of Much Music’s interview with Nirvana (Kurt Cobain, Krist Noveselic, Dave Grohl). August 13, 1993. Accessed online, 2024.

2. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. “Christian”. Accessed online, 2024.

3. Grossman, Cathay. “How Religion Publishing Became a Billion-Dollar Industry”. Publishers Weekly, 2022. Accessed online, 2024.

4. Pew Research Center. “The Global Religious Landscape”. Accessed online, 2024.

© D. B. Ryen Incorporated, December 2024.

All Scripture quotations are from The English Standard Bible (ESV). Crossway, 2001.