Growing up Christian meant Catholic. Having grown up and taking a look for myself, the scope widened considerably. Christians all claim to be members of a kind/flavor/variety/sect of a religion that centers around the life and teachings of Jesus. Other than that, the field of what Christians believe and how they practice those beliefs, inside and/or outside of any church varies considerably. Looking at them through the always distorting lenses of my own eyes, some seem to be based on a foundation of love, compassion, and acceptance, while others seem to be based more on hate, justice, and judgment. Some seem to be based on the eye for an eye and fire and brimstone of the old testament, and later the 'revelation(s)' in the new. While others stress to love thy enemies and the beatitudes. Some focus on interpretation and strict conformation to the bible, while other see the bible as a book of inspiration, but approach things based more on the practice of love and compassion in everyday life. And of course within any given sect there is great variety between groups and within the individuals themselves, similar to the way it is with most any major religion, it is more like religions. There is also great variety to be found with respect to historical Christianity as well. All of that is what Christianity means to me. What of all that is of God and what is of man is all subject to subjective interpretation, discussion, and debate.

Anyway, realizing all of that, I decided that I would not call myself a Christian, since to the person I would be saying that to, it could mean just about anything, and few would bother to ask me to clarify. It is easier and more accurate just to say I admire the figure of Jesus, and try to follow him and many of his teachings as best as I can understand either.