Definitions and Private Interpretation

    If a small group of people began labeling themselves in a certain way and began promoting and behaving in a way contrary to that label, and eventually took over the name so that anyone in common parlance associated the label with this group, would it not be right to call this out as a lie? To classify someone by the behavior of one group who have dishonestly appropriated a label is unacceptable. This has been taking place throughout the last two thousand years. Early in history, the church gathered and addressed these situations, making official declarations about what the church has always taught and believed. The church would then call these deviant groups to repentance and in the case when that repentance did not take place, the church would identify this group as outside of communion.

    But since the 16^th century with the invention of the world of Protestantism, this all changed. In common public thought, when people think of a “Christian” they think of American evangelicals, which is an unassociated, disconnected mass of splinter groups who all take the same name but differ radically in belief and practice.

    Ultimately this comes down to how the label “Christian” is defined. Is it really an amorphous blob that can be shaped anyway desired? Or does the label Christian have an actual historical foundation that can be compared against? Jesus taught the disciples, and these disciples became apostles and faithfully passed this teaching down to the churches they started around the known world. This has been taking place since the first century. Technically speaking, any group that takes the name “Christian” yet does not belief and practice that which was handed down from Jesus to the apostles is one of two things. They are either not Christian or they are unfaithful and to be considered outside of the boundaries of communion in the case of unrepentance. There are no other options. 

    This would be akin to two men playing ping-pong but calling it football because they want to define it that way. Anyone looking in from the outside, with a knowledge of the game, would know that what is taking place there is not true.