Can We Retire The Phrase “Good Christian?”

I’m watching the O.J. parole hearing right now, and he has repeatedly said in his deposition that he is trying to be a good Christian and get his life back on track. This is a common phrase that is used for all types of religions and backgrounds…. as someone raised culturally Jewish, I’ve heard the term “a good Jew” more times than I’d care to admit, but since this country is overwhelming Christian, the term is the most heavily used in our modern lexicon is good Christian.
But here’s the question… what makes a “good Christian?” Countless clergymen have been found guilty of molesting little boys, literally the most abhorrent thing anyone in this world can do (maybe outside of murder), and certainly none of those people can be considered good human beings, let alone good Christians, but they are very present in church life, so some part of them would have to be a good Christian in some aspect. Does being a good ___ mean that you live your life according to the Bible?
Surely the owners of Chic-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby, two of the most outspoken American companies with regards to their Christian ideologies, would consider themselves to be good Christians, but they actively and discriminate against homosexuals just because of the way they were born. In the most basic sense of the expression, these people can’t be considered good Christians, let alone good people on the whole.
I always shied away from the term good Jew, because in its core it is separating Jews from other religions, and the concept of what it means to be a good representative of any religious faction is extremely malleable. I consider myself to be a good person, and try to live my life in a way that is kind to people and generally follows good rules, but in no way does that have anything to do with being Jewish. I drink too much, I smoke weed, and I don’t believe in God but consider myself Jewish — I consider myself a good person who happens to be Jewish, but for a multitude of reasons I would never call myself a good Jew or want to be identified that way.
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So when OJ says he wants to be a good Christian, what exactly is he saying? Once you’ve *allegedly* murdered 2 people in cold blood, isn’t the concept of being a good anything at all taken with a grain of salt? Does he want to get out of jail and start living his life according to the Bible? Will he go to church every Sunday? Or when he says he wants to be a good Christian, does he simply just mean he wants to be a better human being? If so, isn’t it good enough to just say he wants to be a good person? What does following a religion have anything to do with being a decent human being? How many horrible things have religious institutions done to render the term meaningless? How many wars in the name of God have been waged? How many missionaries have been sent with a clear message in the name of their religion- convert or we’ll murder you? How many high-ranking officials in various religious organizations have been found guilty of crimes? Doesn’t the term lose its relevance, especially in a country that is becoming less and less religious as a whole?
Currently, about 25% of the American population identifies as “nones,” not to be confused with nuns, meaning they don’t identify with any organized religion. *Editor’s Note: although I am culturally Jewish, I would certainly consider myself part of that group.* As this group gets larger and larger and becomes more culturally relevant, the term “good Christian” will become less and less relevant. Not only will its origins and intentions be questioned, but so too will its meaning. The days of pandering to the Evangelical base to win Republican elections will be on the decline over the next few decades, and similarly the days where an openly Atheist candidate win an election will be coming sooner rather than later.
So can’t the term become being a good person? Isn’t that the most inclusive, clear, direct, and obvious way to express someone’s intentions to improve his or her own life?
Being a good person is all that matters. It doesn’t matter what your background is, what religion you do or don’t practice, or any other factors that make up part of a person’s life. But to refer to yourself as a good Christian, a good Jew, or any other type of good religious adjective, simply means nothing. Religion is meaning less and less in today’s day and age, and so too does that expression.
There’s only one way to properly identify when asking are you a good ____. And that, quite simply, is the age old question, “Who’s a good boy?”

