It Is What It Is

“Well, either you’re a Christian or you’re not. Which is it?”

Last night, I watched an old movie from 1978 with Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken called “The Deer Hunter.” The film centers around a group of blue-collar friends, highlighting their closeness and innocence right before they ship off to Vietnam. The film stresses the tragedy of the war and how it upended the lives of not only the soldiers but their friends and families, too. Though it’s a very long movie with some pacing problems, it’s generally considered a classic. I’ve watched it before, but a particular scene resonated with me this time.

The night before the friends head off to war, they go for one last deer hunt together in the wilderness. Despite the laughter and playfulness of the young men, the film is underscored by nervousness and worry. This underlying emotion breaks through the joyful veneer when one of the friends realizes that he forgot his boots and wants to borrow DeNiro's spare pair, leading to a tense argument. Hoping to teach his friend a lesson in responsibility, DeNiro’s character holds up a bullet and says,

“You see this? This is this. This ain’t somethin’ else. This is this.”

This morning, I saw a video of a well-known political and social commentator confronted by an atheist. Though he has garnered a very large following, this commentator has long frustrated me. He is undoubtedly intelligent, but beneath his overly complicated language is a straightforward message that deserves to remain uncomplicated and simple. He's garnered much attention from Christians, particularly young men, but I fear he may ultimately lead those men away from Christ and not to Him.

In the video, the atheist posed a few questions about doctrine that the commentator worked to evade. Sensing his unwillingness to commit, the atheist finally cornered him, insisting, “Well, either you’re a Christian or you’re not. Which is it?”

When it comes down to it, this commentator ultimately cannot commit to Christ. However intelligent he may be, his books and education fail him. Of what use is being “Christian adjacent?” Is Christ nothing more than an intellectual exercise or a tool for conceptualizing morality?

Both the movie and the atheist’s words contain a Biblical message for all those who follow Christ. It’s a simple message about the truth. Christ is not an intellectual tool for pontificating about morality. Christ is our savior. Believing in Jesus is about life. Those who don’t believe will die, and those who do believe will live.

“This is this. It ain’t somethin’ else.”

We are either believers in Christ or we are not. We are sinners, or we are saved. We either live with the promise of life, or we are the walking dead. Which is it? No matter how foolish someone tries to make us look, we’ll look even more foolish if we can’t admit what we believe. What use would our lamp be if we kept its light hidden beneath a basket (Matthew 5:15-16)?

There’s no need to intellectualize the gospel. The truth is simple. We don’t need to debate and write long-winded thesis papers on the finer points of theology. We need only to believe. When confronted, we don’t need to have all the answers. We have the only answer we need: Jesus. We are Christians, and it's as simple as that.

We believe in Jesus and nothing will change that.

When the commentator wouldn't commit to being a Christian, the atheist summed him up perfectly, “You’re a whole lot of nothing.” We are nothing if we can’t admit our faith or what we believe. Without Christ, we have nothing, but with Him, we have everything.

We are Christians. We believe. We are free. We are alive.

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.- Revelation 3:15-16

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