Anders Behring Breivik - Christian Jihadist?

A bomb goes off in Oslo, then a madman in a police uniform shoots up a youth camp. Shortly after the attack, a Jihadist organization that may or may not exist claimed responsibility for the act of terror. Then, a 180 degree turn occurs: Breivik, the "jihadist", isn't a Muslim, but a Christian! The news spreads like wildfire.

So, is Breivik a Christian? Clinton said it best, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

Breivik claims he's a Christian. His Facebook page said he is (before it was taken down). So I guess we could call him a self-described Christian. But does calling oneself something make it so? I could call myself a millionaire, but I don't think it would make my bank account any fatter. But Christianity isn't really objective, like dollars in a bank account. It's subjective, it's a belief, interpreted differently by every person who claims to be a Christian.

Do Christians think Breivik is Christian? The answer seems to be a somewhat wobbly "not really". Time after time after time opinion writers, scholars, and talking heads and denounce the act and define it as un-Christian, but many of the attempts to define Breivik himself as not a Christian seem almost petty. Why?

What he did in Norway last week was anything but Christian, and it certainly wasn't "Christ-like", and in the end, Breivik's level of Christianity is something that will be settled between himself and Christ.

While there are days when my Christianity is not as manifest as others, and times when I don't act very Christian at all, that doesn't make me "not" a Christian. Judas Iscariot was a Christian, too. Christianity is a belief structure, a theology, a religious inclination, not a guarantee of Christ-like action.

So I'll say what so many seem to be hesitant to say:

Breivik is a nut, a loon, a maniac, a killer, a despicable person, scum of the earth, disturbed, hateful, and....a Christian.