Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. It was NOT a compliment! It was ridicule, scorn. Christian meant fool. Christian meant stupid. As it still does for some people today. And yet, we heard, the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. Since the name stuck, that indicates to me that they didn't try to get away from it, but embraced it. It became not just a name but an identity. You could be a Jew or a Greek, you could be poor or rich, you could be from the city or the country and be a Christian.