Clarification of Religion

In the end.. What makes a person a Christian, Muslim, or Jew? All of the religious texts can be contorted to fit just about any thing you want them to be. So what really determines if you are a Christian or not? Honestly, it depends on who you ask. Which proves my point. That is why there are so many denominations of Christianity, Islam, Catholicism, etc. There is nothing in the Bible that clearly says “You will be a Christian if you…” and then some kind of checklist. In fact, the word Christian is hardly even mentioned in the Bible. I think 3 times is the magic number. So how can one person sit there and tell me I’m not a Christian because I don’t believe X, Y, and Z? If they do I ask them to define what a Christian is according to the Bible. Most people will say it has to do with Jesus Christ and if he is your savior. Other people think it is if you’ve been baptized, other people think it is if you have spoken in tongues. Other people have all kinds of requirements. So I feel I can just as easily say that I believe the earth is 4 Billion years old, the first chapter of the book of Genesis is hogwash, and we should not persecute homosexuals.  And I can still call myself a Christian and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.