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What is an evangelical, am I one, and does it matter? Four people give their views This article is taken from an Integrity newsletter
What is an evangelical? - Paul Evangelicalism is based on six fundamental convictions: 1) The supreme authority of Scripture as a source of knowledge of God, and a guide to Christian living. 2) The majesty of Jesus Christ, both as incarnate God and Lord, and as the saviour of sinful humanity. 3) The lordship of the Holy Spirit. 4) The need for personal conversion. 5) The priority of evangelism for both individual Christians and the church as a whole. 6) The importance of the Christian community for spiritual nourishment, fellowship and growth. All other matters have tended to be seen as 'matters of indifference', and most evangelicals have refused to legislate where the Bible is silent or where it offers a diversity of approaches. This can be seen when we look at evangelical views on the nature of the church (Anglican or Baptist or Charismatic) or the role of women in the ministry. A quick look at 1) above will help to define one conviction which makes us distinctive. To acknowledge the authority of Scripture is to see it as the Word of God. It was during the 16th century Reformation that there was a radical and far-reaching re-examination of Christian beliefs and practices in the light of Scripture. The basic principle at this time can be summed up as 'Sola Scriptura' (by Scripture alone). This conviction stressed that only those beliefs and practices which could be shown to come from the Bible were binding on Christians. This is still fundamental to Evangelical theology today. Am I one? Yes, in the way it is defined above. But I want to recognise and value as profoundly Christian other ways of following Christ - especially from the Catholic tradition where there are great treasures to be found like Ignation Spirituality. The Catholic sense of history and the sense of God's spirit working through the Church (Tradition) can help broaden Evangelical horizons. And does it matter? Yes! Evangelicalism is in many respects what C.S.Lewis called 'mere Christianity' - the common faith of the Christian Church down the ages. Evangelicals (with others) are concerned to defend orthodoxy in the face of various challenges found in the church and world today, eg. against those who deny the divinity of Christ, or those who reject the Bible as the inspired Word of God. Finally I would strongly recommend a book by Alister McGrath called 'Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity' (published by Hodder and Stoughton at £7.99) for a brilliant discussion of the phenomenon of Evangelicalism and its future potential.
'What is an evangelical, am I one, and does it matter?' - Richard I do not personally regard myself as an Evangelical. The word 'evangelical' from its Greek root, has connotations of good news, but only it seems for some people. Evangelicals have a tendency to be continually assessing how others think in order to determine who is in, and who is out, of the fold. Yet in another sense an Evangelical is any Christian who regards themselves as one. Evangelicals constitute a power group both within the Church of England and outside of it. Therefore to address the third part of the question, their existence certainly matters.
What is an evangelical ? - Tony I have no doubt that the vast majority of Evangelicals would agree with much of what Paul wrote (I'm talking about our Paul, in his response to the above question, not the apostle with whom of course they would have no disagreements whatsoever!?). I must confess to being surprised that Paul left out the one thing which since childhood I had been taught was the distinctive which sets Evangelicals apart. The essence of Evangelicalism, as I have understood it, is that I am able by grace, received through faith alone, to enter into a personal relationship with God through Christ's merits, not my own, and without the agency of priest or sacrament or church. Martin Luther thought that salvation by faith alone was so fundamental that it took precedent over even that most basic of Reformation principles: 'scripture alone'. He came across a book (the epistle of James) which, to him, contradicted the gospel principle of grace and did what no Evangelical would have the courage to do today - he declared it to be a load of nonsense (an epistle of straw) not worthy of inclusion in the Bible. Not that I ought to align myself too closely with Luther - he did after all say that the Jews were dirty pigs and that Christians should burn their synagogues. I only mention the 'great' man to show just how fundamental an issue this was in the Reformation. Evangelicals, whatever else they are, are children of the Reformation. Am I one? Yes and No. I am one because I was one! Everything in my life has been shaped by the fact whether I like it or not and whether or not I now embrace that identity. From childhood I had been steeped in and shaped by the culture of Evangelicalism for no other reason that I was sent to Sunday School at the nearest church. It was a Baptist church and as most of you know that nearly always means 'Conservative (in every sense of the word) Evangelical'. But for me the most important issue here is that I didn't become an Evangelical because I gave assent to a set of propositions - not even the one I've mentioned above. My awakening to the reality of God is in one sense entirely independent of all that. The truth is that the basis of my Evangelical faith has been experiential. For me intellectual assent to received truths would never have put me or kept me in touch with God. I don't believe such assent achieves that for anyone. I do not regard myself as suffering any particular lack intellectually and I certainly do not wish to suggest that Christianity can only maintain credibility amongst those unwilling or unable to think. But the point is that when I was 'saved' at the age of 14 it was the culmination of a painful search for reality, a desperate need to make sense of my life. My question directed towards God and anyone who would listen was in essence 'what is truth?' (perhaps posed with less cynicism than Pilate) but I believe what God heard was 'where is Love?'. I am a Christian today because he answered that question (and continues to do so). Frankly my need to find meaning, truth and love and the glimpses of God himself that have been mine during that search are the reason why over twenty years later I'm sat at a typewriter still passionately concerned to make sense of it all. It's why I'm in Integrity even though I often feel a fraud since I'm no longer the sort of Evangelical that the people I used to worship with would like me to be. But the reason I'm not that kind of Evangelical is because I haven't stopped the quest that began before my conversion. I run the risk, of course, of appearing intellectually and spiritually arrogant. Yet the biggest problem I have with Evangelical Christianity centres on the fact that its desperate clinging to 'the Truth' cloaks its desperate fear of the pursuit of truth. All the encouragement I received to seek truth before I was 'born again' ceased when people around me realised that as a fully fledged Calvinistically saved, water-baptised, Spirit-filled believer I was still asking the same questions - and with the same passion. I suppose my conclusion to this part of the question is Yes I am evangelical (small 'e' please note) because I believe the good news. But good news isn't always that evident within Evangelicalism. Does it matter? Yes, partly for the reasons outlined above. It simply is part of who I am and where I've come from. More importantly, however much I hurt and am angry because of the damage done to me and others by unthinking and often unfeeling bigotry, I can't regret my association with Evangelicalism because for me at least it was the 'way in' to Love. That Love has proven real and constant, no less mysterious and perplexing for that, but always there and unwilling to let me go.
What Is An Evangelical ? - Chris How long is a piece of string ? Popular evangelical cocktails include the Earl's Court Stadium variety, the need to urge people to join an apparently already healed and Prozac - happy fundamentalist club, essentially power-and-number-busters where brimming money buckets are derigueur Then there are the Very Solid W1's, firmly embedded in fifties-now-orthodox evangelical theology, nicely spiced-up for the nineties with Lloyd -Webber-style hymns and forever calling us back to the cross and What He Did For Us, to smiling inoffensiveness. Or perhaps you'd go for the Kensington Cluster with a dash of Toronto Zap to help you heal during a five minute coma or attack of hysteria. Another option would be a Shake and Scream beyond Bayswater with occasional exorcisms thrown in if you're lucky. Am I One ? My main concern is with Being Alive, discovering and expressing uniquely who I am, learning how and whom to love and how to let myself be loved: the truth shall set you free is my premiss here. Does It Matter ? Only to Evangelicals. As gay and lesbian men and women we have already freed ourselves from the Christian and social conventions of today and so have something profoundly liberating to share with others. Let's bid good-bye to spiritual legalism and come to Life. Evangelicals and fundamentalists are often prone to judgementalism, self-righteousness and rigidity about The Way Forward fuelling even deeper internal conflicts within the hearts and minds of many Christian homosexuals, as shame and low self-esteem are frequently partnered with such beliefs anyway: homophobia, whether from others or ourselves, thwarts personal and spiritual growth and is invariably rooted in fear, fear of change, of what others may think and its radically transforming consequences in our lives. Whatever it takes and wherever it takes us, we must learn to embrace Life persistently pushing through and beyond our stultifying fears. That is the jewel of True Christianity and therein lies Integrity itself.
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