Please Define...

[slamjet]

In an attempt to try to sure one point of ignorance I have (among way to many), I have Google'd, Wiki and tried to make heads or tails of one word and I'm not entirely sure I get it. Can someone please define...

Evangelical

...because I've found so many meanings that I really have no clue what Evangelical Christian really means. Any help understanding would be appreciated.

[Wingnut]

In Spanish, the word for "Gospel" is evangelio. So to me, I see the word "evangelical," and I think "of, or pertaining to, the Gospel."

[Dravin]

In an attempt to try to sure one point of ignorance I have (among way to many), I have Google'd, Wiki and tried to make heads or tails of one word and I'm not entirely sure I get it. Can someone please define...

Evangelical

...because I've found so many meanings that I really have no clue what Evangelical Christian really means. Any help understanding would be appreciated.

So you found the Evangelicalism page on Wikipedia to be insufficient?

[prisonchaplain]

I thought I heard a cry in the wilderness...

So, as the resident Evangelical clergy person, I will give you the short answer, then the longer one.

Short answer: Billy Graham. Think about what he does and what he teaches. That is evangelicalism in a very over-simplified nutshell. Evangelicals are "conservative" in our theological, and we are driven by the Great Commission--to 'win' souls for Christ. We believe that we are sinners, worthy of hellfire, and the Jesus, through the atonement, is our only escape from a righteous, but horrific, eternal punishment.

Longer historic answer: Once upon a time there were two main divisions in Protestant Christianity: Modernists and Fundamentalists. The modernists embraced science, art, literature, all that modernity had to offer. They understood the Bible to be largely allegory and parable, and were keen to interpret it as literature. They believed that their role was to create a Christian-influenced society that became so enlightened that Jesus would return with congratulations for establishing his kingdom.

Fundamentalists found much of this to be heresy, compromise, and worldliness. They insisted that the Bible is the absolute word of God, to be interpreted literally and reverently. Society was viewed as largely evil, engaging in many sins to be avoided. Our job was to be like Noah's Ark, providing escape from the evil world, and keeping ourselves separate and pure, so we would be a "spotless bride," for Jesus, when he returned to the world in judgment.

As the divide became more intense, hitting its apex during the Scopes Monkey Trial, there were voices within calling for moderation. The big questions was whether we should condemn the culture or engage it. Should we stick to warning of the fury of hell and the bigness of God, or should we speak to the glories of heaven and God's heartfelt desire for all to be saved? The latter would eventually become Evangelicals.

One way to highlight the difference would be to consider conference/pageant protesters. Fundamentalists will show up with bullhorns, loud signs, and often engage in rather shockingly disrespectful behavior. They seek to provide warning. Evangelicals would be the ones who show up with pamphlets addressing God's love of the Mormons and the grace he extends. They are more likely to mill around the sidewalks looking to engage LDS in conversations, and will often begin by saying something like, "We are all seeking to serve Jesus in the best way we can."

As a sidebar, my own denomination, the Assemblies of God, was a charter member of the National Association of Evangelicals. Many other NAE members were none to happy about us Pentecostals being invited in. Our leadership had engaged non-Pentecostal leaders and developed trust. Today we are the largest denomination in that organization.

Hope this helps.

[prisonchaplain]

If you want to tool around the Evangelical camp grounds: Denominational Members

[slamjet]

So you found the Evangelicalism page on Wikipedia to be insufficient?

1) Yes

2) Wikipedia is so not the bastion of truth that it's been made out to be. So I take whatever it says with a pinch of salt. Besides, asking real Evangelical's generally results in a more correct answer.

Edited December 13, 2013 by slamjet

[slamjet]

I thought I heard a cry in the wilderness...

Thank you, that helps. So to make sure I get it, on a scale of 1-10 where 1 are the Fundamentalist and 10 are the Modernist, Evangelicals are 6 or 7? Because your explanation really makes it sound that Evangelicals and LDS religions, as organizations, are a whole lot closer in innate gospel temperament and morality than not.

[prisonchaplain]

The National Association of Evangelicals site is a good starting place. I linked the membership list. You can go to the main page and look up the beliefs, and see what social action is being promoted. Other potential sites include the denominational webpages of members. Mine is ag.org. For a broader perspective, Christianitytoday.com and Crosswalk.com are good. One of the better Evangelical-driven perspectives on your church is a book called The New Mormon Challenge. It is both critical and respectful. I believe FAIRLDS has reviewed it.

Finally, feel free to ask me questions through posts in the Christian beliefs section. I'm also open to responded to messages.

[prisonchaplain]

Thank you, that helps. So to make sure I get it, on a scale of 1-10 where 1 are the Fundamentalist and 10 are the Modernist, Evangelicals are 6 or 7? Because your explanation really makes it sound that Evangelicals and LDS religions, as organizations, are a whole lot closer in innate gospel temperament and morality than not.

You have the right idea. I'd fudge, and say Fundamentalists are 1-3, and Evangelicals are 3-8, while Modernists are 8-10. If you caught that there is a bit of overlapping at the edges, it was intentional. The Assemblies of God probably has clergy that would be in the 3-6 range, though some of our younger pastors might approach 7/8.

One encyclopedia described my church as Pentecostal, Missionary, Evangelical and Fundamentalist. I think they got it right.

From my outside observation, I sense that LDS members range from 3-8 as well, with you leadership being 5 (yeah--dead center).

[Irishcolleen]

There is a great deal of overlap. I am Baptist (GARBC) and I consider myself Fundamentalist in terms of doctrine but Evangelical in terms of outreach & attitude. As my dear friends and I frequently say, "We put the fun in fundamentalism."

[AnthonyB]

I'd consider myself evangelical. (but also restorationist and charismatic both of which would have some historically exclude me from being evangelical)

It is often used of a section of a particualr denomination ( which are often similair to what is described above) So in Anglicanism, there are three main wings, Liberal, Evanglelical and Anglo-Catholic. Although it is not in the NAE list, I'd say even the SDA's for example have both traditional and evanglical leaning members.

As an odd aside, I here it pronounced in the US as evan-gelical, starting like the boys name Evan. In Australia it is said as E-van-gelical, saying the letter E and then the word van, almost like the word "even".