Do You Consider Yourself To Be...

The strict definition of the word evangelical is: of or according to the teaching of the gospel or the Christian religion......2. of the protestant school maintaining that the doctrine of salvation by faith in the atonement is the essence of the gospel......(Oxford Dictionary)

What does the word "evangelical" mean to-day? It does not always mean what it has meant in the past..it can include all branches of theology and all denominations,,even liberal theology can be evangelically presented.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I'm a Baptist... It's an older tradition that emphasizes all the good things of the evangelical tradition and promotes things like separation of church and state that many evangelicals reject.

If you can give me a simple definition of what an evangelical is supposed to be (a tricky proposition since evangelicals don't agree among themselves), I'll give you a more definitive answer.

[ December 30, 2002, 11:00 AM: Message edited by: Baptist Believer ]

 

Main Entry: evan·gel·i·cal
Pronunciation: "E-"van-'je-li-k&l, "e-v&n-
Variant(s): also evan·gel·ic /-ik/
Function: adjective
Date: 1531
1 : of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels
2 : PROTESTANT
3 : emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual
4 a capitalized : of or relating to the Evangelical Church in Germany b often capitalized : of, adhering to, or marked by fundamentalism : FUNDAMENTALIST c often capitalized : LOW CHURCH
5 : marked by militant or crusading zeal : EVANGELISTIC <the evangelical ardor of the movement's leaders -- Amos Vogel>
- Evan·gel·i·cal·ism /-li-k&-"li-z&m/ noun
- evan·gel·i·cal·ly /-li-k(&-)lE/ adverb

Except for the protestant part,(for I am Baptist not some off-shoot of the papal heresy), I am indeed evangelical.

May God so bless His precious children.

A servant of Christ,
Drew

 

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is the most liberal church among Lutherans......The Evangelical Free Church was the hotbed for Neo-Evangelicalism and Barthian theology.

What does evangelical mean to-day? That is the underlining question in my mind.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Point well taken Brother Jim. Can liberalism truly hijack the word evangelical without changing the definition?

emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual

Would not the authority of Scripture and faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ, be anathema to the liberal?

A servant of Christ,
Drew

 

Caretaker,
The liberal church has hijacked many of the fundamental church's words and changed their meaning. One such church where I live, preaches the born again experience, but it sure doesn't emulate John 3:16. One is born again when they are 1. baptized; 2. when they simple make changes in their lives; 3. and ultimately born again when they die and go to God's place, heaven. That church is "evangelical" in its approach to community, services and outreach, but it sure isn't my kind of evangelicalism.

This is why a blanket question around a given word leaves more questions than answers. We need to be very clear where we stand these days.

Cheers,

Jim

 

It gets more confusing since the fundamentalists now in charge of the SBC seem to consider "evangelical" a more palatable label than "fundamentalist."

Joshua

 

You are right on the money Brother Jim. I used to be quite happy and gay in my younger days.

Main Entry: 1gay
Pronunciation: 'gA
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French gai
Date: 14th century
1 a : happily excited : MERRY b : keenly alive and exuberant : having or inducing high spirits
2 a : BRIGHT, LIVELY <gay sunny meadows> b : brilliant in color
3 : given to social pleasures; also : LICENTIOUS
4 a : HOMOSEXUAL b : of, relating to, or used by homosexuals <the gay rights movement> <a gay bar>
synonym see LIVELY
- gay adverb
- gay·ness noun

And then the word "gay" was hijacked by the homosexuals, and inserted into #4, so now I am just happy and no longer gay.

Kind of reminds me of the apostasy creeping in with the liberalization of the Body of Christ, A little leavening corrupts the whole barrel of flour. They deny the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, seek to discredit the Pauline Epistles, and 2 Peter, relegate Genesis to the realm of legend and mythos, and begin to undermine the divinity of Christ, and the necessity of His propitiation. Sheer repugnant corruption, and anathema to a child of the Living God.

May God so bless His precious children, and lead them to stand against the satanic inroads into the Body of Believers.

A servant of Christ,
Drew

 

To me it seems the word "evangelical" means this to one and that to another, according to men's own definitions and preferences. IMO the word today speaks of something other than consistent adherence to the teaching or doctrine of the Christ, 2John 9. Abiding in that specific teaching as defined in the NT would be truly evangelical, if the word is to be used at all. When I hear the word "evangelical" I am often most suspicious, 1John 4:1, because so many false prophets use the epithet evangelical in our day. I have never called myself evangelical and do not think I ever will. Religious fellowship and unity should not be around an epithet, but in Christ's doctrine, 2John 9-11.

Harald

 

I can't vote. Like Jim, I need to know what you mean by "evangelical."

 

When the group to which I belong, The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, the word evangelical meant something. It was sound in doctrine and practice, it was not liberal in theology. That was in 1953. As the song goes, Things are different now, something happened to me.....of the song was, since Jesus came into my life.......

We maintain the title, but the word evangelical has certainly changed over time. Perhaps the best thing is not to bear labels of any sort. In Acts, they were called Christians by their enemies...we got the name Baptist because we were deemed to be re-baptizing. As I have said many times, I am not in love with the name Baptist, but I am in love with what it once stood for.

Cheers,

Jim

PS. As a side, I refer to myself as being twice born, rather than born again. It often attracts attention and requires more information. It was an expression we used to use in the evangelical Anglican Church.

 

I would not use the term "Evangelical" in application to myself...but I have been told that because I "soul-win" that that in itself is evangelical. Sharing the gospel for the purpose of people deciding to take the gift of salvation...is soul-winning. So I answered yes...even though I don't like to take on titles as they tend to call attention to me...when i'm just a servant. It's not my power...I'm just a mouthpeice...so to speak, and a willing spirit to get out there and do my part.

 

I admit that I am not an expert on this topic, but if the second definition of evangelical is Protestant, then a Baptist cannot consider himself to be an evangelical, since Baptists were around before the Protestant Reformation. Most people that are Baptists will tell you that they are not Protestant.

 

I am evangelistic!