Does anyone have a good definition of "Evangelical"?
score:2
Here are some statements of beliefs from some evangelical fellowships: The Gospel Coalition, IFES, Wycliffe.
Evangelicalism is a branch of protestantism, so it involves a protestant understanding of the gospel. But not all protestants are evangelical.
I think the biggest distinctive is what they say about the Bible. They reject those who say the Bible is flawed in some way, not relevant for today, that you need the authority of church leaders to understand it, or that God gives new relevations today that take priority over the Bible. To quote from the Gospel Coalition:
Revelation God has graciously disclosed his existence and power in the created order, and has supremely revealed himself to fallen human beings in the person of his Son, the incarnate Word. Moreover, this God is a speaking God who by his Spirit has graciously disclosed himself in human words: we believe that God has inspired the words preserved in the Scriptures, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which are both record and means of his saving work in the world. These writings alone constitute the verbally inspired Word of God, which is utterly authoritative and without error in the original writings, complete in its revelation of his will for salvation, sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do, and final in its authority over every domain of knowledge to which it speaks. We confess that both our finitude and our sinfulness preclude the possibility of knowing God’s truth exhaustively, but we affirm that, enlightened by the Spirit of God, we can know God’s revealed truth truly. The Bible is to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises. As God’s people hear, believe, and do the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel.
Why is the movement called evangelicalism when it's primary distinctive isn't about the gospel? I think because historically the people they were reacting against neglected the gospel because they neglected the Bible. Promoting the authority of the Bible is a safeguard to ensure the gospel keeps first importance.
Upvote:0
Evangelical is a potentially religious term.
It doesn't matter if others think you are Evangelical or not, what matters is are You testifying of the Lord or not. If we are not ashamed of Him, he will not be ashamed of us.
So conversely, any and every believer needs to be evangelical.
Upvote:0
The Barna Group is a Christian polling firm that does public opinion studies. In their research, they classify people into different belief groups. Rather than allow people to self identify themselves as born again or evangelical, they ask people if they agree with certain statements, and classify people based on their answers. The criteria for the classifications are at the end of each report that they produce. (For example, here is a recent report from December 2013 titled "Is Evangelism Going Out of Style?")
For the purposes of their studies, "Born again Christians" are people who have met this criteria:
- They say they have made "a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today."
- They believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
In their studies, "Evangelical" Christians are those who meet the "born again" criteria above, plus seven other conditions:
- saying their faith is very important in their life today;
- believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians;
- believing that Satan exists;
- believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works;
- believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth;
- asserting that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches; and
- describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.
When classifying people in these groups, they do not ask people to describe themselves as "born again" or "evangelical," as people can have different ideas about what these terms mean. The groups are also not dependent on church affiliation.
More post
- 📝 Why do some Catholics avoid communion at Novus Ordo masses?
- 📝 Why did the pope say gender is a property of essence?
- 📝 God as the Ground of Being
- 📝 Tower of Babel dispersion after the Table of Nations?
- 📝 According to Lutherans, do angels pray for us?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, does the depositum fidei include the proper interpretation of scriptures about Jesus?
- 📝 Purpose of giving up a prisoner on the Passover
- 📝 Do Catholic anathemas apply to people who lived before it was codified?
- 📝 Is the betterment of the world impossible?
- 📝 Does the Bible itself give us clues about which parts to interpret literally and which figuratively?
- 📝 Was that Pentecost in the Acts also a time of the year of jubilee?
- 📝 What is the Christian perspective on deceptive brain messages?
- 📝 Does Protestant and Christian denominations seeks the prayer of their deceased founder?
- 📝 When Paul says "I don't allow women to teach" why is this read as an instruction?
- 📝 Did Paul actually report anything about the life of Jesus?
- 📝 Are any Greek or Roman gods mentioned by name in the Bible?
- 📝 Where did the religious symbol of the 'halo' come from?
- 📝 What Christian companies, today, have no name by which they are known?
- 📝 Why wouldn't a practicing Catholic joke about the Sacraments and what would happen if they did?
- 📝 Does the Bible ever refer to Jesus Christ as “God”?
- 📝 Quote of Pope Clement I
- 📝 Are there biblical examples that justify fantasy-scare?
- 📝 Jehovah's Witnesses claim Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE. What is the evidence?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, does God actively cause suffering in Hell?
- 📝 Do any denominations read Matthew 24:5 as meaning believers in Christ using his good name to deceive many?
- 📝 What is the Septuagint?
- 📝 Samaritans, the Jubilee and Jesus
- 📝 Could the invisible incomprehensible nature of God be the reason why Satan started a war in heaven?
- 📝 Why is the story of Joachim and Anne considered true in tradition but mentioned only in apocryphal works?
- 📝 How do non-trinitarians explain Isaiah 43:11 taking into account its immediate context?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Does anyone have a good definition of "Evangelical"?
- 📝 Does the phrase "in good standing" have a definition in Catholicism?
- 📝 What rules does the Catholic Church have for venerating crosses/crucifixes on Good Friday?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have a list of Good Books?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have a formal definition of the Mass?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have an official definition of Easter/Paschal Season?
- 📝 Does God have a sense of humor? Does he laugh?
- 📝 Does believing in Jesus Christ save me, or do I have to do something more?
- 📝 If God controls our decisions, does this mean we don't have free will?
- 📝 Does the triune God have will by nature, or by persons?
- 📝 Why (how) does Jesus' coat have no seam?
- 📝 How can things considered bad when done by humans become good when God does them?
- 📝 Does God have free will?
- 📝 Why does Catholicism have priests but Protestantism does not?
- 📝 Is an action morally good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good?
- 📝 Why does God have a chosen people?
- 📝 Why does the Messiah have to be God?
- 📝 Does Catholic doctrine teach that the Incarnation would have taken place regardless of Adam's decision?
- 📝 What doctrine does Family Radio have of the End of the World?
- 📝 Why does God command us to have children?
- 📝 Where does the Catholic tradition that Mary did not have pain giving birth to Jesus come from?
- 📝 Does the priest have the power to forgive sins?
- 📝 Why does a beheaded saint have the halo above the stump?
- 📝 Does one have to admit to not being a virgin when preparing for a Catholic wedding?
- 📝 Does the Pope's encyclical Laudato si' have a Latin version?
- 📝 What does the Good News refer to?
- 📝 What does it mean that John's Gospel does not have an account of the institution of the Eucharist?
- 📝 Does the Christian Old Testament have the exact same list of books as the Jewish Bible?
- 📝 According to Reformed theology, why does God tell people to repent if they don't have the choice to do so, as in Exodus 10:3?
- 📝 What does spikenard have to do with St Joseph?