Oldgringo wrote:The Annoyed Man wrote:Oldgringo wrote:Uhm,....er,...what is an Evangelican Christian? This term has been mentioned more than once in this thread and I am curious what/who it pertains to.
A Christian who evangelizes.....specifically the gospel of Christ.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evangelical
Full Definition of evangelical
- of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels
- protestant
- 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
- capitalized : of or relating to the Evangelical Church in Germany
- often capitalized : of, adhering to, or marked by fundamentalism : fundamentalist
- often capitalized : low church
- marked by militant or crusading zeal : evangelistic <the evangelical ardor of the movement's leaders — Amos Vogel>
Thank you, TAM. I was curious how, or even if, an Evangelistic Christian differed from the core protestant religions; e.g., Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, Church of Christ, etc? I definitely do not want to start any kind of discussion on which is better or more real.
Evangelism not so much in the core doctrines of Christianity (divinity of Christ, etc., etc.) as it is in the willingness to share the gospel with non-believers so that some of them may become believers (Mark 16:15). The word "evangelism" has been used to describe Islam as well, not just Christianity. Evangelism is as much about the
practice of a faith as it is about
growing that faith through the conversion of non-believers into believers.
So, when applied to Christianity specifically, there are two basic measures of evangelistic character:
- One measure of evangelism is the extent to which a denomination regards the Bible as the inerrant and inspired Word of God in all of its particulars......whether or not those particulars are culturally popular (i.e. regarding issues such as gay marriage, abortion rights, etc.). In that regard, evangelical Christianity is essentially socially conservative. It is important for people to understand that this is primarily about personal morality, but it can overflow into the political life of the believer. Hence, evangelical Christians are often, but not always, politically conservative as well, since conservative politics plays into that socially conservative wheelhouse. For me personally, I have been describing myself as a "Liberative Conservatarian", which means that I espouse personal social conservatism, but that I recognize the primacy of the Constitution over American politics and law and thus have a more libertarian political outlook. In that regard, I would hope that people look at my life, see the mark of my faith on my life, and understand that I am less about restricting their own "rights" than I am about promoting the gospel of Christ.
- Another measure of evangelism might be to ask how much of your (or anyone else's) congregational efforts, programs, resources, and money are expended in the work of adding to the church (defined as the body of believers, not the building). I list those things - effort, program, resource, money - as really all being the same thing. A (fiscally) poor church can still be strongly evangelical because it offsets its lack of funds with fervor in other outreach areas. The more of a church's aggregate resources are devoted to outreach to non-believers, the more evangelical that church is. Church's which view themselves as hotels for saints rather than hospitals for sinners, ministering to the saved while ignoring the lost, are not very evangelical at all.
There are other markers of evangelism, but the principle idea is that it is both fundamental in doctrine, and outreaching, seeking to spread the faith's message for the purposes of bringing people into the faith. Thus, it is a word which is also commonly applied to Islam, which also meets those descriptives, as it is to some segments of Christianity.
Edited to add: Evangelism is NEVER about conversion at the point of a sword. Thus, militant Islamist violent Jihad is NOT evangelism. But, a few weeks ago, my wife and I had a pleasant dinner with Beiruty, and because I was curious to know more about Islam and the differences between various sects of Islam, the entire conversation was about the tenets of Islam. During that conversation, Beiruty was very passionate about his faith, and whether or not it was intentional (I suspect it was, because he is a faithful Muslim), he was evangelizing on behalf of his faith. But it was a peaceful conversation, and my wife and I were never threatened with earthly consequences for failing to be converted. (Maybe some day, I'll have a chance to tell him about the Jesus
I know.)
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
#TINVOWOOT