Defining Evangelicals

Last week, I was asked a question from someone of another religion what the term “evangelical” means.  This young man could be labeled as someone who vehemently “dislikes” Donald Trump.  He also self-identifies as “progressive” and if I were to venture a guess, would most likely vote for Hillary Clinton.

I gave a brief answer, but after reading an article from Christianity Today entitled Defining Evangelicals in an Election Year it seems to me that my more “simple” explanation may not have been enough.  However, I have often found that if I get too “wordy” about it,  people’s eyes glaze over and they could easily tune me out.

Evangelicals CAN and DO have a lot in common. However, as Rush Limbaugh pointed out (sometimes quite humorously!) on his radio show back on March 9, 2016, there is a Ruling Class Disconnect on Evangelicals.

I didn’t know about Donald Trump’s connection with Norman Vincent Peale until I read The Theology of Donald Trump.

Read more about Peale HERE.

Excerpt:

Yet as a Christian minister he [Peale] denied that God was a being, saying “Who is God? Some theological being? He is so much greater than theology. God is vitality. God is life. God is energy. As you breathe God in, as you visualize His energy, you will be reenergized!” (Plus: The Magazine of Positive Thinking). As a Christian minister he told Phil Donahue, “It’s not necessary to be born again. You have your way to God, I have mine. I found eternal peace in a Shinto shrine … I’ve been to Shinto shrines and God is everywhere. … Christ is one of the ways! God is everywhere.” He denied the very heart of the Christian faith and replaced it with his doctrine of positive thinking.

When I was growing up, Peale could have possibly been labeled as that era’s Joel Osteen.

For me, relying on God’s Word, the Bible, His Living Word, Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit is far better than man’s “power of positive thinking.”  The first Three are eternal; man’s “power” is temporary.

Donald Trump revealed a lot about himself regarding his brand of Christianity. The following portion of the article is what stood out most for me.

Excerpt from The Theology of Donald Trump:

2. Sin. Trump reveals that many evangelicals have come to embrace a different idea of sin than evangelicals have in the past. First, sin is now seen less a condition that renders us all “miserable offenders” before a holy God than mistakes good people make that fail to contribute to “our best life now.” Card-carrying evangelicals should have gotten it when Trump announced that he has never asked God for forgiveness because he doesn’t really do anything that would require it. This is problematic from a Christian perspective on several levels.

First, even if we were to reduce sin (a condition) to sins, the latter no longer include multiple divorces, significant past support of the abortion industry, lack of any church membership, and unabashed dedication to a “Me First” ethic. Widespread evangelical support suggests that we’re fine with these practices now—they’re normal.

Second, and even more troubling, “sinners” are now apparently the “others” whose very presence makes us feel afraid and disenfranchised. Deflecting sin from ourselves to others, we have helped to provide a foundation for whatever demagogue can rally people “like us” to self-righteous anger against outsiders.

As the graphic at the top of the page demonstrates:

 

 [When] it comes to statistical prediction, four belief statements in particular proved extremely helpful. We asked a representative sample of Americans whether they agree or disagree with the following statements:

1.  The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.

2.  It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.

3.  Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.

4.  Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.

Those who agreed with all four statements were also likely to self-identify as evangelicals, thus bridging the gap between belief and belonging. They also attend church on a regular basis—meaning these four questions about belief also correlate with behavior (church attendance).

Though there are many other factors or belief statements many evangelicals would include here, these four, taken together, create a tool that predicts all the other things evangelicals could include.

[The] questions help us reliably identify which Americans hold classic evangelical beliefs.

Those four belief statements are the Gospel of Christ!  It is a good start when sharing who evangelicals are, and if a person wants more information, then we can share more details when they ask to hear more.

I also suggest having the Bible verses handy that support each of the statements.  For example.

Number 1:

2Ti 3:16

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

2Ti 3:17

that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

*******

Number 2:
 Mar 16:15

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Mar 16:16

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

*******

Number 3:
 1Jo 2:2

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

1Jo 4:10

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

*******

Number 4:

Jhn 3:7

“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Rom 5:15

But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

Rom 5:18

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

Hat tips to all links.

Tags: Bible, Christian apologetics, Christianity, evangelical Christians, faith in Jesus, Jesus Christ, redemption, repentance, salvation, truth