What is the generally accepted definition of "Evangelical?"

First off, Mormons are not a "Christian" religion, no matter how hard they try to convince others of such.

Evangelicals are, get this, those religions which "EVANGELIZE"!!!!

basically, those who try to share their faith by seeking out converts. For example, I dont think there are very many Jews trying to seek converts to Judaism, or so I have been told.

 

He's absolutely right about Mormons they deny the diety of Christ which has always traditionally been held as heretical.

Groups that Evangelical in the narrow sense would be Baptist, Pentecostals(Assebly of God), and Non-Denominational churches which are baptistic.

 

christianity aint a religion.

 

evangelical?

one who believes everything in the word of God.
(the bible - minus the apocrypha)

and does what Jesus did. seek and to save that which is lost. (yah only God saves) we plant the seed.

pull them from the fire.

 

HERE'S A HANDY LINK which, for me, sums things up adequately. One point that seems to be missed so far is that you can get evangelicals within denomination which otherwise might not be considered evangelical eg: Anglicanism.

Key 'distinctives' (to use a Baptist term!) would be:

1. Supreme authority of Scripture (often but not always expressed in terms of infallibility/ inerrancy)

2. Penal Substitutionary Atonement theory

3. Justification/ salvation by faith alone.

 

In those parts of the world where German is the primary language instead of English, it's pretty straightforward. Evangelical=Lutheran, at times it extends to what the rest of the world would call Reformed. Case in point is the Evangelische Kirche in Österreich which is the united Reformed+Lutheran church of Austria.
If I remember correctly the EKÖ has actually taken legal steps to be the only church in that country that has the word Evangelisch in the name.

In the parts where English packs more punch than German it refers to a specific Christian subculture that stresses evangelism, a personal conversion experience, sola scriptura, political activism and its own style of liturgy. Overthere it covers a relatively wide range of conservative protestant churches.

 

Matt , the penal substitution theory may not be embraced by many in the larger evangelical world . Many evangelicals don't want to contemplate the fact that Christ's death satisfied His Father's wrath . Their view of the atonement ( and I will not address the scope of redemption here ) stresses the love of God almost exclusively . Propitiating His Father's just anger is not something they are likely to consider . That Christ's death was directed to God the Father first , and not to people is not something that crosses the minds of most mainstream evangelicals .

 

There's been a big debate in the UK Evangelical Alliance over the last couple of years on PSA, with Steve Chalke, a Baptist minister, challenging it as 'cosmic child abuse'*. The EA has affirmed PSA recently whilst however acknowledging that other models of the Cross such as Substitutionary Atonement, ransom theory and Christus Victor, also need to be stressed.

*Eg; see Chalke, The Lost Message of Jesus

 

Mormons and JWs would all claim the title on that definition.

Be more objective please.

 

Terms like "Evangelical, cult, Christian, fundamentalist, liberal"

All mean different things to different people. This is not a hard science like chemistry where you can ask something like "what is table salt" and get a definition that is consistent for everyone.

AT best you can get "more popular" and "less popular" definitions.

Evangelicals tend to be premillennial. Bible believing (all 66 books with literal acceptance of God's Word), Trinitarian, Creationists with strong Gospel evangelism (TV, seminars, crusades, etc).

But are they pre-trib, mid-trib post-trib? Opinions vary.

Are they Calvinist or Arminian -- Opinions vary.

Those who call President Bush "Evangelical" simply mean that he "believes the Bible is true". For many atheists, agnostics and Catholics that definition alone is "sufficient".

In Christ,

Bob

 

In countries like Norway "Protestant" means "Lutheran" but not Charismatic, Pentecostal, Baptist, etc.

 

There have been many historical uses of the descriptor evangelical.

Lutherans and Protestantism
The first major one was used primarily in Germany (Evangelisch) to describe the general beliefs of Lutheran Church and the rest of the Protestant Reformation which opposed the Tradition of the Catholic and to a lesser extent Eastern Orthodox churches. The Reformation traditionally includes groups such as the Reformed and Presbyterian churches by its strictist definition, but is often expanded to include all Christian denominations that hold to doctrines such as Scripture Alone, Faith Alone and the Priesthood of All Believers in opposition to the Catholic church which include a majority of non-Catholic denominations in the US.

Puritans and Pietists
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Puritan and Pietist ( John Wesley's Methodists) movements sought reform in the Church of England and often called themselves members of the evangelical party. Closely associated with this time period is the First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s) which was a cross-denominational revivalist movement lead by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. The pietist and revivalist movements emphasized strong preaching, personal conversions, personal relationships with God and the action of personal evangelism.

Fundamentalism and Modern Evangelicals
In the 19th and 20th centuries fundamentalist Christianity rose in popularity as a reaction to the some of the controversial doctrinal positions of liberal Christianity. Separation from liberals and unbelievers became a key issue for fundamentalists. But many conservatives and fundamentalists felt that fundamentalism had taken this separation too far and sought a middle ground that agreed with the five key fundamental doctrines of fundamentalism, yet did not take as hard a line as fundamentalists on separation. They called themselves new or neo-evangelicals in reference to the evangelicalism of the 17th and 18th centuries which fundamentalists would also identify with. It should be noted that all of these groups (fundamentalist, liberal, new evangelical) were cross-denominational categorizations. This conflict was highlighted by Billy Graham's 1957 crusade where he invited liberal Christians to cooperate with his work at the protest of fundamentalists who then felt they could no longer cooperate with Graham.

Over time, neo-evangelicals came to dominate the Christian scene in North America and the "neo" qualifier was dropped. Of particular note are evangelical politics which is often associated with the religious right and evangelical para-church organizations which are cross denominational organizations where many evangelicals work collaboratively such as the Campus Crusade for Christ, Promise Keepers, Focus on the Family, Youth for Christ and Youth with a Mission.

Denominations, churches and individuals that are commonly identified with evangelicalism include the following non-comprehensive lists. However that generalization is not always true since members of these denominations and churches may often identify more closely with fundamentalism, liberal Christianity or Mainline (moderate) Christiantiy and may even be offended at being considered evangelical because of some modern connotations of that descriptor.

Baptist
Pentecostal/Assemblies of God
Presbyterian
Methodist
Non-denominational
Salvation Army
Christian and Missionary Alliance
Evangelical Free Church of America
Brethren
Vineyard
World Wide Church of God

Denominations where it is less common to find evangelicals are:

Anglican/Episcopal
Lutheran
Reformed
Church of Christ

The National Association of Evangelicals has a more comprehensive list.

 

That's a pretty good summary - someone's done their homework! I would add that evangelicals in the Anglican Church are much more the norm over here in the UK than they are in North America; indeed some would claim that they are now the dominant grouping in the Anglican Church of England, eg: NEW WINE , FULCRUM , REFORM as three examples of evo groups within the CofE

 

Here is a link to a broadcast of Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr.'s radio show concering what is an Evangelical. Good Stuff

www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2006-04-17

 

Yes Catholic missionaries are evangelistic. And of course Mormons are very evangelistic considering the level of encouragement young men (and some women) are given to pursuing this two-year (18 months for women) "rite of passage" in the Mormon faith.

But they are not classified under the modern definition of evangelical which demographically implies a doctrinal position which includes an emphasis on evangelism. Catholics and Mormons have the emphasis on evangelism, but not the doctrinal position.

 

Yes, "evangelical" is one of those words that has both a general technical meaning, as well as taking on a more specific denotation. Catholics and sects like Mormonism are technically "evangelical", but they are not apart of the "evangelical movement".