• Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

50 Most Influential Christians in America

rbell

Active Member
I would agree...that it is the "Fifty most visible religious figures in America"

Some, I admire what they've done for God.
Others, I have serious problems with their theology.
Still others...don't know.

I'm not about to venture into the "saved or not?" arena...that's not my place here IMO.

I'm sure most all of 'em are influential. What I don't know is...to what degree can (or does) God use those who have serious theological flaws (i.e., prosperity-gospel proponents) to accomplish His work?
 

Chemnitz

New Member
I must say I didn't see a single person that I agreed with theologically. In some ways the list pains me because it illustrates the vapidity of popular christianity. It also tells me that people are still looking for a role to play in salvation rather than trusting God to handle things.
 

Rufus_1611

New Member
tragic_pizza said:
Lots and lots of TV preachers, FundieCons, and a guy who makes cartoons.

Alright, since you are making up words that haven't even been defined in the urbandictionary will you please define what a "fundicon" is? If you are saying that there are fundamentalists in that list, will you point out who you believe them to be as the very minimal fundamentalist representation is what jumps out at me.
 

tragic_pizza

New Member
Rufus_1611 said:
James Dobson is an evangelical. W is a Universalist at best. Who do you have for your "etc."?
FundieCons have co-opted the title "Evangelical" to mean about the same thing, so that one stands. Bush is a Fundie when being a Fundie serves his interests.

On that vein:

Paul Crouch and his boy qualify.

John Piper is conservative, but since he's Reformed he gets awesomeness points and is exempt.

Luis Palau is superconservative, but since he does more evangelism in a week than others do in a year, he is exempt.

Chuck Colson. Self-explanatory.

Andy Stanley. See above.

Mohler. Southern Baptist.

Richard Land. See above and below.

Jay Sekulow. Suprconservative and political about it.

John Hagee. Self-explanatory - or as he would say, "explanatoreh."

George Barna. Good work, but still.

Jerry Falwell. I mean, seriously. Jerry Falwell.

Brownback. God is a white, male, American Conservative.


Frank Page. Southern Baptist.
 

hillclimber1

Active Member
Site Supporter
All great men and women. One of, I'm sure, many that were missed is Tony Evans, who is an inspiration to me. He's an exhorter.
 

Rufus_1611

New Member
tragic_pizza said:
FundieCons have co-opted the title "Evangelical" to mean about the same thing, so that one stands.
Ummm...fundamentalists were here before evangelicals so how do FundieCons co-opt the newer name? Taking someone who is an admitted evangelical, psychologist and labeling him a fundamentalist is just inaccurate.

Bush is a Fundie when being a Fundie serves his interests.

Could you provide me a quote where Bush claims to be a fundamentalist Christian? So long as he thinks Muslims have the same God as Christians, he's not a fundamentalist and he's hardly a Christian for that matter.

On that vein:

Paul Crouch and his boy qualify.

Charismatic Crouches as fundamentalists?

John Piper is conservative, but since he's Reformed he gets awesomeness points and is exempt.

Piper is a new evangelical ecumenist and, since he loves your pope no wonder he gets "awesomeness points".

Luis Palau is superconservative, but since he does more evangelism in a week than others do in a year, he is exempt.

Palau is an evangelical.

Chuck Colson. Self-explanatory.

Colson is an evangelical.

Andy Stanley. See above.

I don't know this guy.

Mohler. Southern Baptist.

No argument.

Richard Land. See above and below.

Evangelical.

Jay Sekulow. Suprconservative and political about it.

Evangelical.

John Hagee. Self-explanatory - or as he would say, "explanatoreh."

Evangelical.

George Barna. Good work, but still.

Evangelical.

Jerry Falwell. I mean, seriously. Jerry Falwell.

Once upon a time.

Brownback. God is a white, male, American Conservative.

Evangelical.

Frank Page. Southern Baptist.

Not sure about him.

I get the impression that "FundiCon" is just a word you like to use against people you don't like and it is curious that you vociferously defend Catholics and rail against your "fundicon" brethren.
 

webdog

Active Member
Site Supporter
Chemnitz said:
I must say I didn't see a single person that I agreed with theologically. In some ways the list pains me because it illustrates the vapidity of popular christianity. It also tells me that people are still looking for a role to play in salvation rather than trusting God to handle things.
Not a SINGLE person?!?
 

AF Guy N Paradise

Active Member
Site Supporter
Rufus_1611 said:
Alright, since you are making up words that haven't even been defined in the urbandictionary will you please define what a "fundicon" is? If you are saying that there are fundamentalists in that list, will you point out who you believe them to be as the very minimal fundamentalist representation is what jumps out at me.

Hey Rufus, could you define the differences of those different terms in laymen's terms? I am just trying to see how you define them as well. Thanks.
 

EdSutton

New Member
Ya' think mebbe that "'Beauty' is in the eye of the beholder!", or something like that?

Or not??

:tongue3: :BangHead: :laugh:

Ed
 

Dustin

New Member
What a sorry list.

James Kennedy and John MacArthur are the only two I've ever heard with any regularity. Still I don't agree with every single thing they teach. Al Mohler is sound, but I've never heard or read much from him. Piper is a bit of a stretch, he's a Charismatic, no?

The top ten list (with the possible exception of John Piper) makes me want to vomit. :BangHead: :BangHead: :BangHead: :BangHead:

On the other hand, they did a really great job of covering up Joel Osteen's horns. Microsoft paint? Good stylist? Some type of mirror trick?


What a sad, sad list. God help us.


Soli Deo Gloria,
Dustin
 

EdSutton

New Member
EdSutton said:
Ya' think mebbe that "'Beauty' is in the eye of the beholder!", or something like that?

Or not??

:tongue3: :BangHead: :laugh:

Ed
Oh yeah! And it's a year-to-year rating, as well.

Remember ol' what-his-name who was on the list two years ago, or ol' who's-his-face from three or four years ago?

Seriously, I would suggest that three who definitely should be on the list, because of indirect influence, include the heads of the two largest seminaries in the world, Paige Patterson of SWBTS and Richard Mouw of Fuller, and Steve Douglass, President of Campus Crusade.

And one certainly cannot discount the influence of writers such as Rick Warren, Max Lucado, John MacArthur, Bill Hybels, and James Dobson, all on the list, simply because of the number of books they sell, and the influence from them.

Whether or not I agree 100% with any or all of any of these is another matter, entirely.

Ed
 
Last edited by a moderator:

FriendofSpurgeon

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Dustin said:
What a sorry list.

James Kennedy and John MacArthur are the only two I've ever heard with any regularity. Still I don't agree with every single thing they teach. Al Mohler is sound, but I've never heard or read much from him. Piper is a bit of a stretch, he's a Charismatic, no?

The top ten list (with the possible exception of John Piper) makes me want to vomit. :BangHead: :BangHead: :BangHead: :BangHead:

On the other hand, they did a really great job of covering up Joel Osteen's horns. Microsoft paint? Good stylist? Some type of mirror trick?


What a sad, sad list. God help us.


Soli Deo Gloria,
Dustin

Piper is a reformed Baptist. I think you'd like him.
 

rbell

Active Member
Well, I hate these rankings.

The computers are always wrong. And Osteen had to play in a tougher conference than Dobson. No one kept in mind Franklin Graham's strength of schedule. And how 'bout that preacher from Boise State? That "trick invitation" at the end of his sermon was AWESOME! He should've gotten a vote.


Doggone it. My bad. I thought this was the BCS thread. :tongue3: :wavey:
 

Dustin

New Member
FriendofSpurgeon said:
Piper is a reformed Baptist. I think you'd like him.

I knew he was a Calvinist, didn't know he was Reformed Baptist. I always thought he was more of a charismatic for some reason.
 
Top