“Evangelical.” This name has been the triumphant success of
Christianity for some and the bastion of hate and hypocrisy for others. Evangelical
names include Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, and George Whitfield in its beginning
during the eighteenth century, and modern names like James Dobson, Ted Haggard
and Rick Warren. Time Magazine even dedicated a cover article on The Most Influential Evangelicals in America.
This is an interesting topic for me because it has shaped
the Christian values I hold today. Some of them good others, not so much. Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, by D. W. Bebbington is a book that chronicles the beginning of Evangelicalism from 1730-1980.
When you think of Evangelicals what do you think of? Do you know what marks them? What they believe? They are basically four tenants:
- Conversionism – the need for personal conversion or the act of being born again
- Activism – actively expressing and sharing the gospel
- Biblicism – a high regard for biblical authority, especially biblical inerrancy
- Crucicentrism – an emphasis on teachings that proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus (pp. 10-17)
Evangelicalism was birthed as a response against
Catholicism and Anglicanism and in my opinion disregarded many legitimate beliefs and practices established by the church in the previous seventeen hundred and thirty years. This is also the case with the advent of the Protestant Reformation. Don’t get me wrong, there were many things that needed to change, but Evangelicalism wasn’t the answer any more than Catholicism was. One of the interesting facts Bebbington reveals is that Evangelicalism was highly influenced and “allied” with The Englightement (p.19) , a philosophical movement focused on the dawning of reason as the primary source for authority and legitimacy.
Evangelicalism was also not the religion of the poorest and the outcast nor was it for the influential and wealthy (p. 25). It was a common man’s religion. Although later the poor did become more of an emphasis because it tied tightly into the belief that Christian works were of utmost importance. Although, they still were forced to sit in the back of the church behind pillars. More on that in the next post.
They were also extremely anti-Catholic (p. 101). “Papists,” a derogatory term used to refer to a Catholic which meant you were an idolater, where seen as the enemy to the true faith. Of course, I do not believe this in any way, shape form or fashion. Unfortunately, even when human beings are trying to do good, they often have to make enemies of those who don’t think the same way they do.
Evangelicalism would do many good things across Europe and the United States. But slowly, they would begin to be known what they are against not what they are for. A trait that plagues Evangelicalism and its leaders to this day.
As I read this book, I couldn’t help but to mark all of the things I agreed with and the things I didn’t agree with. It contains all the good, the bad, and the ugly of Evangelicalism. The truth is that no matter what denomination or “ism” we adhere to, the main issue is that our lives should be marked by the key things Jesus taught. Love should be our focus, loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
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