All this
time, I never dreamed that being called an evangelical was a bad thing. I also didn’t know that there were several
definitions of evangelicals and then, you have to separate the fundamentalists
from the evangelicals.
Fundamentalists
have been described in Wikipedia
as a group that aggressively attacks their liberal enemies while evangelicals
concentrated more on outreach and conversion of new members.
Now even
that definition is convoluted because it goes on to describe three different
types of evangelicals.
Quoting
Wikipedia again:
1.The
traditionalists, characterized by high affinity for certain Protestant beliefs,
(especially penal substitutionary atonement, justification by faith, the
authority of scripture, the priesthood of all believers, etc.) which, when
fused with the highly political milieu of Western culture (especially American
culture), has resulted in the political disposition that has been labeled the
Christian right, with figures like Jerry Falwell and the television evangelist
Pat Robertson as its most visible spokesmen.
2. Centrist evangelicals, described as
socially conservative, mostly avoiding politics, who still support much of
traditional Christian theology.
3. Modernist evangelicals, a small minority in
the movement, have low levels of church-attendance and "have much more
diversity in their beliefs".
Wow, I have
to have a dictionary in order to read a dictionary.
What is a “traditionalist
evangelical”? Reading that definition, I
don’t have a clue. I personally have never
heard of “penal substitutionary atonement”, so I had to look it up.
According to
Theopedia: “Penal substitutionary atonement refers to the doctrine that Christ
died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. God imputed the guilt of our
sins to Christ, and he, in our place, bore the punishment that we deserve. This
was a full payment for sins, which satisfied both the wrath and the
righteousness of God, so that He could forgive sinners without compromising His
own holy standard.”
I don’t know
how you could be a Christian without believing Christ died for your sins. So now I am starting to sound like a
traditionalist. But wait, that makes me part of the “Christian Right”. Who are those folks? Are they associated with those crazies that
blow up abortion clinics? I hope not.
But what if I don’t agree with Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson? Guess I have to know what they believe
first.
But I do
believe in my constitutional right to vote.
I am sure that I would vote for a Christian over a non-Christian given the
opportunity. Does that make me part of
the Christian Right or is that just one of my American Rights?
That being
said, I think I would rather be called a centrist evangelical. Socially conservative, but staying out of
politics. Or at least, keeping my
politics to myself. I don’t want people
to think that I am crazy. Hold on, what
does “support much of traditional Christian theology” mean? What part don’t I support? I know that I support “penal substitutionary
atonement”. Will that belief, preclude
me from being a centrist? I am getting
lost.
Maybe I will
just be a modernist evangelical. Sounds
pretty good to me. Don’t go to church
much and I can believe what I want. Wow,
that sounds like the majority of people that I know, yet the definition says
that this is a small majority of the movement.
Thinking about it, I do like to go to church and I believe what the
Bible says. Maybe I am not a modernist
at all.
I really don’t
fit into any of the three definitions of an evangelical. Maybe I am a fundamentalist. Let’s look.
First of
all, we have to back up and define this “liberal enemy” that fundamentalists
are attacking. Is this the guy that just
voted for Obama or is it somebody that just doesn’t agree with your beliefs
about Christianity. For example: You believe in a strict literal translation of
the Bible and another person believes otherwise. Is that person a “liberal enemy”? I don’t know and I bet you don’t either. And the reason I don’t care is because I am
not about having a label attached to my beliefs. I don’t think that I am a fundamentalist
either.
Charlie
Brown: I believe in evangelism. Jesus told us in the great commission to go
and reach people for him. That should be
my goal.
The media might
paint me as a religious zealot that goes around bible thumping and preaching
hell and damnation if I was to speak publically about Jesus. And nothing could be further from the truth,
at least in my life.
As a
recovering alcoholic and a supporter of the 12 step system, I adhere to the
belief that the only way to help myself is to help other alcoholics that ask
for my help. I mean get down in the dirt
help. I mean helping that other
alcoholic with whatever means necessary.
Jesus taught
his disciples to do the same. Jesus
taught love and understanding, not hate and prejudice.
People throw
around names and labels without knowing what they are truly saying. I find that I don’t really fit into any of
the above definitions of evangelicals or fundamentalist, but that’s ok. Call me what you want.
I shouldn’t
worry about the labels; I should worry about whether you see Christ in my
actions. In the end, that’s the only
thing that matters.
Listen to the following song by Johnny Cash. I think it more than appropriate.
I guess I'm an evangelical fundamentalist... but my daily prayer is that for this day, and every day thereafter, that I can be a little more "Christ-like". I've got so far to go.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this - I think it's probably your best.