3 ms·

Evangelical Christianity is a fantastic example of the slippery slope these sorts of actions create. I doubt anyone here would say most evangelical churches vio

Evangelical Christianity is a fantastic example of the slippery slope these sorts of actions create. I doubt anyone here would say most evangelical churches violate the legal ideals of free speech, but they've been extremely vigilant in maintaining group think on many controversial topics and anyone who goes against the group ideals is immediately shunned and treated as "other". This has created a feedback loop where they are now so far detached from mainstream Christianity* many are trying to classify it as it's own sect and in some cases it's own religion. Thus there has been practically no progress in evangelical theology within the past 20 years (Revelations fear mongering not withstanding), and as a result has lead to some seriously unscientific beliefs (that aren't even compatible with their own faith!) and severely detrimental societal interactions with the greater world. Extremely interesting to find those who look upon those same Evangelicals with contempt and hatred are following the exact same path. * inb4 someone who's never been to an evangelical church service tries to claim evangelical christianity is mainstream

Karunamon 10y ago
Could you be a bit more specific? As I understand it, "evangelical" just means the church tries to get more members (i.e. evangelizing) ...which describes pretty much all of them. What's the difference?
- pdeuchler 10y ago
  "Evangelical" christianity has come to describe a certain group of mostly Protestant believers largely found in the South and Midwest US (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism). Interestingly enough, they're more of a political identity in some circles as beyond a few (relatively minor) theological differences with denominations like Baptists, Methodists, or "non-denominational" groups they mostly identify based on social/political issues (gay marriage, abortion, religion and government, etc. etc.) rather than theological ones (although they do their best to tie the two together).
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > As I understand it, "evangelical" just means the church tries to get more members "Evangelical" is a label that was adopted by a specific group within Christian Protestantism that was reacting against specific elements that were seen as problematic within Fundamentalism (it was essentially a dissident offshoot of Fundamentalism) -- the term had some prior use, which in part inspired the label selected, but that's now pretty much its exclusive use when used to describe a subset of Christianity. In some respects, some of those disagreements have faded over time; there's a lot of overlap in terms of both religious ideas and relation of religion to civil society between Fundamentalists and some subset of Evangelicals, though the range of Evangelical views is still broader. Its not uncommon for people outside of either movement to use "Evangelical" and "Fundamentalist" interchangeably.
- gjm11 10y ago
  "Evangelical" actually means something quite different from "evangelizing". The "evangel" is the "eu-angel", the "good news", the "gospel". Or, more specifically, the gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. To evangelize, to be "evangelistic", is to attempt to bring the "good news" to others. It's a matter of what you do. To be "evangelical" is (so at least members of the groups that go by that name would say) to be grounded in the "good news", the gospels, the New Testament. (As opposed to, say, later church traditions.) It's a matter of what you believe and where those beliefs (purport to) come from. The term "evangelical" has a complicated history, going back to Martin Luther and beyond. It's pretty much always denoted a strain of Protestantism, and in the modern-day US it means roughly "fundamentalist but not too fundamentalist". (On the other hand, in non-anglophone parts of Europe it mostly just means "Protestant".) Evangelicals tend to be evangelistic, not least because the New Testament tells them to be. But you can be evangelistic without being evangelical; as you say, that would describe any church that tries to expand its membership, or any individual Christian who tries to persuade others to convert.

Karunamon 10y ago

Could you be a bit more specific? As I understand it, "evangelical" just means the church tries to get more members (i.e. evangelizing) ...which describes pretty much all of them. What's the difference?

pdeuchler 10y ago
"Evangelical" christianity has come to describe a certain group of mostly Protestant believers largely found in the South and Midwest US (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism). Interestingly enough, they're more of a political identity in some circles as beyond a few (relatively minor) theological differences with denominations like Baptists, Methodists, or "non-denominational" groups they mostly identify based on social/political issues (gay marriage, abortion, religion and government, etc. etc.) rather than theological ones (although they do their best to tie the two together).
dragonwriter 10y ago
> As I understand it, "evangelical" just means the church tries to get more members "Evangelical" is a label that was adopted by a specific group within Christian Protestantism that was reacting against specific elements that were seen as problematic within Fundamentalism (it was essentially a dissident offshoot of Fundamentalism) -- the term had some prior use, which in part inspired the label selected, but that's now pretty much its exclusive use when used to describe a subset of Christianity. In some respects, some of those disagreements have faded over time; there's a lot of overlap in terms of both religious ideas and relation of religion to civil society between Fundamentalists and some subset of Evangelicals, though the range of Evangelical views is still broader. Its not uncommon for people outside of either movement to use "Evangelical" and "Fundamentalist" interchangeably.
gjm11 10y ago
"Evangelical" actually means something quite different from "evangelizing". The "evangel" is the "eu-angel", the "good news", the "gospel". Or, more specifically, the gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. To evangelize, to be "evangelistic", is to attempt to bring the "good news" to others. It's a matter of what you do. To be "evangelical" is (so at least members of the groups that go by that name would say) to be grounded in the "good news", the gospels, the New Testament. (As opposed to, say, later church traditions.) It's a matter of what you believe and where those beliefs (purport to) come from. The term "evangelical" has a complicated history, going back to Martin Luther and beyond. It's pretty much always denoted a strain of Protestantism, and in the modern-day US it means roughly "fundamentalist but not too fundamentalist". (On the other hand, in non-anglophone parts of Europe it mostly just means "Protestant".) Evangelicals tend to be evangelistic, not least because the New Testament tells them to be. But you can be evangelistic without being evangelical; as you say, that would describe any church that tries to expand its membership, or any individual Christian who tries to persuade others to convert.