BLOG 4/15/15. A BEAUTIFUL WORD HI-JACKED

BLOG 4/15/15. A BEAUTIFUL WORD HI-JACKED: EVANGELICAL

Politicians and the press have horribly misused and distorted the word evangelical by using it to identify an extreme right wing coalition as ‘evangelical Christians’, … and too many who have identified themselves as ‘evangelicals’ have, sadly, given tragic substance to that distortion.

You see, when the early Christian writers were recording the accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus, they reported that Jesus came into Galilee preaching “the gospel of the Kingdom of God,” and the Greek word they chose for gospel was ‘euangellion’ which was a commonly used word to designate some thrilling announcement, such as a great military victory, or the visit of some very prominent figure—something of huge significance.

It is who Jesus is, and what he taught, that makes the current misuse of the word so ironical, if not tragic. One wonders if those who use it have ever even read their Bibles, or familiarized themselves with the radical teachings of Jesus about the nature of his mission and of his in-breaking Kingdom. One has only to read, first of all, the content of Mary’s Magnificat, to realize that the child she was bearing was not to be some quiet religious figure conforming to the status quo of the Roman Empire, or of the Jewish Temple establishment in Jerusalem, or of the ethics of the economically privileged. “He has showed the strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away; …” (Luke 2:51 ff.).

That sounds much more like some socialist manifesto than any conservative political platform. And if that were not enough, Jesus first public sermon recorded says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has caused me to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to the (economic) captives and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18ff). That’s the kind of stuff that ‘evangelicals,’ if they are really wedded to the teachings of Jesus, should find as determining principles. Or if even that does not put the lie to their misuse of the evangelical designation as those who are formed by the ‘thrilling announcement of the Kingdom of God’ i.e., the evangel of Jesus Christ, … then keep reading.

The criteria by which the whole human community is to be judged (and Jesus was speaking to those who were actually in his audience at the time) renders this sobering prophecy: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory … Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, and was in (debtors) prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord when did we see you (in such conditions and minister to you)’ … And he King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it unto me’” (Matthew 25:31 ff.).

If our 2015 citizenry, who designate themselves as evangelical Christians, can’t relate such a teaching as this to issues such as immigration, minimum wage, food stamps, and health care, and the economic and social issues before us, then perhaps they need a massive reality check. The gospel of the Kingdom is not safe, and it is surely counter-cultural. Having said that, political prejudice runs deep, and I suppose I am talking to deaf ears, alas! But at least I want to protest the hi-jacking of such a beautiful word for such alien purposes. Justice, generosity, compassion, self-sacrifice, mercy, peace-making, and such, are the true evangelical expressions.

About rthenderson

Sixty years a pastor-teacher within the Presbyterian Church. Author of several books, the latest of which are a trilogy on missional ecclesiology: ENCHANTED COMMUNITY: JOURNEY INTO THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH, then, REFOUNDING THE CHURCH FROM THE UNDERSIDE, then THE CHURCH AND THE RELENTLESS DARKNESS. Previous to this trilogy was A DOOR OF HOPE: SPIRITUAL CONFLICT IN PASTORAL MINISTRY, and SUBVERSIVE JESUS, RADICAL FAITH. I am a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, a graduate of Davidson College, then of Columbia and Westminster Theological Seminaries.
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