BLOG 7/5/15. THE FRIGHTFUL MISUSE OF THE TERM: ‘EVANGELICAL’

BLOG 7/5/15. THE FRIGHTFUL MISUSE OF THE TERM: EVANGELICAL

I am continually appalled at how frightfully so many journalists and pundits seem to mindlessly misuse use the term evangelical Christians to tar everything that comes out of a certain provincial group of conservative Christian folk as: evangelical. They really do need to do their journalistic homework a bit more carefully. Yes, granted, there is that strand of ostensibly Christian folk who tend to always have a negative attitude toward so much of the political process, and who call themselves ‘evangelical’ and they need to do their homework more carefully also.

The term evangelical is a noble word which is from a Greek word that speaks of thrilling and exciting announcement, or inescapable good news. It is not a Christian word, though it is the word the New Testament writers chose to speak of the whole of the announcement of Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection, as well as his teachings. Those writings also have Jesus, himself, using such a term to describe his message of the arrival of the dominion of God, of God’s new creation by his own presence among his hearers. It is because of this that the first four books of the New Testament are called: gospels, or evangels.

At the same time, to identify this as a conservative agenda is a bit mindless. If anything, the teachings of Jesus are radically progressive, calling for a whole new order—“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17). Jesus began his ministry with the announcement that the Spirit of God was upon him and anointing him to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to those who were captive, and the recovering of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those oppressed. Near the end of his earthly ministry he, likewise, told his followers that the criteria of his judgment of all humankind upon his return would be how they had ministered to the hungry and thirsty, how they welcomed strangers (immigrants?), how they visited those in debtors prison, and cared for the sick.

Does that sound like a conservative agenda? Jesus says profound things about economic justice. He gave us the parable of the rich fool who did well and built bigger barns (stock folio?), and who died before he could enjoy it. He gave us the parable of the unjust steward who was forgiven his huge debts (corporate welfare) but was not willing to forgive his own minor debtors. Or he gave us the account of meeting with a crooked tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus, who after spending time with Jesus then repented and promised to give half of all he owned to the poor, and to restore whatever he had defrauded folk of. That is an evangelical response.

Or maybe: “Blessed are you poor, woe to you rich” would be the topic of some good preaching (Luke 6:20 ff). (Have you noticed that you don’t hear many self-proclaimed ‘evangelical’ preachers offending the wealthy, or protesting the 1% dominance of the wealthy in our society?) Or the whole of the Sermon on the Mount which spells out the agenda of Jesus in terms of righteousness, of identification with the poor, of mercy, of peacemaking, and even the willingness to suffer and persecuted for righteousness sake.

True evangelicals are for the life and agenda of Jesus Christ. They are for reconciliation, and incarnational love. Their hallmark is not what they are against, but their passion for Jesus and their joining him in his quest to seek and to save those who are totally screwed up. There are Catholic evangelicals, Protestant evangelicals, evangelicals for social action, charismatic evangelicals, … evangelicals of every stripe, but evangelicals by New Testament definition who are just ordinary wholesome fruitful followers of, and worshipers of Jesus, and guided by their obedience to his teachings.

To the pundits: Do your homework a bit more carefully before tarring so many of us with your misunderstanding of the adjectives you throw around so carelessly. There, I’ve said it!

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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