Praise God for a piece from a genuine Evangelical! It is all doctrinal/theological and anyone who fails to look at things from a biblical base simply does not get it at all. And genuine Evangelicalism is global - China and Nigeria as well as the USA. Biblical Evangelicals like Samuel James get it of course, but "Evangelicals" do not.
Renn’s article was interesting. A companion piece would be the article about how attendees at evangelical churches are currently undergoing a major sorting. I’ll link it if I find it. Long ago, I had to make a choice between attending a church that reflected my politics more nearly, or sticking with a church that retained theological orthodoxy. I chose the latter but it has become a hard row, especially for those of us who live in small towns. It is increasingly difficult to worship with those who believe the Big Lie, who think Trump is Cyrus, and who watch Fox and religious broadcasting almost exclusively. There is no meeting of the minds politically.
Here is the thing Renn leaves out. We’ve met the enemy and he is us (Walt Kelly). In large part, at least here in America, the negative world is a direct result of Evangelicalism increasing political alliance with the right and with the Republicans. The hate and fear-mongering that have come from Falwell, Robertson, Graham fils and their like has done major damage to the Church’s witness. Once we were seen as champions of the down-trodden, poor and oppressed (which the Bible asks of us), now the Church is seen as spewing hate to the poor and marginalized. We lost our mission.
I can’t remember now who said it, possibly French, but I’m not worried about the future of the church. Jesus is the head and His believers have survived for over 2K years -- the Church will continue to exist and win souls. I am worried that we’re losing a generation (ex-vangelicals) because we’re no longer known by our love.
Contra Aaron Renn on Evangelicalism, Part 1
Thank you. I thought Renn's article was simplistic and tendentious when I read it, and I've wondered why it appears to be so widely accepted.
Praise God for a piece from a genuine Evangelical! It is all doctrinal/theological and anyone who fails to look at things from a biblical base simply does not get it at all. And genuine Evangelicalism is global - China and Nigeria as well as the USA. Biblical Evangelicals like Samuel James get it of course, but "Evangelicals" do not.
Renn’s article was interesting. A companion piece would be the article about how attendees at evangelical churches are currently undergoing a major sorting. I’ll link it if I find it. Long ago, I had to make a choice between attending a church that reflected my politics more nearly, or sticking with a church that retained theological orthodoxy. I chose the latter but it has become a hard row, especially for those of us who live in small towns. It is increasingly difficult to worship with those who believe the Big Lie, who think Trump is Cyrus, and who watch Fox and religious broadcasting almost exclusively. There is no meeting of the minds politically.
Here is the thing Renn leaves out. We’ve met the enemy and he is us (Walt Kelly). In large part, at least here in America, the negative world is a direct result of Evangelicalism increasing political alliance with the right and with the Republicans. The hate and fear-mongering that have come from Falwell, Robertson, Graham fils and their like has done major damage to the Church’s witness. Once we were seen as champions of the down-trodden, poor and oppressed (which the Bible asks of us), now the Church is seen as spewing hate to the poor and marginalized. We lost our mission.
I can’t remember now who said it, possibly French, but I’m not worried about the future of the church. Jesus is the head and His believers have survived for over 2K years -- the Church will continue to exist and win souls. I am worried that we’re losing a generation (ex-vangelicals) because we’re no longer known by our love.