Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasises the absolute authority of the Bible. It started in the Anglosphere in 1738 before spreading further in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries. It separates from mainline Christianity. It has the disadvantage of being a temptation to biblicism, comminorism and elitarism.

evangelicalism

The teaching that the Bible is God’s authoritative revelation to humanity and gives clear instructions, that the essence of the Gospel is the salvation by grace solely through faith in Jesus’s atonement, and that an experience of being “born again” is important for receiving salvation.

evangelical

Related to evangelicalism.

exvangelical

A human who turned away from evangelicalism and eventually from Christian faith as a whole.

devangelical

Another term for exvangelical.

Eddie Chu describes himself as a “DEvangelical” liberated from the narrow, judgmental, and exclusivist culture. He wrote (2019-08-28):

I am saddened to observe that some Devanglicals also stop identifying themselves with Christianity. This is sad because Evangelicals are but a branch of Christianity and they by no means fully represent Christianity.

I have learned (…) as an Evangelical the supremacy of Jesus Christ, the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the love of the Father, the importance of prayers, the need to study the Bible, the joy of sharing my faith, the call to serve others as Jesus teaches, and the centrality of the Cross. Through the evangelistic efforts of Evangelicals, I was liberated from a totally self-absorbed life to a new life in Christ.

There is, however, an Achilles’ heel in the Evangelical teachings. Many well-meaning Evangelical preachers, Bible study leaders, and adult Sunday school teachers told me during my spiritually formative years that Evangelicals had the only “right” view of the Bible. I was taught to view other Christian branches such as Roman Catholics, Anglicans, the United Church (in Canada), and other denominations and “mainline” churches with suspicion to say the least and, at times, with hostility. Seventh Day Adventists? They’re too legalistic. Roman Catholics and Orthodox? They shouldn’t pray to Mary and the saints. Mormons? Forget it. Difficult to discern back then, but obvious now in hindsight, was how the teaching had made me feel spiritually superior to other Christians who were not Evangelicals. Further, I learned to regard all other non-Christian religions as driven by the devil to mislead people to Hell.

“Those of us who are not Catholics–believing that the Bible, not a human leader, makes the most reliable authority;” – Gene Veith on Patheos