Losing the Word Evangelical

Words lose their meaning over time, taking on new connotations and their cultural impact may become redefined.


Here is the word evangelical as defined by Merriam-Webster:

Definition of evangelical

: of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels

2: protestant

: emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual

: of or relating to the Evangelical Church in Germany

b often capitalized : of, adhering to, or marked by fundamentalism : fundamentalist

c often capitalized : low church

5: marked by militant or crusading zeal : evangelistic

The numbers on the side (2, 5) did not copy over well and are rendered irrelevant.  I would delete them, but that might cause even more formatting issues.

Evangelism does not have to mean spreading the gospel through aggressive moves.  It does not have to mean door-to-door salesmanship, or intimidating questions like, "Do you know where you're going to go when you die?"  It does not have to be an exclusionary club, where those who go through a certain personal conversion are in the club, and everyone else is outside.

It can mean spreading the joyous news of Christ through example, by how one conducts one's own life, and most importantly, by how one treats and helps others.  As our Parish's Reverend Kit says, "We become the hands and feet of Christ."  This is what my father taught me by his example.  Love, kindness, and generosity, are the most powerful conversion tools of them all.

There is also a strain in evangelism that understands the importance of social justice.  Many evangelicals led the way with civil rights for African Americans.  Abolitionism was as much a religious supported movement as it was anything else.  The rallying cry for Social Justice, although now a minority stance in Evangelism, still exists today, and leads the way on human rights issues, taking care of the poor and disadvantaged, and even fighting global warming and the degradation of our planet's environment.

Unfortunately, in current times, the word evangelical has largely been taken hostage by the Christian Right.  They use it as a cudgel to enforce a religious aura to secular politics.  The damage is so deep, that a polling number that haunts me, is that 81% of white evangelists voted for the least Christian candidate of my lifetime, Donald Trump.   A man who embodies selfishness, greed, narcissism, hatred of the other, vilification of minorities, the misogynistic abuse of women.  And people who self-identify as evangelicals voted for him in overwhelming numbers.

I'm not sure how the pollsters concluded who was a white evangelical.  It most likely was a definition that it allowed the person being polled to pick themselves.  In my opinion, that does not make them evangelicals - that makes them abusers of that term.

True evangelicals should not lose heart. Continue your message of love and hope, and things may turn around.  Strive to be the hands and feet of Christ, and make this a better, brighter world.

One of my favorite Aesop's fable centers on the sun and wind betting on who could get a man to remove his jacket.  The wind howled and screamed, buffeting the man all over, but he just clung to his jacket tighter than ever.  The sun came out and gently warmed the Earth, and the man gladly removed his jacket.

Be a true evangelical.  Be the sunshine that lights up the Gospel message.

We could really use that right now.



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