The Evangelical Alliance’s general director, Joel Edwards wrote an interesting article recently in the Baptist Times. This was reproduced by Ekklesia as ‘Time for rethink of how evangelicalism presents itself’ says Evangelical supremo. Edwards is quoted as saying:
“Evangelicalism has become a synonym, in popular understanding, for moralising bigotry, fundamentalism and reactivity.”
Maybe the EA has noted the growth of Fulcrum whose history was recently published in a newsletter written by Graham Kings and which was formed largely in response to the increasingly conservative positions being taken by other evangelical Anglican groups who claimed to represent the whole of the spectrum.
Then there is also this report from the USA: Meet the New Evangelicals by Mark Pinsky.
Thanks for another tip on thinking outside the legalistic-penal box. Anything that gets me outside that sand trap is most welcome. I must add Chalke and Mann to my reading list.
Real evangelical people are often much more diverse than their confessions or institutional conformities will allow us to perceive. Rather like Roman Cathlics, actually. In USA, I mean.
Cheer leader dancing with drums and trumpets! This Episcopal News article came up on my google alerts overnight: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_77840_ENG_HTM.htm Fifteen Anglicans were elected as members of the 150-person World Council of Churches body. They come from many different churches and regions of the Anglican Communion, including Australia, Burundi, Canada, England, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Uganda, the U.S., Wales, West Africa, and the West Indies. The Anglican membership includes eight women and seven men, seven lay persons and eight ordained persons, as well as three youth. The WCC’s six focus areas for the next seven years are:… Read more »
Can we expect Tony Blair now to urge moderate evangelicals to exert pressure on the end-time extremists… like GWB?
Only half-mischievously.
Edwards is quoted as saying: “Evangelicalism has become a synonym, in popular understanding, for moralising bigotry, fundamentalism and reactivity.”
And just why do you think this is?!
Well, maybe it might make a change in voting patterns (& just a little shift would have a huge impact).
I always thought that Penal Substitutionary Atonement was, at most, one particular way of contemplating the Crucifixion, certainly not the only one. I also side with the Orthodox (the real ones, not the modern Anglican posers) that it comes close to blasphemy: http://www.stnectariospress.com/parish/river_of_fire.htm How then did it become “a core article of faith”? This is of greater concern for me than most of the other issues. It speaks to our understanding of God Himself, and to how we relate to each other. I am unable to find in Scripture the God I see portrayed in PSA. Frankly, I have no… Read more »
The other thing about the Penal Substitionary Atonement is that the implications of Jesus’ crucifixion. There are those who perceive it was required to appease an angry God, but then argue we are still required to live by the rules, which in effect nullifies the point of the crucifixion. There are others (myself included) who argue that the crucifixion was done to allay humans’ fear that God would forgive their sins. Both models acknowledge the sacrifice, but one negates the sacrifice by insisting it was not enough and we must still live by rules or “face judgement” – aka bow… Read more »
Then there is the older, traditional view of Christus Victor, where Christ joyfully mounts the Cross to do battle for us with the forces that hold us enslaved. His victory is our victory. He has set us free to do the work of the Kingdom without fear, and His example of sacrificial love tells us how far we may be called to go to show that love in the world. We are not free to sin, but if we do the work of the Kingdom, we do no sin. A much healthier, and Orthodox, position.
Just a quick note on the Penal Substitutionary etc: my (admittedly limited) studies on this area suggest that it was an inconceivable doctrine in the early middle ages, for the simple reason that there is no devotion to the suffering Christ. Only with Candidus of Fulda does meditation on the suffering side of the crucifixion surface, and that would seem to me to be an essential part of the p/s system. So far as I can tell, early Christian devotion (Fortunatus, Dream of the Rood, Elene, Andreas and the rest) assumed some sort of Christus Victor figure. That’s not to… Read more »
Ford I like what you wrote, but it is impossible “to do no sin”, even after being born again. We are all sinners in need of God’s grace – and if the conservatives were without sin – didn’t commit usery, aid and abet priestly pedophiles or adulterers or abusers, then I would bow to their exhortations on homosexuality. But they have set a standard for GLBTs that they can not even reach themselves. The other thing is that the atonal sacrifice is a core paradigm for many of the violent mongerers – like there is going to be judgment day… Read more »
Cheryl, True, but I would argue that, even after baptismal regeneration, we are still subject to the brokenness of the Fall, so we can’t perfectly do the work of the Kingdom, thus fall into sin. As to PSA and violence mongers, absolutely. It brings up topics like: 1. the linkage of PSA with a Christian culture that requires a dramatic conversion experience, and the self loathing that such an experience requires; 2. Christianity being about judgement, better be a Christian so you don’t go to Hell. God is not mocked and I think He can tell the difference between those… Read more »
Ford
I agree with your concerns about nastiness. The other interesting thing about reading the OT is that Jesus and Pauls’ teachings and their contempt for legalism is also consistent with God’s vision e.g. Isaiah 28:13