Jonathan Leeman and Bob Ditman: The Chnaging Face of Evangelicalism in the United States

Do Evangelicals Need a Better Gospel?

There has been a lot of talk in recent days about “evangelical” and whether that’s a political or cultural label, a theological label, or inescapably both.

I don’t presume to have the perfectly objective perspective. But let me lay out what I see from my corner, and then tell you the three things I’m willing to roll up my sleeves and fight for.

First, I saw the pollsters tell us that 81 percent of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump, and a similar percentage in Alabama voted for Roy Moore. Oh boy. I knew a storm was coming.

Second, I saw many younger Christians and Christians of color feel betrayed by these votes and begin to say, “Let’s be done with evangelicals.”

Third, I heard older and often whiter evangelicals (like me?) responding, “Wait a second. There’s a difference between ‘evangelical’ as a theological label and ‘evangelical’ as a political or cultural movement. Please don’t draw too many conclusions from those who tell pollsters they’re ‘evangelical.’ Many of them aren’t. Please don’t give up on the gospel.”

And finally, I’ve heard the younger crowd reply, “Hold on. You don’t get off the hook that easy. Our theology always shapes our politics. So check your gospel. It’s too individualistic, too blind to Christ’s work of reconciling the nations, too indifferent to matters of justice.” Read More

Tim Keller on What It Means to Be an Evangelical

What is an evangelical? Tim Keller’s December 19, 2017, article in The New Yorker effectively explains what it means to be an evangelical–a term that is often misunderstood in our greater culture. Yet it’s a term that many are trying to define and even dismiss.

Type “evangelical demise” or a similar term into your Google search bar and you’ll find no shortage of articles: “The Coming Evangelical Collapse,” “Will Evangelicalism Survive Its Own Popularity?” “Can Evangelicalism Survive in the Context of Free Inquiry?” Indeed, critics appear obsessed with predicting the death of evangelicalism.

Yet what do critics, pollsters, and evangelicals themselves mean by the term “evangelical”? Keller outlines the history of “little-e evangelicalism” with its tenets and motivations and “big-E Evangelicalism” in his provocatively titled article, “Can Evangelicalism Survive Donald Trump and Roy Moore?”

Keller writes that “understanding the religious landscape requires discerning differences between the smaller, let’s call it ‘big-E Evangelicalism’ which gets much media attention, and a much larger, ‘little-e evangelicalism,’ which does not.”

By understanding what’s at the heart of evangelicalism, all of us may be able to see beyond the labels. Read More