Evangelical

[rockytopva]

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; - Revelation 1:20-2:1

The Seven Churches as I would guess them....
Ephesus - Messianic - Beginning with the Apostle to the Circumcision, Peter
Smyrna - Martyr - Beginning with the Apostle to the Un-Circumcision, Paul
Pergamos - Orthodoxy formed in this time... Pergos is a tower... Needed in the dark ages
Thyatira - Catholicism formed in this time - The spirit of Jezebel is to control and to dominate.
Sardis - Protestantism formed in this time- A sardius is a gem - elegant yet hard and rigid
Philadelphia - The Great Awakening - To be sanctioned is to acquire it with love.
Laodicea - Charismatic movement formed in this time - Beginning with DL Moody, the first to make money off of ministry

The question is... Where did the Evangelical group spring from? I would say a Philadelphian congregation in Laodicean times.

 

[Robban]

It's pretty much synonymous with "fundamentalists", which was once what they called themselves until "religious fundamentalism" was picked up by religious studies as a term denoting extremism/radicalism.

At this point, though, "Evangelical" is no less ambivalent a term than "fundamentalist", mostly because the people it describes usually ARE extremists.

Well, I am not the much wiser,
seems like a big stew.

EFS, (Evangeliska fosterlandsstiftelsen)

I think are supposed to be pretty much laid back,
yet, they have Evangelical in their name.

 

[Robban]

Sort of. He became unpopular with the church because of his use of church discipline, and also because of his use of tests for prospective members to make sure that they were "converted." He was a brilliant theologian, but I wouldn't have wanted to be in his church.

What you not up for a challenge?

 

[Robban]

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; - Revelation 1:20-2:1

The Seven Churches as I would guess them....
Ephesus - Messianic - Beginning with the Apostle to the Circumcision, Peter
Smyrna - Martyr - Beginning with the Apostle to the Un-Circumcision, Paul
Pergamos - Orthodoxy formed in this time... Pergos is a tower... Needed in the dark ages
Thyatira - Catholicism formed in this time - The spirit of Jezebel is to control and to dominate.
Sardis - Protestantism formed in this time- A sardius is a gem - elegant yet hard and rigid
Philadelphia - The Great Awakening - To be sanctioned is to acquire it with love.
Laodicea - Charismatic movement formed in this time - Beginning with DL Moody, the first to make money off of ministry

The question is... Where did the Evangelical group spring from? I would say a Philadelphian congregation in Laodicean times.

I would have thought from, Evangelium according to Matthew.
and Mark, Luke and John.

But I do not know,

 

[mkgal1]

Well, I am not the much wiser,
seems like a big stew.

EFS, (Evangiliska fosterlands stiftelsen)

I think are supposed to be pretty much laid back,
yet, they have Evangelical in their name.

Are you in Sweden, Robban? If so....it seems this may be what you're observing:

Quoting linked article: Today a growing number of foreigners moving to Sweden are finding that non-traditional churches can offer a home away from home, particularly those offering services in English.

Estimates say about half of regular evangelical churchgoers are foreign-born.

"I was never particularly religious, but moving around in the expat world made me search for a deeper meaning, for both my family and me," one mother and US native tells The Local outside the Charismatic Baptist New Life Church in Stockholm.

"The modern churches give room to explore and the kids enjoy the more exciting atmosphere. We also get to meet people like us, who are foreigners living in a foreign land."

Regular church attendance in Sweden hovers somewhere around 5 percent, while levels of atheism among Swedes are estimated to be as high as 85 percent.

Yet more than half of all weddings in Sweden take place in churches and nearly 90 percent of burials follow Christian rites.

Additionally, membership in the Church of Sweden, which lost its status as the official state church in 2000, still stands at nearly 70 percent – a statistic that likely has more to do with the fact that anyone being born in Sweden up until 1996 automatically became a member of the church, something one had to opt out of in writing.

While church membership is slowly declining across the country, a number of evangelical churches are finding their congregations getting a boost from faithful foreigners who have moved to Sweden and are searching for a new spiritual home. - Expats flock to Sweden's evangelical churches​

 

[rockytopva]

I would have thought from, Evangelium according to Matthew.
and Mark, Luke and John.

But I do not know,

Well... They were Evangelist! There have been Evangelist in just about every Christian congregation. Which makes Evangelical a difficult boundary to define!

 

[mkgal1]

In Sweden, it looks as though "Evangelical" churches are in opposition to the traditional high churches (if I'm understanding correctly). It looks like nothing more than a political power struggle to gain members:

From article:With no more than 3 percent of Swedes 00seeing the Bible as the reliable Word of God, the vast majority of the politicians in church governing bodies want evangelicals out of power. - Sweden: Locked Out​

 

[Robban]

Well... They were Evangelist! There have been Evangelist in just about every Christian congregation. Which makes Evangelical a difficult boundary to define!

There is a sailing ship "Elida" that sails around the coast in the summer, it is very popular among all ages and backgrounds,

because of the music and singing, it always gathers many people,

It is run by the Mission Church.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

Well, I am not the much wiser,
seems like a big stew.

EFS, (Evangiliska fosterlands stiftelsen)

I think are supposed to be pretty much laid back,
yet, they have Evangelical in their name.

Ah, I see your problem - it's the language barrier.

Of course, all of these terms come from Greek "evangelion", meaning "good news".
In German, the term "evangelisch" is virtually synonymous with "protestant", and far more popular than the latter. As a neologism, German has adopted "evangelikal" as an Anglicism, denoting fundamentalist sects that are mostly imported from the USA. While both "evangelische" and "evangelikale" are protestants, the latter tend to be much more radical.

 

[rockytopva]

There is a sailing ship "Elida" that sails around the coast in the summer, it is very popular among all ages and backgrounds,

because of the music and singing, it always gathers many people,

It is run by the Mission Church.

It is important, for the sake of spirituality, that we divide the man into three parts…
Physical, Spiritual, and Intellectual. There have been Evangelist who possessed not a great physique or intelligence, but were great hearted people. And such great heart made for great and profitable ministry. If E = mc2 then we can divide and conclude that...

Mass (m) = Energy (E/c2) And there are three varieties...

Natural E/c2 - All mass is basically cooled plasma, the sun is the visible form of E/c2
Mental E/c2 - Our thinking can produce creativeness, light, and good things
Spiritual E/c2 - E (motivation, warmth, love) / c2 (faith, hope, charity, joy)

The Natural E/c2 in the form of mass produces a gravity that attracts other objects
The Intellectual E/c2 produces a gravity that draws us to study
The Spiritual E/c2 also has a gravity that draws and makes religion attractive

The music and singing, if it has joy, will have a gravity to it that will draw interest from others. I wish more would possess it!

 

[Robban]

Are you in Sweden, Robban? If so....it seems this may be what you're observing:

Quoting linked article: Today a growing number of foreigners moving to Sweden are finding that non-traditional churches can offer a home away from home, particularly those offering services in English.

Estimates say about half of regular evangelical churchgoers are foreign-born.

"I was never particularly religious, but moving around in the expat world made me search for a deeper meaning, for both my family and me," one mother and US native tells The Local outside the Charismatic Baptist New Life Church in Stockholm.

"The modern churches give room to explore and the kids enjoy the more exciting atmosphere. We also get to meet people like us, who are foreigners living in a foreign land."

Regular church attendance in Sweden hovers somewhere around 5 percent, while levels of atheism among Swedes are estimated to be as high as 85 percent.

Yet more than half of all weddings in Sweden take place in churches and nearly 90 percent of burials follow Christian rites.

Additionally, membership in the Church of Sweden, which lost its status as the official state church in 2000, still stands at nearly 70 percent – a statistic that likely has more to do with the fact that anyone being born in Sweden up until 1996 automatically became a member of the church, something one had to opt out of in writing.

While church membership is slowly declining across the country, a number of evangelical churches are finding their congregations getting a boost from faithful foreigners who have moved to Sweden and are searching for a new spiritual home. - Expats flock to Sweden's evangelical churches​

Well, I tell you what, I do not know, but people do not discuss their faith or non faith, usually.

I do not observe activity among Churches.

Mostly there are muslim surrounding me.

 

[mkgal1]

There is a sailing ship "Elida" that sails around the coast in the summer, it is very popular among all ages and backgrounds,

because of the music and singing, it always gathers many people,

It is run by the Mission Church.

The more you post with explanations, the more it's sounding like a term that's being used to identify "modern, Protestant, non-traditional, conservative" churches that are appealing to former Americans (and getting the attention of others by offering something different than the traditional high churches that have low numbers). In other words....it's how the term is being used in the US (identified with Franklin Graham, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell. etc).

This article describes how the meaning of "Evangelical" has changed over the years: Franklin Graham followed in his father Billy's footsteps, but took a right-leaning path

 

[mark kennedy]

What does it mean?

Because I do not have a clue.

Thought it had to do with Matt, Mark, Luke and John.

I saw a Websters definition of evangelical once, it read, an attempt to have ones thoughts begin and end with Scripture. Evangelicals used to be called 'word' churches but the term has been associated with fundamentalism so the terms are used interchangeably.

 

[cloudyday2]

I probably can't find the source, but apparently Evangelical is not any specific set of denominations. A Catholic can be an Evangelical, and a Baptist might NOT be an Evangelical.

Here are some attributes of Evangelical from memory:
- making the Bible central though not necessarily taking everything literal
- voting based on religious issues and being politically active
- outlook is non-denominational even if belonging to a church that might not be (such as Catholic)
- belief in charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit such as tongues

 

[Robban]

No, Christians need to get their act together.

Thought I would check out what Paul says in the letter to Galatia.

first there is from 1:6,
another evangelium

then from 1:10,
Pauls evangelium

 

[hedrick]

This article describes how the meaning of "Evangelical" has changed over the years: Franklin Graham followed in his father Billy's footsteps, but took a right-leaning path

There's always been a spectrum among evangelicals. Both Billy and Franklin are within the traditional spectrum. I'm not sure it indicates a change.

 

[Robban]

I saw a Websters definition of evangelical once, it read, an attempt to have ones thoughts begin and end with Scripture. Evangelicals used to be called 'word' churches but the term has been associated with fundamentalism so the terms are used interchangeably.

I associate fundermental with foundation.

When building a house first the foundation/funderment is laid.

It has to be true and square, otherwise the building may end up like that tower, leaning tower of p-something.

 

[rockytopva]

My dad goes to a Lutheran Evangelical church. They had Thanksgiving meal that was unbeatable.

 

[Robban]

My dad goes to a Lutheran Evangelical church. They had Thanksgiving meal that was unbeatable.

Better than Trumpburgers? Haha.

Just kidding.

 

[rockytopva]

I took a Polynesian cruise years ago and used to love to sit in the Catholic church at Bora Bora. In the church the Evangelist were portrayed as happy people.