What exactly is an evangelical Christian?

[snowstormburning]

This may be a silly question, especially coming from a PK, but I hear this term all the time in so many different contexts and no one has ever offered a clear definition of what it means. It seems very broad and ambiguous, but the best I can figure is that evangelicalism is the belief that in order to be saved, a person must consciously accept the gift of salvation.

Am I right, or am I way off?

 

[perrfekt]

pretty much correct. being a presby/calvinist i know where you are coming from in the predestination area. its just basically the current label for biblical, slightly charismatic christianity.

 

[CryptoLutheran]

The word Evangelical today generally designates the Neo-Evangelical Movement, though not exclusively. The Neo-Evangelical Movement was a reaction in the 1930s and 40s against the social isolationism of Fundamentalism.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Hairy Tic]

This may be a silly question, especially coming from a PK, but I hear this term all the time in so many different contexts and no one has ever offered a clear definition of what it means. It seems very broad and ambiguous, but the best I can figure is that evangelicalism is the belief that in order to be saved, a person must consciously accept the gift of salvation.

Am I right, or am I way off?

## In the UK, it is a form of Protestant Christianity that

• lays enormous emphasis upon the use and knowledge & exposition of the Bible - which is absolutely central to it in every way.
• is "Low Church""
• is a "lay" movement in its religious sociology - all Christians are priests, so there are no priests
• is democratic rather than hierarchical in its vision of the relations between Christians
  
• deprecates what it sometimes calls "priestcraft"
• emphasises: the work of the Holy Spirit
  
• - the regeneration of the believer
• - a personal encounter with Christ as Saviour
  
• lays great stress on interior religion & growth in holiness
• - and on faith in Christ
  
• tends to neglect Church history between the Apostles & Reformation
• is not very interested in the liturgy, and is sometimes strongly anti-liturgical
• often takes very great interest in cultivating Systematic Theology
• is a religion of the Word, rather than a religion of sacred actions
• - as is shown, both by the countless commentaries by Evangelicals; (some of the commentaries are many times longer than the book commented on)
• - and by the very great number of distinguished preachers in this tradition
  
• is very missionary-minded
• gives attention to doctrines about salvation much more than to doctrines about the Incarnation
• is sometimes very vigorously opposed to "Romanism" (this is most noticeable among Calvinists)
  
• has a notable tendency to splits: the emphasis being, not on visible unity, but on the preaching of the true Gospel.
  

That's not complete. I think it's easier to say what characterises it, than to define what it is. Fundamentalism is a bit different.

 

[JasperJackson]

In Australia (at least from what my pastor told me) it just means that emphasis is placed on God's word and sermons tend to be expositions on scripture.

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

The word itself derives from the greek word for Gospel. In a broad sense an evangelical Christian I would say is simply any Christian whose faith is Christocentric then (Gospel centered).

However the term has been used to generalize groups and some denominations have laid claim to the name as well. Lutherans in Germany for example were known as the Evangelical Church (Luther after all said he did not want the name Lutherans). In America there is a body of what you might stereotype as "bible-thumping fundamentalists" (now mind you I am saying stereotype to get you an idea of where they fall on the Christian spectrum) that would be known as Evangelical. More loosely connected are the Evangelical Free churches.
Other bodies will use the term still. The ELCA (which I belong to) stands for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for example.
So the term can narrowly mean people of specific church bodies, but can also be meant in a broad sense that is not so denominationally specific.