Jan Edmiston writes about the Evangelical Spectrum over at A Church for Starving Artists. She points to this good ad on the Sojourner’s site put out by Evangelicals for Darfur, and writes:
What are Ted Haggard & Rob Bell doing on the same list? (This was a full page ad in yesterday’s Washington Post.) And why isn’t Cliff Kirkpatrick on there?
I write (and, God-help-me, preach) as an evangelical Christian.
“Evangelical” used to mean “Protestant” in Europe. Today in 21st c. North America, it often means fundamentalist/ Biblical-inerrancy-believing/personal-relationship-with-Jesus-touting/politically conservative Christian.
I’d like to take back the word to mean spreading the Good News that God is liberating us — and all the world — through Jesus Christ. Good News isn’t about defending the Gospel. It’s about living the Gospel. (Or trying to.)
I include myself in The Evangelical Spectrum too.
With Jan, I wince at the co-option of the concept “evangelical” by the right, but we on the left have let the title go, somewhat. Time to claim our part?
…Looks like Jim found the same Evangelicals for Darfur page.
Funny…I did question myself before posting a link to the Evangelicals for Darfur petition, precisely because of Sojourner’s use of the term evangelical.
I toyed with providing some clarifying remarks, like Jan’s, but in the end I decided to just let it stand.
It is a shame that the word has been so coopted that some won’t consider signing on because they don’t want to be associated with ‘those’ people.