Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
is a Protestant Christian
movement which began in Great Britain in
the 1730s.[1] Most adherents consider its key
characteristics to be: a belief in the need for
personal conversion (or being "born again");
some expression of the gospel in effort; a
high regard for Biblical authority; and an em-
phasis on the death and resurrection of Je-
sus.[2] David Bebbington has termed these
four distinctive aspects conversionism, activ-
ism, biblicism, and crucicentrism, saying,
"Together they form a quadrilateral of prior-
ities that is the basis of Evangelicalism."[3]
Note that the term "Evangelical" does not
equal Fundamentalist Christianity, although
the latter is sometimes regarded simply as
the most theologically conservative subset of
the former. The major differences largely
hinge upon views of how to regard and ap-
proach scripture ("Theology of Scripture"), as
well as construing its broader worldview im-
plications. While most conservative Evangel-
icals believe the label has broadened too
much beyond its more limiting traditional dis-
tinctives, this trend is nonetheless strong
enough to create significant ambiguity in the
term.[4] As a result, the dichotomy between
"evangelical" vs. "mainline" denominations is
increasingly complex (particularly with such
innovations as
the
"Emergent Church"
movement).
Usage
Alternative usage
The term evangelical (with a lower case "e")
can refer to the personal belief that Jesus is
the Messiah. The word comes from the Greek
word
for
"Gospel"
or
"good
news:"
ευαγγελιον evangelion, from eu- "good" and
angelion "message." In that sense, to be
evangelical would mean to be a believer in
the gospel, that is the message of Jesus
Christ as revealed in the New Testament.
Beginning with the Reformation, evangel-
ical was used in a broad sense to refer to
either Protestants or Christians in general.
Martin Luther referred to the evangelische
Kirche or evangelical church to distinguish
Protestants from Catholics in the Roman
Catholic Church.[5][6]
In Germany and