Anti-Climacus

THREE FOR EVANGELICAL OUTPOST, NO. 2: Do I self-identify as an evangelical? Three answers:

1. It depends on what you mean by 'evangelical.' I spent six or seven years at what, so far as I'm aware, was a fairly orthodox (ha) evangelical church. I had two main problems with them as a matter of theology: the first was that they insisted that the evangelical side of the faith required actually going out to complete strangers and striking up conversations with them about Christianity. I categorically reject the notion that evangelism has to take the same form for all people; I think it's a matter of what spiritual gifts you have and how you can best apply them. If the latter is within evangelicalism, then I suppose I am one.

The second concern I had was something that has occasionally been commented on, which is what the precise status of the Christian-in-the-world is supposed to be. There was a certain reservedness in my church, on both a cultural and intellectual level. I suspect this bias does not apply to evangelicals who blog, but they happened to be harsh enough about it at a tender enough stage in my development that it made a pretty big impact.

2. Prior to my stint in an evangelical church, I spent my formative years in the Reformed Church of America. I'm a Heidelberg Catechism sort of guy, and I always have been. I believe in justification through faith alone, the sole authority of the Bible, and the priesthood of all believers, and I make common cause with anyone who thinks the same.

3. When it comes to breaking up into sects of Christians, I generally think of this experience I had at a Promise Keepers rally some years ago (I was a precocious 8th grader, that's for sure):

guy on stage: [yelling] what church do you go to?
crowd: [incomprehensible shouting]
guy on stage: who's your lord and savior?
crowd: Jesus Christ!

which I believe pretty much says it all