We Have Toast!
Perhaps the worst thing one can do to a member of the People's Front of Judea is to call him a member of the Judean People's Front. (Splinter!)
Seriously, whenever people establish a group identity, there is a justification. A manifesto or creedal statement is promulgated to differentiate themselves from all others. It will have lots of flowery language, but will translate to "We are the people who…" "We are the people who butter our toast on the near side." The nascent movement may involve a struggle against the oppressors who insist on buttering their toast on the far side. There may be martyrs to the noble cause. Remember Bob? A heathen far-side butterer hit him in the eye with a piece of toasted whole grain. And there must be internal purges to keep your group's identity pure. Joe betrayed his good decent buttered toast heritage when he was caught eating a bagel with a schmear. He had to go. He may return when he repents the error of his ways. Love the sinner, hate the sin…
While driving to work the other day, listening to a news story about the influence of evangelicals on the Republican presidential contest, the Unindicted Co-Conspirator became confused. Catholics and Mormons were being mentioned under the general rubric of "Evangelical." She thought the term just applied to certain group of Protestants.
Just what is an evangelical, anyway? How do evangelicals distinguish themselves from the People's Front of Judea?
The word was first used by Martin Luther to differentiate his Protestant movement from the Catholic Church. It gained currency during the three Great Awakenings, the religious revivals of the early 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. (Whether the time period from the late 1970s to the present will count as a fourth Great Awakening is a matter for future scholars.)
There are four points - a quadrilateral - on which Evangelicalism rests.
1. Belief in the necessity of personal conversion, being "born again".
2. Belief in the authority of Scripture.
3. The most important point: belief in the saving death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
4. Actively sharing Point # 3 with the sinful and fallen world.
Can a Catholic be an evangelical? Nope - a good Catholic will fail on points 1 and 2. And Mormons aren't even Christian in the sense that any evangelical would recognize, but they’re certainly proselytes.
Americans are not known for their religious literacy. To most, "evangelical" just means "conservative Christian." The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so a homophobic chauvinistic anti-science bigot like Rick Santorum is welcomed as an evangelical despite his Catholic disqualifications. And a Mormon like Mitt Romney gets honorary evangelical status, so long as he says a few disparaging things about gays and global warming on the stump.
So, what is an evangelical? It all depends on who's speaking. It can mean "Protestant," or "Proselyte" or "Right-Thinking People Who Will Be Welcomed Into Paradise When the Godless and Liberals Are Cast Into the Lake of Fire."
At least there will be toast in Hell. Buttered on the near side, of course.
Seriously, whenever people establish a group identity, there is a justification. A manifesto or creedal statement is promulgated to differentiate themselves from all others. It will have lots of flowery language, but will translate to "We are the people who…" "We are the people who butter our toast on the near side." The nascent movement may involve a struggle against the oppressors who insist on buttering their toast on the far side. There may be martyrs to the noble cause. Remember Bob? A heathen far-side butterer hit him in the eye with a piece of toasted whole grain. And there must be internal purges to keep your group's identity pure. Joe betrayed his good decent buttered toast heritage when he was caught eating a bagel with a schmear. He had to go. He may return when he repents the error of his ways. Love the sinner, hate the sin…
While driving to work the other day, listening to a news story about the influence of evangelicals on the Republican presidential contest, the Unindicted Co-Conspirator became confused. Catholics and Mormons were being mentioned under the general rubric of "Evangelical." She thought the term just applied to certain group of Protestants.
Just what is an evangelical, anyway? How do evangelicals distinguish themselves from the People's Front of Judea?
The word was first used by Martin Luther to differentiate his Protestant movement from the Catholic Church. It gained currency during the three Great Awakenings, the religious revivals of the early 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. (Whether the time period from the late 1970s to the present will count as a fourth Great Awakening is a matter for future scholars.)
There are four points - a quadrilateral - on which Evangelicalism rests.
1. Belief in the necessity of personal conversion, being "born again".
2. Belief in the authority of Scripture.
3. The most important point: belief in the saving death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
4. Actively sharing Point # 3 with the sinful and fallen world.
Can a Catholic be an evangelical? Nope - a good Catholic will fail on points 1 and 2. And Mormons aren't even Christian in the sense that any evangelical would recognize, but they’re certainly proselytes.
Click to viewAmericans are not known for their religious literacy. To most, "evangelical" just means "conservative Christian." The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so a homophobic chauvinistic anti-science bigot like Rick Santorum is welcomed as an evangelical despite his Catholic disqualifications. And a Mormon like Mitt Romney gets honorary evangelical status, so long as he says a few disparaging things about gays and global warming on the stump.
So, what is an evangelical? It all depends on who's speaking. It can mean "Protestant," or "Proselyte" or "Right-Thinking People Who Will Be Welcomed Into Paradise When the Godless and Liberals Are Cast Into the Lake of Fire."
At least there will be toast in Hell. Buttered on the near side, of course.