Analysis and discussion of issues & events
within the Evangelical community
Today's discussion:
Protestants, Catholics, & Evangelicalism
within the Evangelical community
Today's discussion:
Protestants, Catholics, & Evangelicalism
The Evangelical world appears to be losing its steam. The great missionary era--which founded many evangelical institutions, focused the Western church on the exclusivity and priority of Christ, spread Christianity throughout the globe, and increased awareness of the presence of unreached people groups--seems to have run its course in many sectors of the Evangelical movement. Certainly God's grace abounds, and missionaries are still being sent each year to the farthest regions of the world. But when one compares the missionary age of William Carey and the Evangelistic age of Whitefield with today, something substantial is missing. Is it possible that the end of Billy Graham's crusades also spelled the end of Evangelical evangelism? Did the spear that ended the life of Nate Saint also bring an end to the great missionary zeal of the past?
Yet few seem to mourn this loss. There is no song of lament. Actually, there seems to be a sense of excitement in some quarters. The Emergent-Village rejection of evangelism in favor of positionally-neutral inter-faith dialogue is simply the position of early 20th century liberalism (but, I will admit, these new emergent-liberals listen to cooler music and dress better). On the other extreme exist the fundamentalists, who are convinced that a good old fashion bus ministry and door-to-door high pressure evangelism is what we need to get this country back on track. Most Evangelicals seem to fall in the middle. They are neither opposed to Evangelism, nor are they fanatical in their approach to it. They simply don't care about the issue at all.
The greatest scandal of Evangelicalism in the 21st century is not our lack of missionary zeal, it's the fact that we are so indifferent to the issue that we didn't even notice its demise.
Conversely, the papacy has just issued a document calling on Catholics worldwide to promote aggressive evangelism. In a papal document issued by Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican calls its membership back to its Gospel roots and forcefully declares that humanitarianism isn't enough.
The Roman Catholic Church is beginning to see the negative and unbiblical consequences of religious pluralism. A spokesperson for the church states: ""The fundamental problem is a pluralistic theology of religion, which essentially states that all religions are equally valid in leading a person to salvation". It appears Catholicism is beginning to run from the very philosophy that Evangelicalism is enthusiastically running toward.
I am opposed to Catholicism. Though several of my dear friends are Catholic clergy, I do believe Roman Catholicism has fundamentally distorted the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am happy to see many of the changes within Catholicism within the last few decades, and pray continued dialogue leads Rome back to the purity and simplicity of New Testament faith. However, in its current state Catholicism preaches an eternally-dangerous and distorted message. Yet, in light of the current state of affairs in Evangelicalism, I wish the Catholics well in their new evangelistic endeavors. May the Catholics convert thousands of souls....it seems the Evangelicals have long since stopped trying.
Yet few seem to mourn this loss. There is no song of lament. Actually, there seems to be a sense of excitement in some quarters. The Emergent-Village rejection of evangelism in favor of positionally-neutral inter-faith dialogue is simply the position of early 20th century liberalism (but, I will admit, these new emergent-liberals listen to cooler music and dress better). On the other extreme exist the fundamentalists, who are convinced that a good old fashion bus ministry and door-to-door high pressure evangelism is what we need to get this country back on track. Most Evangelicals seem to fall in the middle. They are neither opposed to Evangelism, nor are they fanatical in their approach to it. They simply don't care about the issue at all.
The greatest scandal of Evangelicalism in the 21st century is not our lack of missionary zeal, it's the fact that we are so indifferent to the issue that we didn't even notice its demise.
Conversely, the papacy has just issued a document calling on Catholics worldwide to promote aggressive evangelism. In a papal document issued by Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican calls its membership back to its Gospel roots and forcefully declares that humanitarianism isn't enough.
The Roman Catholic Church is beginning to see the negative and unbiblical consequences of religious pluralism. A spokesperson for the church states: ""The fundamental problem is a pluralistic theology of religion, which essentially states that all religions are equally valid in leading a person to salvation". It appears Catholicism is beginning to run from the very philosophy that Evangelicalism is enthusiastically running toward.
I am opposed to Catholicism. Though several of my dear friends are Catholic clergy, I do believe Roman Catholicism has fundamentally distorted the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am happy to see many of the changes within Catholicism within the last few decades, and pray continued dialogue leads Rome back to the purity and simplicity of New Testament faith. However, in its current state Catholicism preaches an eternally-dangerous and distorted message. Yet, in light of the current state of affairs in Evangelicalism, I wish the Catholics well in their new evangelistic endeavors. May the Catholics convert thousands of souls....it seems the Evangelicals have long since stopped trying.
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