Definition of Evangelical

[demi-conservative]

Is there any passage that says who does the baptizing -- as applicable today?

I do recommend people get baptized within a church group's pastor, but this is in the absence of any specific instruction as to who should do the baptizing.

It's simple. If we assume the Evangelical claim about how the Great Commission is generally applicable to individuals, since you are not baptising you're not following it and you're disobeying Christ.

[mikewhitney]

Clearly the average believer is not supposed to baptise others, therefore the Great Commission is not binding on him.

Is there any passage that says who does the baptizing -- as applicable today?

I do recommend people get baptized within a church group's pastor, but this is in the absence of any specific instruction as to who should do the baptizing.

[demi-conservative]

Clearly the average believer is not supposed to baptise others, therefore the Great Commission is not binding on him.

[Adrift]

Regarding Orthodoxy, sort of. There are Orthodox who say that no Christians are found outside the Orthodox Church, but the general sentiment is "The Orthodox Church is the Church; it is not our place to comment on whether Christians in other traditions are a part of the church, because that is up to God."

Well my sentiment is that Orthodox Christians are definitely part of the church if they accept Christ as Lord, and they'd be more than welcome to break bread and take communion with me at my local congregation, even knowing they'd be unlikely to return the favor. You are my brother in Christ, even if some of our other brothers don't think I'm your brother in Christ.

Speaking of, there is a relatively newish Greek Orthodox church in town that I'd love to check out just to see how an Orthodox service goes down (been to a few RCC services already), but I have no idea how welcome I'd be.

[One Bad Pig]

Didn't Luther claim to be Evangelical ? I wish the word, however spelt, were not so slippery.

Protestants were initially called "Evangelicals"; I no longer recall if that was a self-appellation or given from outside.

[One Bad Pig]

It seems like a lot of Orthodox and Roman Catholics want to be a part of a club that they don't think Protestants can be/should be part of. Historically, I suppose the same was true among many Protestants. It's a shame that so many people on both sides still feel that way.

Regarding Orthodoxy, sort of. There are Orthodox who say that no Christians are found outside the Orthodox Church, but the general sentiment is "The Orthodox Church is the Church; it is not our place to comment on whether Christians in other traditions are a part of the church, because that is up to God."

[mikewhitney]

Is this for some sort of thesis or something?

I'm not using this in my thesis, but I have discovered that the word 'Christian' is ambiguous. I have had informal writings where I have wanted to say something in connection with Christian beliefs or something like that

[mikewhitney]

This is about me, isn't it?

Yes. You get 3 gold stars.

[Adrift]

That explains it. So what, in one sentence, is New Evangelicalism ?

I think Craig defined it in that original quote of mine.

[Rushing Jaws]

I believe Craig is referring to what is sometimes called New Evangelicalism. At any rate, it's the prominent form of Evangelicalism that remains popular today I think.

That explains it. So what, in one sentence, is New Evangelicalism ?

[Rushing Jaws]

Lutheranism, atleast confessional Lutheranism, is quite distinct from Evangelicalism, or atleast the Evangelical movement that Adrift mentions in post #66. It's quite a bit more sacramental, for one (although that's not the biggest difference).

Didn't Luther claim to be Evangelical ? I wish the word, however spelt, were not so slippery.

[Cow Poke]

Thanks for your interesting contributions.

This is about me, isn't it?

[Adrift]

Evangelicals are defined by eisegesis of the 'Great Commission', claiming that it is meant for all believers. (It is not.)

[Adrift]

Oops. I meant to say that "such evangelicals may not be consciously..."

I may write papers where I need a definition of 'Christian.' This term can have many interpretations. I would tend to use the term 'confessional Christian' or creedal-agreeable Christian. The minimal creed would be the Apostles' Creed -- including those church groups and people who would concur, at minimal, with the apparent meaning of the Apostles' Creed. (Or that people in these church groups would reject use of the term 'Christian' for people that do not basically accept the Apostle's Creed.)

Note that the discussion on Evangelicals was more of a test case rather than being the main concern here. But I did like how the discussion went.

Is this for some sort of thesis or something?

[Adrift]

This statement by Craig is most surprising: “The word Evangelical originated during, I think, during the late 1940s or so, when people like Billy Graham, Carl Henry, Harold Ockenga, others, wanted to distinguish themselves from the old line Fundamentalism of people like Carl McIntire for example.”


Not to mention Lutheranism - about which I know little - Evangelicalism as a distinct form of Christianity in the UK goes back to the early 19th century. The Evangelical Alliance was founded in 1846. Evangelicalism was very influential in the UK from the Wesleys, to at least the 1920s.

I believe Craig is referring to what is sometimes called New Evangelicalism. At any rate, it's the prominent form of Evangelicalism that remains popular today I think.