Modern
evangelicalism as an international movement is made up of people across
political and ecclesiastical spectrums, people from every language, culture,
and nation. It is an international movement far more concerned with
spirituality and praxis than with State and Church. In fact, most evangelicals
would express their identity in terms of a personal love relationship with
Christ.
The
Problem of Definition
The word
Gospel which means ‘Good News’ is an English translation of the Greek term εὐαγγέλιον or euangélion, from which we derive the word ‘evangelical’.
In a word, evangelicals are Gospel people. Their identity is found in the
person and work of Christ – the evangel. Growing up in an evangelical Church, I
occasionally remember the Gospel or Good News being summarised by 3Rs: ruin,
redemption, and regeneration. A classic three-point sermon: lost mankind was
ruined by the fall, is redeemed by Christ, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
And this is basically what evangelicalism has always meant to me.
Be that
as it may, historians of evangelicalism have often noted the difficulty of
pinning down a precise meaning for the term – similar to the challenges faced
by early modern historians in defining ‘Puritanism’. Given the considerable
variety today within evangelical circles (in theology, worship, and practice),
one wonders if it is even possible to define ‘evangelicalism’ at all. It may be
more appropriate to speak of ‘evangelicalisms’ in the lower-case plural rather
than of a monolithic Evangelical entity in the upper-case singular.
Some
evangelicals are charismatic, some cessationists. Some are Calvinists, others
Wesleyan. Some premillennial, some post-millennial, still others
non-millennial. Some are politically conservative, some liberal and centrist,
while others are democrats and socialists. Some love worship bands and
choruses, others pipe organs and pianos, and some are psalms only, a cappella.
And this only begins to touch the surface of variety within evangelicalism.
Historical
& Theological Definitions
In spite
of the considerable diversity, there may also be a centre of gravity –
something which brings variegated evangelical groups into Gospel coalition.
While historians have wrestled with the problem of definition for years, there
are nonetheless certain distinguishing marks which have enabled scholars to
explore the emergence, development, and diffusion of evangelicalism over the
centuries.
David Bebbington
David Bebbington
Integral
to this field of study is the Bebbington quadrilateral. Published in 1989,
David Bebbington’s scholarly monograph on Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A
History from the 1730s to the 1980s opens with a seminal chapter describing the
distinguishing marks of evangelical religion: conversionism, the need for a
change of life by the new birth; activism, the propagation of the Gospel in
evangelistic and social effort; Biblicism, the centrality of the Bible in
private devotion and public worship; and crucicentrism, a distinctive emphasis
upon the atoning sacrifice of Christ upon the cross (see pp. 1–17).
His
definition should not be taken as constitutive of evangelicalism in all its
multifaceted forms, much less as an evangelical credo, but simply as denoting
some key marks of evangelical religion for the purpose of historical
identification. In other words, evangelicals will be recognisable throughout
history by their distinctive concern for the conversion of sinners, the
importance Gospel and social mission, the centrality of the Bible in worship
and devotion, and the preaching of Christ crucified.
Other
scholars have weighed in with possible definitions of evangelicalism – though
none have been as influential or as convenient as Bebbington’s quadrilateral.
Two in particular come to mind: Timothy Larsen and W. R. Ward.
Timothy Larsen
Timothy Larsen
In his
introductory chapter to The Cambridge Companion to Evangelical Theology (2007),
Timothy Larsen defines an evangelical as: (1) an orthodox Protestant, (2) in
the tradition emerging from 18th century international revival networks
associated with John Wesley (1703–91) and George Whitefield (1714–70), (3) who
has a particular regard for the Bible as the divinely inspired word of God; (4)
who emphasises the atoning work of Christ upon the Cross as the way of
reconciliation with God; (5) and who believes the work of the Holy Spirit is
essential to bring about conversion, new birth, fellowship with God, and a
changed life of service to God and others, especially in the task of
propagating to Gospel to the world (see pp. 1–14).
Clearly
Larsen’s definition lacks the brevity and memorability of Bebbington’s
quadrilateral, but it does offer a definition of evangelicalism rooted in
traditions emerging from the transatlantic revivals of the 18th century, as
well as providing deeper insight into key aspects of evangelical theology such
as the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. All the same, the special
marks already highlighted by Bebbington – the Bible, the Cross, Conversion, and
Evangelism – are clearly evident in ‘the Larsen pentagon’.
W. R. Ward
W. R. Ward
In Early
Evangelicalism: A Global Intellectual History, 1670–1789 (2006), W. R. Ward
offers a unique and deeply scholarly perspective on the intellectual history of
early evangelicalism, exploring some of the more esoteric and mystical
dimensions of evangelical spirituality. Ward suggests six themes or
characteristics in the formative and early development of evangelicalism from
1670 to 1789: a close association with mysticism, small-group religion,
deferred eschatology, experimental conversionism, anti-Aristotelianism and
opposition to system building, and a belief in the religious vitality of nature
(p. 4). While this hexagon of themes may sound unusual to modern evangelicals
at first, they nonetheless become apparent in the careful study of early
evangelical intellectual history.
Tendencies
toward mysticism, for example, may be found in Moravian hymnody or in the
poetry of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Ann Griffiths (1776–1805). Small
groups – Bible studies, society meetings, and the Welsh seiadau – clearly
represent important aspects of intense group devotion common to evangelicals,
not only in formative periods but through to modern day cell-groups, prayer
meetings, and courses exploring the basics of Christianity. By deferred
eschatology, Ward is referring to various signs needing to be fulfilled before
the return of Christ, providing breathing space for mission and fulfilment of
divine promises, especially (but not exclusively) taking the form of
post-millennialism in which religious revivals inaugurating worldwide renewal
or a millennium will precede the return of Christ.
Experimental
conversionism ties in with Bebbington’s quadrilateral – not only did
evangelicals stress the importance of conversion, but tested for signs of
authenticity, piety, and devotion, and explored the nature and meaning of
conversion experimentally in small groups through sharing, catechism, and
testimony. Anti-Aristotelianism and opposition to system-building is arguably
the most difficult to grasp. It is significant that evangelicalism’s greatest
theologian – Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) – never wrote a systematic body of
divinity, despite writing extensive treatises on theological topics. Perhaps
the idea of anti-Aristotelianism also ties in with evangelical mysticism,
suggesting neo-platonic influences on early evangelical spirituality. While
vitalism may not immediately appear as an evangelical distinctive, the re-enchantment
of nature is clearly an important theme in the typology of Jonathan Edwards – a
cosmology emphasising the continual creative presence of God in the natural
world, rather than deistic notions of a clockwork Newtonian universe.
Ultimate
Identity in Christ
The
definitions offered by Bebbington, Larsen, and Ward should perhaps correct
hasty generalisations in the political commentariat concerning evangelicals.
Clearly the Bible, conversion, mission, and the cross are far more central to
evangelical identity, along with the various other marks mentioned above, than
any political considerations. In the final analysis, most evangelicals will
define themselves in relation to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the
evangel incarnate. Indeed, the words of the Apostle Paul may rightly be
considered as the motto of authentic evangelical religion: ‘For I have
determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ (1
Corinthians 2:2).
References
David
Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the
1980s (London, 1989).
Timothy
Larsen, ‘Defining and locating evangelicalism’, in Timothy Larsen & Daniel
J. Treier (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Evangelical Theology (Cambridge,
2007), pp. 1–14.
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