There is perhaps no designation within Christianity that is so ubiquitous but yet so difficult to define as that of Evangelical. It is simultaneously bandied about as a term of derision, as a badge of honor, as a litmus test for orthodoxy and as a synonym for fanaticism.
Perhaps the most widely accepted scholarly definition of Evangelical is that of David Bebbington, who defines it in terms of four “isms”: conversionism, activism, biblicism and crucicentrism. (more…)