Are We in a Cultural Moment Where We Have to Preserve Theology?

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Curtis barna's famous nine point test is used to define evangelicals. To be an evangelical, in the eyes of barna, you have to meet seven other conditions. These include saying that satan exists and believing jesus christ lived a sinless life on earth. The most important questions are how many evangelicals are there? And it turns out that more than 30% don't know they're evangelical.

David French and his theological wingman Curtis Chang dive into the term “evangelical”, defining it historically and discussing how it fits in the current American context. Is it really a set of religious beliefs, a set of cultural beliefs, or a set of political beliefs? How does evangelicalism compare with fundamentalism? Is evangelical a term worth salvaging for Christians, or has it become too closely tied to a political movement to retain any spiritual relevance?

Show Notes:

-The French Press: “Did Donald Trump Make the Church Great Again?”

-Pew Research Center: “More White Americans adopted than shed evangelical label during Trump presidency, especially his supporters”

-National Association of Evangelicals: “What is an Evangelical?” (including the Bebbington Quadrilateral)

-Barna: “Survey Explores Who Qualifies As an Evangelical” (including the 9-point Evangelical)

-Ryan Burge: “For White Evangelical Republicans, Approval of Trump is About Immigration more than Abortion”

-Ryan Burge: “Why ‘Evangelical’ is becoming another word for ‘Republican’”

-The French Press: “The American Crisis of Selective Empathy”