EVANGELICALISM: DECLINE DOESN’T ALWAYS IMPLY FAULT

 

 

One author argued that evangelicalism is dying because of its rigidity and certainty. I responded:

“You are correct in your assessment of the rigidity of evangelicalism. However, there are many things that require rigidity like our commitment to:

1.               Truth

2.               Love

3.               Justice

4.               Honesty

5.               Integrity

6.               And our families and neighbors.

There is also the need for certainty that:

1.               There is a right and wrong, like genocide and rape are wrong.

2.               Without certainty, we cannot stand against oppression, put our lives on the line, and even resist falsehoods as you are certain you are doing.

It is certainty that prods us evangelicals out of our comfort zones to live sacrificially and to love the unlovable. It is the rejection of certainty that narrows our lives to merely immediate gratification, pleasures, and distractions.

Truth should not be decided by vote or by popular consent. If evangelism is dying, it doesn’t mean that we are at fault, no more than Jesus’ death meant that He had done something deserving of death.”