What is Evangelicalism?
CHINESE EVANGELIC CHURCH IN MADRID SUR (South Madrid) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In the sixteenth century Martin Luther spoke of the Protestant church as the Evangelical Church . The German adjective evangelisch means ‘evangelical, Protestant, Lutheran’.4 In many places in Europe and Russia today, ‘evangelical’ refers to any Christian who is not Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox . According to the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals ( ISAE ), ‘evangelical’ is defined three ways. First, ‘evangelical’ refers to Christians who affirm certain doctrines and practices. Historian David Bebbington thus identifies four evangelical doctrines: • Biblicism: the Bible is the only authoritative spiritual guide; • Crucicentrism: Christ’s death on the cross is the heart of faith and life; • Conversionism: repentance from sin and faith in Christ are essential to salvation; • Activism: Christians must work together to spread the gospel to all nations.5 J