Should We Can the Word "Evangelical"?

I remember taking a course in college on the history of modern English. I was surprised to learn how much our English language has changed over the years and how dynamic it really is.

For example I learned that the word “marshal” back in the 17th century was defined as a “cleaner of horse stables”. I am sure Marshal Matt Dillon would have appreciated that bit of trivia.

The word “pot” for many of us was what mother cooked her homemade soup in but I am sure Willie Nelson has another use for the term today. There are many more examples of how words change in meaning but I hope these two will suffice to prove my point:

The English language is not static; it changes and evolves over time to be sure.

So here we are nearing the end of the 2016 Presidential election and one of the questions we might want to ask ourselves is this: 

Is it time to dispense with the word “Evangelical” to describe a good portion of American Christianity?

In other words, does the word “Evangelical” have any real meaning these days? Biblical meaning that is?

Let us assume that if we define an “Evangelical” as one who espouses high moral standards, who stands firmly against Secular Humanism, who instructs young people to abstain from sex until married, is a proponent of healthy family and marital values, whose moral compass is pointed in the right direction, then I would suggest in light of this Presidential election it is time for us to can the word altogether.

Quite frankly I no longer know what it means to be an Evangelical. I am confused and like many I am conflicted over whether I want to identify with being an Evangelical. I apologize to my Evangelical friends but this is the place in which I find myself today.

Perhaps it is time to find another word to describe those of us who have invested our lives in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

But wait a minute, isn’t that what Evangelical means: Good News? Gospel? 

In the Gospel of Luke Jesus is reported to have said that God sent him to proclaim the “Good News” or “Gospel” to the poor. Good News and Gospel come from the same Greek word, evangelion, from which we get the term “Evangelical” and "Evangelist".

So an Evangelical is one who has embraced the Gospel or Good News of Jesus Christ. So what is the Good News for us today? It is a term describing what Jesus came to do for the world, to free us all from all sorts of bondage (a new Exodus): Sin, economic, addiction, political, and sexual bondage.

He came to liberate us from those things that imprison us and rob us all of being fully human. Anything that places us in any sort of bondage is indeed antichrist. This is perhaps the meaning behind Jesus’s words: 

“The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”

Of course this is what it means to be an Evangelical: One who has trusted in the saving and liberating work of Jesus’s death and resurrection in order that one might live a life free of all sorts of bondage (not to mention the eternal life benefit). Being Evangelical is to have had one’s humanity restored by God’s grace.

But I am not so confident that when the word “Evangelical” is used today folks hear this particular meaning. Today the word might better be associated with the anti-abortion movement or with a nationalist movement or with a Conservative movement. It is rarely used today with reference to Liberals even though 16th Century Evangelicals were considered liberal (Erasmus for example).

You see, the word has changed its meaning more than once. Rather than evolving however, it seems to have devolved since at least 1980 (the years the Regan Revolution and the Religious Right joined forces).

So with that said, I no longer will refer to myself as an “Evangelical”. Further, I won't even refer to myself as a “Progressive Evangelical.” There has to be a better word to describe those of us who have staked out our lives on the truth of the Gospel—for now it can no longer be “Evangelical”.

I am afraid that many so-called Evangelicals today have sold their soul for a pot of political pottage. They have abandoned many of their sacred values for the sake of embracing frightening political philosophies that comes nowhere close to identifying with the Gospel. They have sold out their Evangelical birthright for the sake of winning a political battle that cares very little about that birthright. Time will bear this painful truth out. 

In the post 2016 election cycle Evangelicals are going to be faced with some hard decisions regarding their identity as Christ followers. This isn’t going to be easy and could in fact be quite painful (assuming some soul work is done in the first place).

I love the Biblical term Evangelical. But for now I think the healthiest thing we could do is quit using it for a season—a season that will cleanse and heal it from its unfortunate foray into American politics.. For now it is just too toxic.

I am sure time will heal it to some degree. Perhaps a generation will have to pass for it to be resurrected and used in its truly Biblical sense. But for now it has devolved into something I personally don't recognize.

So please do not refer to me as an "Evangelical Christian" because as of now I no longer fit that description.