Evangelical Manifesto Released

Today at the National Press Club, a group of 80 Christian leaders signed on and released An Evangelical Manifesto: A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment.  Justin Taylor wrote a summary, and Joe at EO also commented.  I agree with Joe on this point:

It is not the term "evangelical" that the world despises but the beliefs behind the word. Call yourself whatever you want--'post-evangelical' is my favorite--but the minute you tell the world that homosexual behavior is sinful, that killing infants in the womb is wrong, and that man has an inherent dignity because we are made in the image of God then you can expect to have that label spat upon too.

How many labels are will willing to abandon before we finally realize it is our identity that we are shirking?

Me for one, I'm proud to wear the label.

Comments

[Louis]

The reason the world despises you is because you come off as self-righteous, smug, judgemental, rigid, hypocritical, theocratic Pharisees. And, yes, you're proud of it, forgetting that pride goeth before a fall.

[Silver Hallide]

The reason the world despises you is because you come off as self-righteous, smug, judgmental, rigid, hypocritical, theocratic Pharisees. And, yes, you're proud of it, forgetting that pride goeth before a fall.

Louis not all evangelicals are like that. However, many (including a couple that I know personally) are indeed like that. So sure of themselves, unable to take advice from others, always right.

So when they fall and make huge mistakes it is so glaring to those that watch to see it knowing it could have been avoided by being more open, more loving, and yes more willing to listen to others advice...occasionally take it too.

People are not infallible, all knowing, and always right. Those that live that way in their lives are setting themselves for a huge fall regardless of religious beliefs.

I have see it happen so many times.

- S

[seeker]

Some people may be hated for that. Of course, I don't expect worldly people, especially gays, to have any idea of what hate really is, since, like many knee-jerk liberals, they think that anyone who disagrees with them is hateful.

And believe it or not, there are legitimate reasons to be hated, and the simple biblical answer is, those in the world love sin (esp. if they 'don't believe in it,' a classic evidence that they are entirely deceived by sin, Hebrews 3:13), and hate you if you condemn it:

John 15:17-19
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

1 John 3:11-13
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

[Louis]

Yeah, right, we gays have no idea what hate really is. Not!

The world doesn't despise you because you follow Jesus, but because you are a bunch of smug, self-righteous, bigoted, *ssholes (see above for more qualities).

[seeker]

Yeah, you said that.