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The Evangelical Identity Crisis

By Jesse Carey
CBN.com Interactive Media Producer

CBN.comWhen President Bush leaves the White House next year, one of three candidates will take his place as the elected leader of the United States. But unlike the last two decades of presidential elections, one of the people vying for the chance to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office isn’t one with the broad support of the increasingly-elusive “evangelical” vote.

John McCain, the likely Republican nominee (the party long-associated with the political support of the evangelical vote), is seen as more of a moderate than his conservative predecessors, and he talks very little (at least publically) about his faith—a key characteristic of Bush-era evangelical picks.

The two Democratic candidates on the other hand, speak frequently of their Christian conviction. They even took part in once-unheard–of Faith Forum where they openly discussed the role their personal faith played in their politics. But despite their references to scripture and personal “testimonies”, neither Hillary Clinton nor Barrack Obama seem to have a lock on the coveted evangelical support.

So what happened? The group that was defined as the “evangelical” base once wielded tremendous political and social power, now seems to have waning social influence and ill-defined political preferences.

And if a new document drafted by some of evangelicalism’s most high-profile leaders is any indication, it seems that the confusion has started at the top.

Last week, the dilemma of the evangelical voter was underscored by a document signed by several notable evangelical leaders including best-selling author Max Lucado, Rev. Jack Hayford, National Association of Evangelicals President Leith Anderson, author and pastor Rick Warren and theologian Dallas Willard. The group was among the supporters of “The Evangelical Manifesto”, a 19-page document that seeks to reclaim evangelicalism and accurately define its core values.

The drafters of the manifesto say they “are troubled by the fact that the confusions and corruptions surrounding the term Evangelical have grown so deep that the character of what it means has been obscured and its importance lost” (according to the document). And what they say the word means has nothing to do with political preference.

According to the document, evangelicalism is not a political group, but rather a group of Christians who adhere to several main tenants of theology and the gospel—more specifically, “Evangelicals are Christians who define themselves, their faith, and their lives according to the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth.”

What evangelicals are not, according to the document, are “’useful idiots’ for one political party”, and it says, “Christians from both sides of the political spectrum, left as well as right, have made the mistake of politicizing faith.”

Though the document doesn’t condemn political conviction, its purpose is essentially to de-politicize the term “evangelical”. And with a list of signatures that include some of the most influential authors and pastors in American, The Evangelical Manifesto seems to reaffirm what some Christians have felt is a necessary step.

But not all evangelical leaders are supporting the statement.

Notably absent from the signatures are Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson, evangelist Billy Graham and several high-ranking Southern Baptist leaders including Dr. Albert Mohler and Dr. Richard Land, who all declined to support the statement.

On his blog, Mohler, said that though he found “elements of the document to be very appealing and elegantly composed”, ultimately he did not sign it because of several concerns, including a definition of evangelicalism that “is just not sufficient”.

Mohler also said that he feels that the wording of the document allows readers to draw too many conclusions about its veiled criticisms of Christian leaders. “When it lets loose a salvo of criticism, it is never clear who the intended target really is,” he wrote in his blog.

A spokesperson for Dr. Dobson cited a lack of racial diversity among the supporters of the document, which he felt didn’t properly represent the evangelical base.

Though the effort to rebrand the term evangelical has gotten a lot of press in the last week, a similar effort that took place last summer seemed fly under the radar. In an effort to define the term “evangelical”, a group of theologians and pastors including John Piper, D.A. Carson and Mark Driscoll, met at a 2-day conference at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School last May. The goal of “The Gospel Coalition” was to craft a statement of core beliefs that also seeks define evangelicalism.

And though their conference talked little about politics and focused more on doctrine, the outcome of their meeting seemed draw a dividing line between those that may call themselves “evangelicals” and who they say the term is actually meant to describe.

The group, which largely consisted of Reformed theologians, seemed to be more concerned with drawing evangelicals back to the center on theological points in its own manifesto, “The Gospel for All of Life”, than with politics (though they did say they were “troubled by the idolatry of personal consumerism and the politicization of faith”, according to the document).

Their document of beliefs focused on “drift” teachings that they say did not fall within the definition of true evangelicalism. “The Gospel for All of Life” didn’t explicitly mention any teachers or pastors in “drift” churches, but veiled references to the emerging movement and liberal interpretations of scripture made apparent that teachings were more its primary concern.

On his blog, Mark Driscoll said that the group’s purpose was to clarify what being an evangelical is all about. “The hope was to redefine a clear center for evangelicalism more akin to that previously articulated by men such as Francis Schaeffer, John Stott and Billy Graham.”

But what is yet to be seen, is that with all the clarifying and defining of the term “evangelical”, has the real meaning of the word been even further blurred?

Leaders still seemed to be split on which statements most articulately define the purpose and the beliefs of evangelical Christians and what role Christians, and evangelicals, should have in politics. And until that unity is achieved, the single-minded evangelical core of the past may continue to suffer from an ideological identity crisis.

Send Jesse your comments on this article.

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Jesse Carey is the Interactive Media Producer for CBN.com. With a background in entertainment and pop-culture writing, he offers his insight on music, movies, TV, trends and current events from a unique perspective that examines what implications the latest news has on Christians.

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