Evangelical Confession 2024

[cpwill]

I need to think through all the pieces of this later to make sure I'm not missing anything, but, after my first interaction with this, I like it very much.

Here's hoping we can start providing a sense of shared mission, structure, and confidence to those pastors and other Christians within the Evangelical movement who feel overwhelming by those demanding that we seek shelter in chariots from Egypt.

ONE: We give our allegiance to Jesus Christ alone.​

We affirm that Jesus Christ is God's Son and the only head of the Church (Colossians 1:18). No political ideology or earthly authority can claim the authority that belongs to Christ (Philippians 2:9-11)....
We reject the false teaching that anyone other than Jesus Christ has been anointed by God as our Savior, or that a Christian's loyalty should belong to any political party....

TWO: We will lead with love not fear.​

We affirm that God's saving power revealed in Jesus is motived by his love for the world and not anger ....
We reject the stoking of fears and the use of threats as an illegitimate form of godly motivation ....

THREE: We submit to the truth of Scripture.​

We affirm that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, authoritative for faith and practice ...
We reject the misuse of holy Scripture to sanction a single political agenda, provoke hatred, or sow social divisions ...

FOUR: We believe the Gospel heals every worldly division.​

We affirm the unity of all believers in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:28), and that through his sacrificial death on the cross, he has removed the barriers that divide us ...
We reject any attempt to divide the Church, which is the Body of Christ, along partisan, ethnic, or national boundaries ...

FIVE: We are committed to the prophetic mission of the Church.​

We affirm that Christ's kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), therefore the Church necessarily stands apart from earthly political powers so that it may speak prophetically to all people, the society, and governing authorities.....
We reject both the call for the Church to withdraw from societal issues out of fear of political contamination....

SIX: We value every person as created in God's image.​

We affirm that all people bear God's image and possess inherent and infinite worth....
We reject any messages that employ dehumanizing rhetoric, that attempt to restrict who is worthy of God's love, or that impose limitations on the command to "love your neighbor" that Christ himself removed.

SEVEN: We recognize godly leaders by their character.​

We affirm that the character of both our political and spiritual leaders matter. Within the Church, we seek to follow spiritual leaders those who display evidence of the Holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus warned us to be on guard against false teachers who come as wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15). These voices will tempt us with flattery, bad doctrine, and messages we want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). They serve the false idols of power, wealth, and strength rather than the true God....

We reject the lie that a leader's power, popularity, or political effectiveness is confirmation of God's favor, or that Christians are permitted to ignore the teachings of Christ to protect themselves with worldly power.​

 

[cpwill]

I would be interested, @Slartibartfast, particularly in knowing where you and I overlap on this, if you are willing to read through the fuller version.

 

[Slartibartfast]

I would be interested, @Slartibartfast, particularly in knowing where you and I overlap on this, if you are willing to read through the fuller version.

I don’t consider myself to be an evangelical, it’s way too political a label to describe a religion that is inherently not political. On top of that, people who claim that label are performing a lot of hurt and abuse these days.

I will read through it and give it some thought though.

 

[BirdinHand]

There is a small Baptist church in the next town over that seems they'd align with that sentiment.

 

[Slartibartfast]

@cpwill

After reading through it. I have no real problems with any of the points, except minor stuff like point 7 using elder qualifications from Titus or Timothy as its primary support instead of the fruit of the spirit. Those kinds of things aren’t really that important when reading through this holistically though. I am good with the overall take and general scriptural support.

One concern I have is that this whole statement is a bit fluffy and I can’t get a sense of what some of them would mean in practice when daily stresses are a part of one’s day. For example, point 6 may or may not be cover to someone who is gay or has an abortion, where different churches have wildly different takes on their status. There is a lot of room for very different understandings of these principles.

Another concern is the use of the Evangelical label itself, which has been abused by religious bigots or the power hungry and now is considered a reason for people to turn away from organized religion (and that is fertile ground for a religious awakening, I believe). We now have churches that define themselves as places of healing from the intolerance from mainline churches.

 

[Metanoia]

Another concern is the use of the Evangelical label itself, which has been abused by religious bigots or the power hungry and now is considered a reason for people to turn away from organized religion (and that is fertile ground for a religious awakening, I believe). We now have churches that define themselves as places of healing from the intolerance from mainline churches.

This is THE concern. Sadly, but in fact, we must believe that Jesus could and would easily condemn then as Pharisees. Any good that they do is tainted by their submission to politics. It is not so far fetched to say that the vast majority of them could have ‘In Trump We Trust’ tattooed on their foreheads….it is just that obvious. We, of course, can hope that this will eventually lead to a great repentance…..

 

[Goshin]

I need to think through all the pieces of this later to make sure I'm not missing anything, but, after my first interaction with this, I like it very much.

Here's hoping we can start providing a sense of shared mission, structure, and confidence to those pastors and other Christians within the Evangelical movement who feel overwhelming by those demanding that we seek shelter in chariots from Egypt.

​

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ONE: We give our allegiance to Jesus Christ alone.​

<....snip...>​

Overall I am good with that. I haven't dug into particulars, where the rubber meets the road, but in broad strokes that's roughly where I am at.

I am more than a little concerned with how political so many "Evangelical" churches have become. I do not oppose having one's religious beliefs affect one's political views, far from it. It is my concern with how the politicization of churches may be a corrupting influence.... after all, politics tends towards corruption in nearly all ages and places.

"Our salvation does not lie in Washington."