The Bible Nerd

I grew up during the heyday of the Religious Right. Ralph Reed and the gang had triumph after triumph with Ronald Reagan and the two George Bush’s. Tons of money was raised, and awareness of political issues was brought to the eyes of the Evangelical church. There were even pastors running for presidential office! Being a Republican who emulated Alex P. Keaton (Family Ties reference there, sorry), I was young and was swept up in all the excitement. I graduated with a political science degree, and it seemed like Christianity was retaking America. Then, we all woke up. Abortion law? Never repealed. Same sex marriage? Gaining ground. Morality in politics? Anyone remember Bill Clinton?

In the midst of all of this, I have struggled to escape the opinion that many non Christians have that all Evangelicals are Fundamentalists (in the most negative, Jerry Falwell sense of the word). Bible thumping, intolerant, ugly signs wearing people have often put us deep in a hole when trying to share the Gospel of Jesus. Yet, as soon as you say that you are an Evangelical Christian, some people will simply lump you into the camp who make routine guest appearances on talk shows, because the host knows they are good for at least a few outrageous comments. That is why I appreciated Roger Olson”s book How to be Evangelical without being Conservative.  Though he is a little older than I am, I connected strongly with Olson’s experience and struggle with the term “conservative”. What many of us Evangelicals mean by conservative is not necessarily what the world thinks it means.

Olson looks at several different topics and discusses how the term “conservative” has been hijacked and applied to one view of Christianity or the church that isn’t always positive. He explains that the opposing view is not “liberal” in any sense of today’s usage of that word, but rather a differing view WITHIN the Evangelical circle. I don’t agree with all of his points (other than the Bible, how many books do we totally agree with?), yet I love his approach to create a new category he calls post conservative. Yes, I know, just like with my last post on “missional”, some of you may be tired of people just adding “post” to a term and acting like it is a cool new word (post modern, post evangelical, postman… opps, not the last one).

In the book, he also clarifies what he views as the defining characteristics of the term “evangelical”, which he backs up with church history and personal experience. Though I have called myself an Evangelical for years, I don’t think I thought in detail about what that actually meant. To me, it was just a way to say I was not part of an older, mainstream denomination. I could lump all the “non denominational” churches into this one category. In the hopes of seeing greater unity in the body of Christ, I believe definitions like his are critical to establish the foundational beliefs, while separating out the secondary ones.

I realize that some people will fear or hate this book, seeing some of Olson’s comments as “liberal” or non patriotic to his own country. He is definitely not getting invited to any of the religious right’s conferences, nor will many churches in the south of the United States feel comfortable with some of his conclusions. However, I still recommend his book to get you thinking about labels that both we and non Christians use such as evangelical and conservative. I still am a strong believer in Christians voting, being involved in social and political issues, and caring about the health of their nations. We should squeeze everything we can out of a democracy for Jesus (if you live in one). We do need to take care though that the face we put forward to the world isn’t one full of hateful, prejudicial, or judgmental voices. The Gospel is good news after all.

Blog side note: Speaking of book recommendations, I am currently beginning work on a book of my own entitled “The Next Reformation”. Due to this endeavor, I won’t be able to post as much on this blog as I have in the past. I know there is nothing sadder than checking a blog and seeing the last post was in 2007. I promise to keep plugging away and do at least one per week, and I appreciate so much everyone who has been reading the blog and sent me encouraging notes. Let us all continue to be hungry for God’s Word and press on to study, apply, and teach its riches to the world.