Why do many evangelical protestants not describe themselves as "protestants"

[KathleenGee]

I was reading the early life of composer Mendelssohn during the time when he met his beautiful wife.

They were looking for a church to marry, and noting how all those who were no longer Catholic calling themselves ‘Evangelicals’. Martin Luther, I believe, was wanting a church focused on the thrust of Evangelism as found in Acts, the dynamism in response to the Church ambient in his time.

The Mendelssohn couple decided to marry in a French Reform Church and like Christians today, expressed their reserve and dismay of the experimentation and excesses of their times in the various denominations, this back in the early 1820-1833 period in Germany.

Luther gives me the impression he did not delve into the charisms and saints of the mendicant orders that exist to this very day, who have mission to being church builders, speaking primarily now of the Franciscans and Dominicans. Italy’s spirituality is primarily Franciscan, humane and focused on Christ’s humanity, their posture and service as a humble servant and a troubador of peace and joy.

St. Francis is among my most favorite of saints.

 

[WildCatholic]

THIS

This this this.

As a former protestant evangelical, this.

Well, they do, its just the history in the bible. But i’ll agree that they know nothing about church history after the bible

 

[KathleenGee]

That is the great theological flaw of American Evangelism in that it totally rejects the study history of Christianity.

If they did, perhaps we would be more united, not in words but in practice and prayer.

 

[Cat]

I never knew that about Bill Bright. I knew he was the founder of Crew and thats it. However, I worry that this openness is an unintentional trick to confuse other christians to join them. I will say though that many of my friends were accepting and never really were against my faith as far as I know.

Different Bill Bright!!

Google Dr. Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ

 

[InigoMontoya]

So why do evangelical denominations use only Christian when referring to themselves.

Not all consider their origins from the protestant reformation.

Others consider the notion irrelevant, as they’re Christians first.

Do they want to misinform people that they are the only true christians. Do they have a lot of disregard for their protestant history?

Most don’t do so as a matter of misinforming people, at least IMO. Nor do most consider themselves, or their official denomination to be the only true Christians.

Some don’t consider their history to stem from the protestant reformation. Others consider the Roman Catholic Church simply to be another Christian Denomination, or it’s equivalency. Hence, it being a bit irrelevant to imply they’re protesting from it.

Some theological systems, denominations, or sects do considers themselves the only true Christians. I would state that they’re the minority though.

Or do they just feel they’ve moved beyond the whole Catholic protestant thing, even if they still are protestant? Anyone who can tell me please help

I would say that’s the case, IMO, for the bulk of Christian Churches.

 

[Mike_SoCal]

Evangelicals see themselves as the continuation of the 1st century New Testament Church. Protestants are those who rejected the Roman Catholic Church.

Evangelicals don’t view the RCC as the original church begun with Peter but as a denominational church begun in the 4th century. They see Jesus as the rock of the church based on what Peter said not Peter himself.

Matt 16: 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,** and on this rock I will build my church

Evangelical churches vary some but for the most part concentrate on local congregations of believers. These churches are led by a Pastor (Bishop). Their mission is to carry out the Great Commission of Christ: Mark 16:15-16 NIV

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Many Evangelical churches are independent, some have affiliations, some have large corporate structures similar to protestant churches.**

 

[JonNC]

Evangelicals see themselves as the continuation of the 1st century New Testament Church. Protestants are those who rejected the Roman Catholic Church.

Evangelicals don’t view the RCC as the original church begun with Peter but as a denominational church begun in the 4th century. They see Jesus as the rock of the church based on what Peter said not Peter himself.

“Incoming!!!”

Jon

 

[jmcrae]

Because there form of church was the same when people walked with dinosaurs less than 5,000 years ago

At least that is what I was told when I was an evangelical

That’s hilarious - especially since New Testament Christianity is full of Apostles, and Deacons, and Bishops, and structure and rules and rituals.

 

[JRKH]

“Incoming!!!”

Jon

Thanks Jon - - I needed that…

Peace
James

 

[jmcrae]

Evangelicals see themselves as the continuation of the 1st century New Testament Church.

I would want to have them show me where the continuity happens. The closest anyone ever got was to try to say that they “continued” through the various heresies - but when I showed them what those heresies were teaching, and how they were teaching in opposition to each other as well as to the Church, they backed off and I never heard from them again.

Protestants are those who rejected the Roman Catholic Church.

What if to reject the Church is to reject Christ? (Acts 9:4)

Evangelicals don’t view the RCC as the original church begun with Peter but as a denominational church begun in the 4th century. They see Jesus as the rock of the church based on what Peter said not Peter himself.

I’d want them to explain why Jesus named him “Peter” (a rock) then it makes no apparent sense to say, “You are A Rock, and on this rock I will build my Church,” if there is no connection between him being named that, and the Church which is being founded on some different rock that isn’t anywhere in the sentence at all. (Keep in mind that up to that moment, he was called Simon; not Peter - Jesus is renaming him, which signifies that he is the leader of a New Covenant, same as when Abram was changed to Abraham, and Jacob was changed to Israel.)

Matt 16: 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,** and on this rock I will build my church**

 

[Zooey]

There have been a couple of good answers. American evangelicals perhaps see few ties between their faith the reformers, particularly the Lutheran ones (perhaps moreso to Calvin from a distance). And the fact is, as pismopol said, the term protestant is archaic, and lacks accuracy in current usage.
If anything, they are most likely correct when they claim not to be protestant.

Jon

What Jon said.

 

[coachkfan1]

I agree. I grew up in a small town in the deep south. There wasn’t a Catholic Church, but there were 15 churches in this town and not one traffic light. I didn’t know anything about Church history until I did my own research. I was never told the Catholic Church was wrong. I was always told, “they are just different” You can’t really have an anti-Catholic view when there aren’t any around.

Yes, I am from a similar background and I agree with this statement.

 

[mark_a]

Yes—I’m an Evangelical Christian,

Hello.

After years of trying to figure it out, and I even started a thread about it once, I still don’t know what an Evangelical Christian is. Can you help me?

 

[AbideWithMe]

Hello.

After years of trying to figure it out, and I even started a thread about it once, I still don’t know what an Evangelical Christian is. Can you help me?

Mark, thanks for asking an Evangelical Christian to answer about Evangelicals.

Wikipedia has a good article under “Evangelicalism”. I’ll post a link and a few quotes from it in the morning. (I have a bad cold and I just woke up to drink some water and orange juice.)

One particularly North America, fairly modern definition emphasizes Evangelicals as a middle ground between (in our view) too-separating, world-condemning fundamentalists and the liberal Mainline churches which may not affirm basic tenets of Christianity. (However, there are certainly some Mainline churches that do retain central Christian beliefs—the Episcopalian, Anglican, and Lutheran posters here are examples of that. And there are Evangelicals within the Mainline churches, sometimes in very important positions—Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby is Evangelical-friendly.)

That’s just one way to define Evangelicals, though. I’ll try to cover a few more definitions in the morning.

Itwin, if he’s around, can give a good answer, too.

 

[AbideWithMe]

Well, they do, its just the history in the bible. But i’ll agree that they know nothing about church history after the bible

That is the great theological flaw of American Evangelism in that it totally rejects the study history of Christianity.

If they did, perhaps we would be more united, not in words but in practice and prayer.

Kathleen, I recognize that you often try to post charitably. But, these statements are so false that I feel I have to say something. This seems to be a common misconception here.

To give just a quick bit of online evidence that Evangelicals do not reject the study of Christian history, one of the most extensive websites to find early Christian writings is Christian Classics Ethereal Library ((CCEL), which is hosted by Calvin College, an evangelical liberal arts college in Michigan.

Dr. Bruce Shelley and Mark Noll, both Evangelicals, have written popular books on Christian history. I was introduced to the writings of the Early Church Fathers as a teenager in an Evangelical church. A later Evangelical pastor urged me to read the works of the great Catholic and Orthodox mystics.

Sure, there are Evangelicals who are mostly interested in present day devotional helps. Students can go to the same school and come away with different amounts of knowledge; some Evangelicals have little interest in history of any sort, or they may simply not like to read denser material, and so Christian history isn’t of interest to them.

And to be fair, I’ve known plenty of Catholics who have little knowledge of Christian history.

 

[Darryl1958]

More and more, I tend to identify myself as Christian too. Once it is noted how politics drove the major divisions of Christianity much more than doctrinal differences, what is different becomes less and less important.

 

[ltwin]

Hello.

After years of trying to figure it out, and I even started a thread about it once, I still don’t know what an Evangelical Christian is. Can you help me?

ltwin, if he’s around, can give a good answer, too.

Hey AbideWithMe!

In addition to all that’s been said by AbideWithMe, I would add that (in contemporary usage as distinguished from the historical usages) evangelicals are those Protestants who

1. would be able to completely agree with the main propositions of the Protestant Reformation: the primacy of Scripture, justification by grace alone through faith alone, and the priesthood of all believers.
2. are usually literal in their interpretation of the Bible (i.e. if the Bible said Jesus was born of a virgin, they believe it actually happened).
3. believe that a conscious conversion experience (what is called being born again, from which derives the label “born-again Christian”) is essential. This is non-negotiable. Evangelicals can and do (such as evangelical Anglicans) believe in infant baptism; however, all evangelicals agree that true conversion is a must.
4. put a high priority on actively spreading the Gospel at home and abroad. They believe the Great Commission was given to the whole church and it is ultimately the central life purpose of every Christian to spread the Gospel by word and deed. It’s not optional and needs to be a priority for every Christian.
5. believe that the Church is made up of all born-again Christians and is not limited to one particular visible church or denomination.

In America, evangelicals tend to fall into two main divisions. One is the Reformed, Calvinistic, Presbyterian evangelicals. These tend to be academically heavy on formal doctrine and until recently were very anti-Charismatic. The other is the Arminian Wesleyans, Holiness, Pentecostals. The latter group tends to be more perfectionistic and charismatic.

Revivalism has been a feature of both branches; however, at this time I think the Pentecostal types tend to display the more revivalistic type of evangelicalism. Reformed and Wesleyan evangelicals have an awkward relationship. Both are evangelicals, but just have different ways of being so.

Evangelicalism has been a feature of American Protestantism from the very beginning. High water marks of evangelical history in the United States are the First and Second Great Awakenings. Research the history of these nation shaking religious revivals to get a feel for American style evangelicalism.

 

[cargills112]

I have to agree with one thing. evangelical protestants mostly lack the knowledge about modern Christianity

 

[JonNC]

I have to agree with one thing. evangelical protestants mostly lack the knowledge about modern Christianity

Based on what evidence?

Jon

 

[Pedro_1987]

So why do evangelical denominations use only Christian when referring to themselves.Do they want to misinform people that they are the only true christians. Do they have a lot of disregard for their protestant history? Or do they just feel they’ve moved beyond the whole Catholic protestant thing, even if they still are protestant? Anyone who can tell me please help

In about 99% of cases, it’s not an intentional lying, but rather, they simply believe they are the true church. I hate to generalize, but the more “evangelical Christians” I meet, the more I realize they’re not the most educated of individuals regarding their church. At least I met didn’t even know what the word Protestant meant. Many of them I have talked to are under the impression that it was the Catholic Church that changed everything. Their perception of history is distorted to say the least.

It doesn’t seem to be any malice against Catholicism though. They simply have been brainwashed by previous generations and doing what they perceive as right.