{"id":10065,"date":"2010-11-03T05:36:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-03T10:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/?p=10065"},"modified":"2010-11-03T06:48:49","modified_gmt":"2010-11-03T11:48:49","slug":"evangelicalism-one-more-time-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what \u201clegalism\u201d means: it refers to anything that is added to the gospel in such a way that it diminishes the sufficiency of our acceptance before God in Christ or diminishes the power of the Spirit to guide us. Legalism is not a rule; it is not disciplined actions. It has to do with \u201csubtraction by addition\u201d: adding something to the center so much that Christ and the Spirit are diminished.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It all has to do with \u201cacceptance\u201d and \u201crejection.\u201d Legalism is designed to tell one person \u201cyou\u2019re not in\u201d and another person \u201cyou are in.\u201d That\u2019s how it works.<\/p>\n

One more biggie: Acceptance and Rejection are not superficial actions. We embody whether or not God accepts a person or rejects a person in our legalisms. Don\u2019t ever forget it: you may think you are just drawing a line in the sand for the sake of peace but what is absorbed by the excluded is \u201cI\u2019m not accepted by God\u201d and what gets even more confusing is that the line-drawers start taking on the role of God. This is exactly what James meant in James 4:11-12.<\/p>\n

Acceptance in the Christian faith is upon one basis: that the Father accepts the Son, and we are \u201cin\u201d the Son. We are not accepted on the basis of our particular behaviors, no matter how zealous or righteous or loving.<\/p>\n

Do you see these three legalisms at work? Do you see the Acceptance\/Rejection theme as central to legalism?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the 1980s, we developed three kinds of new legalisms:<\/p>\n

First, there is a political legalism<\/strong>. In the 1980s and 1990s American evangelicalism got so wedded to the Republican Party that one could easily sniff it in the air. That is, one could easily know if one was \u201cin\u201d or \u201cout\u201d on the basis of whether they wore the red tie or the blue tie.<\/p>\n

Second there is theological legalism<\/strong>, which has always been around. The newest forms of legalism are found among the NeoReformed, who have somehow managed to get complementarianism, Calvinism and young earth creationism \u2026 well, if not in it\u2019s very close to the inner circle. If you don\u2019t think this exists, go here to see it and tell us what you see there:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/thegospelcoalition.org\/blogs\/tgc\/2010\/10\/18\/deyoung-duncan-and-mohler-whats-new-about-the-new-calvinism\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Sometimes this group sounds like Elijah who thought he alone was faithful. Hooey.<\/p>\n

I poke at these guys often, but they\u2019re hardly alone. Indeed, alongside this legalism is the progressive, emergent\/emerging form of legalism, which says you can\u2019t embrace traditional evangelical views (be they political or theological), especially something like evangelism for the purpose of salvation, if you are intelligent and \u2018with it\u2019. This is why I liked Brett McCracken\u2019s Hipster Christianity<\/em>, and the fierce reaction he got from those who see themselves as \u2018with it\u2019 showed to me he was at least pointing in the right direction about a good concern.<\/p>\n

Third is the social legalism<\/strong>. This one is odd. Evangelicalism from the 1900s to about the 1960s was more or less silent when it came to social issues. Evangelicals were intoxicated with the fear of the Social Gospel. Then in the 60s and 70s, think Jim Wallis as a young firebrand, started to get socially involved. But Jim was very much alone, and he can tell you that story. But something happened in the 90s in the most ironic of ways: when everyone was beginning to carp about right-wing evangelicalism\u2019s over indulgence in political causes (read: Republic Party and their form of political legalism), another group of evangelicals shifted more to the left politically (they joined Jim Wallis) and they began to see themselves as the Jesus Party \u2014 that is, they thought they had embraced the kingdom vision, the justice vision, the peace vision, while \u201cevangelicals\u201d were obsessed with penal substitution and going to heaven. That, too, became a form of legalism. The irony is that while progressive evangelicals were carping about right-wingers being in bed with the Republicans, they progressives climbed in bed in another room with the Democrats and are reading the liberation theologians.<\/p>\n

Now I want to point my finger at the political legalism a little more sharply, and do some finger wagging.<\/p>\n

Evangelicalism\u2019s worst move, and its potentially destructive decision, was to politicize itself in the 1980s and 1990s and use it as a litmus test of who was in and who was out. The rise of the Moral Majority, and one has to factor in folks like Francis Schaeffer and Jerry Falwell and James Kennedy and James Dobson, has been the undoing of the evangelical coalition and not just by creating a new kind of legalism. Instead of focusing on unity for the sake of mission, evangelicalism became increasingly connected to a political party (Republicans). Instead of the Lausanne Covenant, which is one of the finest evangelical theological statements ever, we\u2019ve got theological waffling and theological narrowing \u2014 instead of focusing on mission, we\u2019ve turned on one another.<\/p>\n

From the 80s on to be a true blue (or red) evangelical one had to align himself or herself with the Republican party. Or at least with overwhelmingly conservative political causes, and any variation was a sign of theological (!) drift. Think of Richard Cizik.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t think this politicization was a major movement among evangelicals, I suggest reading Robert Putnam and David Campbell: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us<\/a>\"\"<\/em><\/strong>. They see the 60s as the Shock, and the Aftershock being the rise of conservative evangelicalism and its becoming a political movement. [More about Putnam and Campbell in a future series.]<\/p>\n

The irony of this connection was that it led to the very thing evangelicalism was designed to shed. What\u2019s that? Evangelicalism (read Neo-Evangelicalism) arose in the 1950s as a protest against Fundamentalism and its many legalisms and anti-intellectualism, and it\u2019s concern was to get beyond the bickering to focus on the essentials in order to get on with the task of world mission in an intellectually respectable fashion. The spokespersons for this were Billy Graham and John Stott and CT. They fought for unity for a nobler cause; I don\u2019t see many today taking up that vision. I for one am profoundly grateful for what CT is still doing \u2014 it still speaks for the Big Tent.<\/p>\n

Now the irony: the protest against legalism that became evangelicalism led to a politicization that has included all sorts of opportunities for new legalisms. One has to subscribe to a list of non-essentials in order to be in good standing.<\/p>\n

Those legalisms today are seen in politics and in an increasing number of evangelical institutions going legalistic with doctrines and ideas that should have no part when it comes to defining essentials. Furthermore, this preoccupation with minor matters (non-essentials) leads to the further fracturing of evangelicalism. And this fracturing often being expressed as the only way to \u201csave evangelicalism.\u201d It\u2019s actually undermining its robustness.<\/p>\n

Evangelicalism, therefore, is now officially up for grabs.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what \u201clegalism\u201d means: it refers to anything that is added to the gospel in such a way that it diminishes the sufficiency of our acceptance before God in Christ or diminishes the power of the Spirit to guide us. Legalism […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[17067],"class_list":["post-10065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelicalism","tag-evangelicalism"],"yoast_head":"\nEvangelicalism, One More Time 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what "legalism" means: it refers to anything that is added to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what "legalism" means: it refers to anything that is added to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-11-03T10:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-11-03T11:48:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/files\/2010\/11\/Screen-shot-2010-10-30-at-11.13.44-AM-300x238.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/\",\"name\":\"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-11-03T10:36:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-11-03T11:48:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what \\\"legalism\\\" means: it refers to anything that is added to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than fifty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/author\/scotmcknight\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2","description":"Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what \"legalism\" means: it refers to anything that is added to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2","og_description":"Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what \"legalism\" means: it refers to anything that is added to","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/","og_site_name":"Jesus Creed","article_published_time":"2010-11-03T10:36:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2010-11-03T11:48:49+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/files\/2010\/11\/Screen-shot-2010-10-30-at-11.13.44-AM-300x238.jpg"}],"author":"Scot McKnight","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Scot McKnight","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/","name":"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-11-03T10:36:00+00:00","dateModified":"2010-11-03T11:48:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252"},"description":"Since the 1980s evangelicalism has developed new legalisms. Before I go there, let me define what \"legalism\" means: it refers to anything that is added to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/11\/03\/evangelicalism-one-more-time-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Evangelicalism, One More Time 2"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/","name":"Jesus Creed","description":"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252","name":"Scot McKnight","description":"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than fifty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/author\/scotmcknight\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}