It seems like almost every week we are hearing about a new scandal within evangelicalism. And it seems like evangelicals are more prone to provide excuses or distance themselves from these events, often writing them off as anomalies, instead of allowing them to provoke introspection. Here are 6 questions that evangelicals should be asking themselves for introspection.
1. Why are so many people leaving evangelical churches?
The answer to this question is complicated as the reasons why people leave vary. Despite that, some general themes that those leaving have in common can be observed. According to the book “The Great Dechurching”, evangelical pastor Jim Davis and writer with the Gospel Coalition Michael Graham found that religious abuse and in general moral corruption in churches have driven people away.
Although the book Dechurching was based on churches overall, moral corruption and religious abuse have been more prevalent in evangelical churches than mainline ones in recent years.
Two important objections exist that should be rejected outright. One objection addresses the language, as most surveys only poll members. Some argue that just because memberships are down does not entail that total attendance is also down.
However, this is untrue as there is a direct relationship between the two. Those who would be called “regular attenders” eventually become members. If churches were just being filled with primarily regular attendees, those people would eventually become members. If the objection were true the data would show a trend in a wave pattern demonstrating flux. Instead, the data shows a steep decline.
The second argument that is presented is that the decline is due to a generational gap. In other words, fewer younger people are attending church. This may be true but one has to ask the question, why are younger people less likely to go to church?
Dave Kinnaman, President of Barna Research, provides insight in his book Unchristian. Kinnaman shows through Barna’s research that the perception of the Church is that it is largely judgmental, homophobic, and hypocritical. Throw in all of the recent sex abuse scandals and it is not difficult to see why young people are not interested in the Church.
The bottom line is that evangelical church attendance (in general, not just members) has decreased nearly 10% in the last decade. It is important to note that this decline is happening primarily in white evangelical churches. This is unsurprising given the rise of White Christian Nationalism within evangelicalism.
Perhaps it is not the world that is enticing younger evangelicals away, as is often claimed, but something that is more internal to evangelicalism itself.
2. Why did so many evangelicals vote for Donald Trump given his propensity for violating basic Christian ethics?
Part of why people voted for Donald Trump has to do with the fact that regardless of who runs for president a certain number of Christians will almost always vote for the Republican candidate. The primary reason has to do with the issue of abortion. Abortion has been the most important voting issue for conservative Christians since the late ‘70s. This group believes that the issue of abortion is so great that they are willing to have someone in the white house like Donald Trump rather than have a Democrat who will increase pro-choice rights. It’s a choice between the lesser of two evils.
However, the primary reason has to do with the rise of White Christian Nationalism. This movement is the inevitable result of the propaganda that both conservative evangelicals and far-right politicians have instilled within their culture for years. Unfortunately, since conservatives are unwilling to undergo introspection, these things happened right under their noses.
Beyond that, what is more troubling is that Trump’s lack of ethical awareness or concern may actually represent the same unethical hypocritical tendencies that have been revealed over the last 30 years. Why these hypocritical tendencies exist is the result of deeper doctrinal issues that have to be explored further.
3. If evangelicals are mostly pro-life, why don’t we also support helping those fleeing dangerous countries?
Part of the answer to this question has to do with the propaganda spoken of in the last question. For years many conservative Republicans have touted conspiracies and false information about the nature of immigration. The relationship between immigration and crime has been debunked so many times and for so long that if individuals are not going to believe it by now, they are completely hopeless to ever see the truth.
The other aspect has to do with the inherent prejudices that are present within conservatism as a whole. If conservatives were being consistent and not cherry-picking through American history, then they would have to agree that our country was founded on diversity. The Statue of Liberty demonstrates that we have been a beacon of hope for the world. Those unwilling to admit that have to check themselves for deeper issues that exist. Too many have forgotten the words emblazoned upon her podium:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (Emphasis mine.)
4. Do I place more emphasis on the Bible than on Jesus?
The answer to this question is, yes. Most evangelicals place a greater emphasis on the Bible than they do on Jesus. Although the invention of the printing press made the Bible more available for the everyday Christian, it wasn’t until the fundamentalists of the early 20th century began speaking in terms of inerrancy (solidified in 1975 with the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy). The Bible has always held authority within Christianity but it has never had divine authority attached to it. The Bible has the type of authority that Catholics believe the Papacy has. In an ironic twist, evangelicalism has simply switched the object of that authority instead of rebelling against it.
From the numerous Bible churches to the statements of faith on many evangelical websites, which begin with the Bible instead of God, the Bible has always been more than the authority on the faith but has been the authority for the faith. Even the SBC, the largest denomination in the United States does this. With that said, those who hold to this view of the Bible will never be convinced that they view the Bible as an idol even with significant evidence to the contrary.
5. Do I show Christ’s love to those different from myself?
Part of the reason that non-Christians have such a negative view of evangelicals is because of this question. Evangelicals are notorious for pointing out the sins of other people. Even though this is one of the major things Jesus pointed out about the Pharisees and that the New Testament is clear that only God can judge (James 4:12); many evangelicals still bring out the sin card. This often happens all under the guise of truth and love. The logic goes that the Christian is expressing love through the truth of pointing out the thing that separates the non-Christian from God.
This is one of the reasons that we see very few evangelical churches or ministries coming alongside those in the LGBTQ+ community. Evangelicals have such a long history of failing to love that community that it seems ministry to them at this point is not an option. With that said, it does seem that there are specific sins that are called out above others. Usually, any perceived sexual sin gets priority. Except for Donald Trump, for which none of this applies for some reason. It is time for evangelicals to consider the possibility that on some level there may be some homophobia that needs to be explored.
With that said, even if evangelicals began to step up their ministry efforts one has to wonder whether or not this would result in attempts at “deprogramming”, instead of love.
6. Should I still support Israel if they are committing acts that seem unethical?
Many mainline Christians and non-Christians don’t understand how evangelicals can support Israel despite their consistent persecution of Palestinians. “But wait”, the evangelical retorts – “it has been the Palestinians who have been terrorizing Israel. Israel is simply protecting their country”. This common response is an echo from a longstanding argument that is about as misinformed as an argument can get and yet it persists.
The most significant reason for evangelical support for Israel has to do with the theology of dispensationalism. Dispensationalism emphasizes the prophetic tradition of the Bible and the end times they interpret that tradition to predict. In this view, Israel plays the most significant role in ushering in the end times. That means when Israel became a nation again in 1948 it was largely believed that the event kicked off the end times. Yet, here we are 75 years later without a rapture or a return of Jesus, and still support of Israel has been significantly undeterred.
In 1948 Israel did not start a new nation. They stole a nation from the Palestinians. It smacks of a similar event not too long ago when another powerful nation began the process of taking a nation away from its natives and claiming it for its own. Perhaps this issue has more to do with power than it does with God. Either way, no Christian should ever support the killing of innocent people. Ever!
Other great questions could be included here. Perhaps we can explore more of them at another time. For now, let these help evangelicals who still critically think to re-evaluate some of their beliefs and practices.
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