Stephen Nichols ponders the continued usefulness of the term “Evangelical” at the Reformation21 Blog:
To me being an evangelical means a couple of things. Okay, five.
1. orthodox Christology: shame on those who think Chalcedon to be too historically situated to be instructive for us today
2. the doctrine of regeneration: okay, I don’t think you need to know the date, time, and outside temperature of the moment of your conversion and have it written down in your Bible, but neither Billy Graham nor Chuck Colson invented the term Born Again
3. justification by faith alone: seems to me that this is indispensible, and I think you can make a pretty good case that it mattered to evangelicals right up to the current moment
4. a high view of Scripture, nay inerrancy: please keep the word inerrancy, especially those out there promoting warmer receptions of Barth
5. cultural engagement: this means persuasive gospel/kingdom proclamation, something you just can’t do if you’re too withdrawn; it also means stewardship/cultivation of creation, which is to say that “tending the garden” glorifies God and fulfills our purpose.
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