Evangelicalism, when viewed through a socio-historical lens, is a fluid, trans-denominational Protestant movement, marked by divergence and lacking clear boundaries-an elusive sociological construct that resists precise categorization, desipe what scholars like Bebbington suggest. This approach reduces Evangelicalism to a broad cultural or social phenomenon, which is unhelpful in defining the term. In contrast, a biblical-theological method defines Evangelicalism based on the etymology of euangelion (Greek for "good news"). In this view, to be evangelical is simply to be Christian, faithfully centered on the gospel as revealed in Scripture. This approach, championed by theologians like J.I. Packer, emphasizes core commitments to the authority of Scripture and essential gospel truths. Packer argued that this is the truest sense of being evangelical, aligning it with historical, orthodox Christianity rather than reducing it to a socio-cultural construct.
Evangelicalism, when viewed through a socio-historical lens, is a fluid, trans-denominational Protestant movement, marked by divergence and lacking clear boundaries-an elusive sociological construct that resists precise categorization, desipe what scholars like Bebbington suggest. This approach reduces Evangelicalism to a broad cultural or social phenomenon, which is unhelpful in defining the term.
In contrast, a biblical-theological method defines Evangelicalism based on the etymology of euangelion (Greek for "good news"). In this view, to be evangelical is simply to be Christian, faithfully centered on the gospel as revealed in Scripture. This approach, championed by theologians like J.I. Packer, emphasizes core commitments to the authority of Scripture and essential gospel truths. Packer argued that this is the truest sense of being evangelical, aligning it with historical, orthodox Christianity rather than reducing it to a socio-cultural construct.