Evangelical
From Free net encyclopedia
The term evangelical has several distinct meanings:
- In its original sense, it means "belonging or related to the Gospel" (Greek: euangelion - good news) of the New Testament.
- In mainland Europe, especially in the German and Scandanavian countries, 'Evangelisch' ('Evangelical') is a general designation for churches adhering to beliefs of the Reformation (otherwise known as Protestantism) e.g. Evangelical Lutheran Church, Evangelical Reformed Church, or Evangelical Methodist Church, in contrast to Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches. In this sense, it comprises everything from a liberal state church to a conservative free church in the Baptist or Pietist tradition.
- However, in German there are now two words used which are commonly translated 'evangelical': 'evangelisch' meaning Protestant, and more narrowly the Lutheran and Reformed churches, and 'evangelikal', pertaining to evangelicalism. In Austria, the United Lutheran and Reformed Church (Evangelische Kirche in Oesterreich) claims a monopoly on the former term and has in the past sued independent churches using the designation "evangelisch".
- In the United States and the UK, it most often refers to adherents of evangelicalism. However, with certain US churches that descend from mainland Europe, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (or with some congregations of the United Church of Christ that maintain 'evangelical' in their name), the word maintains that European meaning specified above (i.e. 'evangelical' essentially equaling 'Protestant')
- The word evangelical is often used as a synonym of 'pentecostal'. However, this is often considered to be an incorrect use of the term, as evangelicals generally hold that the Bible is uniquely the supreme revelation of God, whereas pentecostals generally believe that the Bible and current day prophecies are equally the revelation of God. .
- The word evangelical is also sometimes confused with evangelist, or evangelistic, especially when evangelism is practised assertively or aggressively.
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