Evangelicalism
“Evangelicalism has long had an individualistic strain that resists the idea that personal faith requires church attendance,” Graham and Homans tell us. And, in their minds, those they profile serve as evidence that Donald Trump has helped these new evangelicals carve out terrain in the legitimate and long-established non-church-going wing of evangelicalism. |
A new kind of “evangelical”?
As any grandmaster of Pointless Online Theological Fisticuffs can tell you, the less clearly you define your terms, the more pointless the debate will be. If, for example, a Roman Catholic and a Southern Baptist debate whether baptism saves without sharing a common definition of both “baptism” and “saves,” both sides will end up barking slogans at each other and neither side will win any converts. Likewise, if you wish to argue that Donald Trump “is connecting with a different type of Evangelical voter”, you won’t make a terribly convincing argument if you have no clear definition of “evangelical.” Unfortunately, that’s precisely the path Ruth Graham and Charles Homans take in their recent New York Times article. (Hans Feine/World/The Stream 1/23/24) READ MORE>>>>> |
Prove You're Not 'Easily Led,' Evangelicals!
In 1986, The New York Times described evangelicals as "more easily led than other kinds of voters." Then in 1993, The Washington Post reported that evangelicals were "largely poor, uneducated and easy to command." (The Washington Post issued a correction; the Times did not.)For the past week, the media have been trying to prove the truth of those characterizations, gleefully reporting on the comical reasons Iowa evangelicals give for their stalwart support of Donald Trump.(Ann Coulter/Townhall/Sight 1/10/24) READ MORE>>>>> |