Seeing that I don't believe in revising previous pieces of writing, I would to make a couple of clarifications pertaining to the previous article (thanks, Mom).
1) I disagreed with those who pit the terms "Reformed" and "Evangelical" against one another. Those who disavow the Reformed label believe it to be inconsistent with evangelism. I argue to the contrary. Those who eschew the Evangelical label do so on the grounds that it contradicts the Confessional basis of Reformed theology. I similarily argue to the contrary. To both of these contentions, I vehemently believe that Confessional, Reformed theology gives birth to the only true, evangelical impulse.
2) Let me clarify my use of "indicative" and "imperative." By indicative, I am simply describing a propositional truth that God sets forth in His Word. God's Word is filled with these truths--all of which are grounded in the grand narrative of redemptive-history and centered upon the hero of the narrative: Jesus Christ. By imperative, I mean those exhortations concerning Christian conduct. These imperatives are rooted in indicatives. For example, we are told in Romans in 12:1 to "offer ourselves as living sacrifices" only after we are first told to do so "in view of God's mercy."
3) Finally, let me clarify my specific description of American culture. Those -isms that describe many movements in American culture may also be used to describe movements in many other cultures (though some are not, such as fundamentalism). In the previous article, I focused exclusively upon American culture because the phenomena I was describing is much more common here than in other countries like Malawi. For example, in Malawi, I would talk more about the problem of syncretism between Christianity and paganism, rather than a false dichotomy between Reformed theology and being evangelical.
Hope those clarifications help!
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Hey Stephen, I agree with what you've said. I'd also add that some of the heroes of those who'd claim to be Evangelicals (Edwards, Whitefield, and perhaps Benj Warfield) all claimed to be Calvinists, especially as opposed to Arminianism.
It's hard to define Evangelicalism, but if you say that the tenets are 1) special adherance to the Bible, 2) "personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your personal savior," and 3) an emphasis on evangelism--then the Reformed tradition fits right in there.
I just started reading "Be Near Unto God" by Abraham Kuyper (who perhaps is more known in the Dutch Reformed Tradition), but anyways, I was struck by how the personal relationship with God is encouraged. Kuyper unapologetically talks about venturing into the "deep things of mysticism."
In any case, many good Methodists would also claim the above tenants of Evangelicalism too. They have heroes of the faith as well :)
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