Having Trouble Defining Who is an Evangelical?

It used to be easy. You were either a Catholic or a Protestant. Then you were a Catholic, Protestant or Fundamentalist. Then a Catholic, Protestant, Fundamentalist or Pentecostal. On and on, the labels continue to multiply. But one of the simplest catch-all categories that accounts for most Christians is the moniker "Evangelical."

One theologian has defined "evangelical" this way: "To be an evangelical is to take seriously the cross of Jesus Christ as the only solution to the fundamental issues of the human life. We are sinners who need to come to the cross in order to get right with God. That's what it means to be an evangelical. Four criteria, enunciated by British evangelical historian David Bebbington, are widely accepted as necessary to be an evangelical:

• Conversion — the belief that lives need to be transformed through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Belief in the Bible as the supreme authority.
• Cruci-centricism — the emphasis on the Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross.
• Activism — living out one's faith through witnessing to others, social action such as serving the poor and disenfranchised, and developing a holy life."

Evangelical is a generic term and umbrella for many Christians. You can find a fuller treatment by clicking here.