Page 438 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

NEW EVANGELICAL

of redefining the evangelical’s role within Anglicanism, To preach that liberals are dangerous and to turn
moving it out of the “ghetto mentality,” and accepting right around and say that we should build bridges to
Modernists and Anglo-Catholics as true fellow Christians them and to attack biblical fundamentals who love
in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1976, for example, Packer God’s Word is a gross contradiction.
was a signatory to Christian Believing, a publication of What the Bible Says:
the Church of England’s Commission on Christian First, we are taught to judge men by what they do and
Doctrine, which said in its introductory statement that not only by what they say. The Lord Jesus warned that
competing and conflicting theologies are desirable and many will say “Lord, Lord” and will do many wonderful
that to attempt to force all Anglicans to believe the same works but will be false (Mt. 7:21-23). By using this
thing would “be disastrous to the health of the church.” example I am not saying that every New Evangelical
In 1981, Packer wrote “A Kind of Noah’s Ark? The who is inconsistent after the fashion of the
Anglican Commitment to Comprehensiveness,” in which aforementioned examples is a false Christian. I am
he stated that he sees real benefit in “accepting merely saying that we are to be very careful about
Anglicanism’s present doctrinal plurality” (p. 217). accepting men at face value.
Packer has also displayed New Evangelical Second, the Bible warns that two cannot walk together
contradiction in regard to Roman Catholicism. On the unless they agree (Amos 3:3). When the New Evangelical
one hand, he makes strong statements about says he loves the truth but walks in fellowship with
justification by faith alone and other Protestant those who deny it, he is telling us by his actions that he
doctrines and has said he could never join the Catholic is in agreement with such men.
Church; but on the other hand, he is at the forefront of
the Evangelicals and Catholics Together movement, both 9. New Evangelicalism is characterized by the division
in the United States and in Ireland. If he sees no of biblical truth into categories of important and not
contradiction in this, many others do. important.
John Stott is another example of the contradiction New Evangelicals divide doctrine into “cardinal” and
and inconsistency that is integral to New “secondary” categories and the “secondary” can be
Evangelicalism. Stott, an Anglican leader in England, overlooked for the sake of unity.
told the Amsterdam 2000 conference that “ignorance of In Grace Awaking, Chuck Swindoll says, “My
Scripture is ignorance of Christ” and lamented that encouragement for you today is that each one of us
“there is growth without depth” and “superficiality is pursue what unites us with others rather than the few
everywhere.” At the same time he said, “We evangelicals things that separate us. ... There was a time in my life
tend to be overly dogmatic.” This is the inconsistent and when I had answers to questions no one was asking. I
contradictory position exemplified in one sermon. It is had a position that life was so rigid I would fight for
impossible to take Bible doctrine seriously without being every jot and tittle. I mean, I couldn’t list enough things
dogmatic! Stott knows, of course, that ecumenism that I’d die for. The older I get, the shorter that list gets,
requires less doctrinal dogmaticism, and he is at the frankly” (Grace Awakening, p. 189).
forefront of this compromise. Therefore, out of one side Even Iain Murray, who understands the errors of
of his mouth, he speaks about being strong for the New Evangelicalism in general, falls into this trap.
Scriptures, but out of the other side he warns against Condemning Fundamentalism in America he stated, “In
dogmatism. its tendency to add stipulations not foundational to
The previously given example of Stephen Olford Christian believing, fundamentalism was prone to make
exemplifies this. Olford delivered a strong sermon on the boundaries of Christ’s kingdom too small” (Iain
the authority of Scriptures at Amsterdam ’86, but when Murray, Evangelicalism Divided, p. 298).
Dennis Costella of Foundation magazine had an What the Bible Says:
opportunity to interview him the next day and asked First, this is refuted by Christ’s teaching.
him what the conference was doing to instruct It is refuted in Mt. 23:23, where Christ taught that
evangelists on how to avoid liberalism, Olford made an while not everything in the Bible is of equal importance
amazing about face and said: “That’s the wrong spirit— everything has some importance and nothing is to be
avoid the liberal! I love to be with liberals, especially if despised or neglected. “Woe unto you, scribes and
they are willing to be taught, much more than with Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise
hard-boiled fundamentalists who have all the and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of
answers. ... Evangelicals should seek to build the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to
bridges” (Costella, “Amsterdam ’86: Using Evangelism to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
Promote Ecumenism,” Foundation magazine, Jul.-Aug.
1986).

438 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity