The Nail in the Coffin

The adjective "evangelical" to describe my Christian faith has never really fit me well. Like my father's 1970s polyester leisure suit (remember them?) it was not my style and fit uncomfortably the only time I even was tempted to try it on after he died and before my mother gave it away. Since the 1970s too many "evangelicals" have seemed angry, seeking political power and willing to use any means to achieve it--even aligning themselves with political causes and figures whose credibility surely is suspect.

Of course, I know that not all who identify as evangelical Christians should be tarred with this brush. I admire some aspects of the evangelical tradition--its emphasis upon the importance of Scripture, the centrality of Jesus to our shared faith, and a deep piety. At its best the evangelical tradition has an important place in the Christian landscape. For me personally, one of the most important books I ever read was Donald Dayton's Rediscovering an Evangelical Heritage. Dayton sketched the history of a broadly ecumenical, socially alert and inclusive evangelicalism.

Unfortunately, that is not the evangelicalism that is on display so much today. The public perception of evangelical Christians is that they are narrow, mean-spirited, angry, anti-social, power-hungry, self-interested bigots. In fact, I think the term "evangelical" has become toxic in the public square.

Over the past six years I have found myself increasingly uncomfortable in my leisure suit evangelicalism. But the final nail in the coffin came in recent weeks with the so-called "Freedom Convoy" and its evangelical undertones. There we found coupled together placards with Bible verses and professions of some kind of Christian faith alongside "F*ck Trudeau" banners and confederate flags. Reports I read have indicated that even Franklin Graham endorsed the Freedom Convoy. (I have not verified this.) In Winnipeg, the pastorof one of the largest evangelical churches endorsed the blockades in Ottawa and elsewhere, reportedly sending a film crew to record events.

Has evangelical Christianity been reduced to this? Where is the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this? Where is the love of God spread abroad in our hearts? Where is the love of our neighbour as great as the love of ourselves?

So, I can no longer "fit" in the label "evangelical Christian." It does not describe the Christian faith in which I grew up, in which I have breathed deeply in the Scriptures, and in which I have sought to live out my faith. It does not describe the power of God of which Paul spoke so profoundly in 1 Corinthians. It does not match the discipleship concerning which Jesus taught in the New Testament gospels.

So, how would I describe myself and my Christian faith? Perhaps it should be enough simply to say that I am Christian. I have pondered this for some time and I think that, at least for now, I shall eschew any sectarian adjective for my Christianity and instead will refer to myself as an "ecumenical Christian." Perhaps this is a natural rest stop on my journey over the past half century, beginning with my undergraduate education in what was then a Lutheran university, my graduate education in a Roman Catholic university within an ecumenical consortium, in a context where I learned from Catholics, Presbyterians, Anglicans, United Church and other scholars. Perhaps it's a product of having studied Luther, Wesley, Calvin, Niebuhr, the early Christian bishops and writers alongside the sacred Scriptures. What I have learned in the process is that there is a broadness in God's mercy and grace; there is a broadness in the Holy Spirit's work in our world and in our lives; and there is a broadness in the salvation provided through Jesus Christ that transcends our attempts to limit where and when God can work in our lives and in our world.

That's not what I see in today's evangelicalism. For me, that coffin has been nailed shut.