Evangelical theology is the teaching and doctrine that relates to spiritual matters in evangelical Christianity and Christian theology. The main points concern the place of the Bible, the Trinity, worship, salvation, sanctification, charity, evangelism and the end of time.
Various evangelical Christian denominations differ in their doctrine, with Churches variously teaching Wesleyan-Arminian theology, Reformed theology, or Baptist theology. Other evangelical bodies, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine and the Evangelical Friends Church International, may subscribe to what they see as the orthodox theology espoused by their historic tradition, such as Lutheranism, Presbyterianism or Quakerism, respectively.
There are various nuances when comparing Christian denominations that claim to be evangelical, though many of them would adhere to the doctrine of the believers' Church, as with Anabaptists, Baptists and Pentecostals. Evangelical theology is also found within the denominations of mainline Protestantism.
Features Evangelical theology brings together the main common theological aspects, which can be found in the confessions of faith adopted by the evangelical Christian denominations.Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church, Zondervan, USA, 2009, p. 484
Main adherent movements Evangelical Christianity brings together different theological movements, the main ones being fundamentalist or moderate conservative, liberal and progressive.Roger E. Olson, The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology, Westminster John Knox Press, USA, 2004, p. 172Peter Beyer, Religion in the Process of Globalization, Ergon, Germany, 2001, p. 261
Despite the nuances in the various evangelical movements, there is a similar set of beliefs for movements adhering to the doctrine of the Believers' Church, the main ones being Anabaptists, Baptists and Pentecostals.William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 87 : "From the 16th century, those in the close circle of the believer's churches include the Mennonites, Brethren, Baptists, Amish, and Hutterites, to name the major subcategories. In more modern development, (…) such as the Pentecostals, may consider themselves believer's churches by this definition."Darren T. Duerksen, William A. Dyrness, Seeking Church: Emerging Witnesses to the Kingdom, InterVarsity Press, USA, 2019, p. 45 : "The Believer's Church: As we turn to the early “radical Reformation” or Anabaptist movement (…) widely seen in various Baptist, Pentecostal, community, and independent churches."Michel Deneken, Francis Messner, Frank Alvarez-Pereyre, La théologie à l'Université: statut, programmes et évolutions, Editions Labor et Fides, Genève, 2009, p. 64 : Translation: "Teaching in evangelical establishments: (...) evangelical churches loving to present themselves as "believers' Church", whose members are convinced and committed Christians." Original text in French "L’enseignement dans les établissements évangéliques : (…) les églises évangéliques aimant à se présenter comme des « Églises de professants », dont les membres sont des chrétiens convaincus et engagés."Religioscope et Sébastien Fath, À propos de l’évangélisme et des Églises évangéliques en France – Entretien avec Sébastien Fath, religion.info, France, 3 mars 2002: Translation: "The criterion of "believers' Church" allows more clearly to define what is called stricto sensu of the evangelical". Original text in French: "Le critère d’«Eglise de professants» permet plus nettement de cerner ce que l’on appelle stricto sensu des évangéliques"Donald M. Lewis, Richard V. Pierard, Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History & Culture in Regional Perspective, InterVarsity Press, USA, 2014, p. 40 : "The modern mission movement is the outstanding exhibit of the influence of the evangelical theological impulse over the past four centuries". and 297: "The Baptist and Mennonite traditions are examples of believer's churches".Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide, Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, p. 11
Authority of the Bible The Bible is considered to be inspired by God Himself and is the sovereign authority in the Christian faith.Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 153-154Michel Deneken, Francis Messner, Frank Alvarez-Pereyre, "La théologie à l'Université: statut, programmes et évolutions", Editions Labor et Fides, Genève, 2009, p. 66-67
When Paul, therefore, declares that "all writing" is the product of the divine breath, "holds his breath of God" (2 Timothy 3:16), he asserts that Scripture is a product of a very specific divine operation.Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 160 It is therefore important to note that the Greek does not carry the meaning that the terms of the Bible have been "infused" into human writers, but rather that it breathes God. Divine revelation is a kind of perpetual flow of the creative power of God. In other words, it is considered that God "oversaw" the writing of every line of the Bible so that it contains a message in human language sent by God using the human intellect, writing styles and writing talent – this notion is called Biblical inspiration. The believer is dependent on the Holy Spirit to have a good understanding of the texts. The Bible is considered as a life manual that concerns all aspects of life.Sébastien FATH, ÉVANGÉLISME ET ÉGLISES ÉVANGÉLIQUES, universalis.fr, France, accessed March 4, 2019 Often called "the Word of God" or "scripture", it is considered infallible and, in some evangelical circles, without error – this notion is called biblical inerrancy.Sébastien Fath, Du ghetto au réseau. Le protestantisme évangélique en France, 1800-2005, Édition Labor et Fides, Genève, 2005, p. 24 This is sometimes interpreted in a very literal way within certain movements, in particular the most conservative ones with prominent beliefs often referred to as ultraconservative and fundamentalist movements. With the development of moderate evangelical theology in the 1940s in the United States,Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide, Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, p. 197 the study of the Bible has been combined with disciplines such as hermeneutics, exegesis, epistemology and apologetics.George Demetrion, In Quest of a Vital Protestant Center: An Ecumenical Evangelical Perspective, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2014, p. 128Roger E. Olson, The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology, Westminster John Knox Press, USA, 2004, p. 49
God Evangelical churches and denominations have a Trinitarian theology,Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 502-503John Howard Yoder, Theology of Mission: A Believers Church Perspective, InterVarsity Press, USA, 2014, p. 132 and as in almost every major Christian stream of thought, the God of creation is eternally present and revealed in three divine Persons, namely, the Father (Almighty God), the Son (or – literal , , , Jesus Christ); and the Holy Spirit. The insistence of evangelicals, based on their beliefs found in the Gospels, differs from Catholicism in that evangelicals "only wish to justify this creed on the basis of biblical passages or concepts" and not on Tradition or the Councils (believing that the birth of this dogma is often attached to the Council of Nicaea, which took place at the beginning of the 4th century).
Evangelicals normally adhere (at least informally) to the Nicene Creed (381) defining the relational differentiation of God, both one and triune, as well as the principle of unity and identity, in the case of the two natures, in the person of Christ (christology),Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 95 as well as the positions of the First Council of Nicaea (and not at the council itself) which condemn Arianism. Before the Council of Nicaea, the idea of the Trinity was not an official teaching of the Church but had been the topic of many early Christian teachings. The Nicene Creed put in place once and for all the idea of Trinitarian theology as is believed to be true by most Christian believers. Nevertheless, most evangelical churches, in order to avoid any unnecessary controversy, often posit that the mystery of the exact relations between the three divine persons is beyond any human reason, and will not encourage speculative theology concerning the subject of the Trinity beyond that which is not immediately deductible from the Bible.
The Virgin Mary is so called because she was a virgin before the birth of Jesus but the evangelicals believe that she had other biological children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus quoted in the Gospels (Mark 6:3). She is recognized as "Maria Christotokos" () and is considered a model of faith, humility and obedience to God. Some evangelicals refute the name of "Theotokos" () of the Council of Ephesus (431) to avoid any confusion with the Marian devotion found in the Roman Catholic Church, but most evangelical theologians accept this formulation from a theoretical point of view by relying on the principle of communicating idioms and considering that rejecting it would amount to denying the uniqueness of the person of Christ; they generally complete it cautiously with a "according to its human nature".Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 596
Evangelicals almost universally reject the idea that Mary is co-redemptor or mediator, as well as the Immaculate Conception, the Dormition and the Assumption, considering them as biblically unjustified, as well as any form of Marian piety as practiced by the Catholic Church.
This Trinitarian conception of God has various consequences in the evangelical Christian faith:
God the Father To evangelicals, like other Christians, God, is the creator of heaven and earth.Robert Paul Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Kregel Academic, USA, 1995, p. 168 Moreover, God is presented as a loving Father, and the relation of the human to God must necessarily be that of a child vis-à-vis his father.Robert Paul Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Kregel Academic, USA, 1995, p.
Jesus Jesus is considered perfectly man and perfectly God (Christology). This component of the Trinity, has a resonance and particular consequences for the evangelicals
Jesus Christ is considered the "only begotten Son" of God or of the Father (John 3:16), without any biological connotation (belief in his miraculous birth), but in the biblical sense of the term, which according to the evangelical interpretation has a filial symbolic and spiritual status to God, brought closer to Isaac, the son of Abraham (book of Genesis).Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 240-241 Jesus Christ is considered as "God made man".Robert Paul Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Kregel Academic, USA, 1995, p. 75 It is a firm object of faith that Jesus Christ is only a carnal manifestation of God, and that He has existed from all eternity.Paul Jewett, God, Creation and Revelation: A Neo-Evangelical Theology, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2000, p. 429 Jesus Christ is, considered in his divinity, as a stakeholder in the judgment of the living and the dead which will take place at the end times.Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 671
Holy Spirit