Sacramental Ecclesiology: Adopting Augustine’s Totus Christus for Evangelical Ecclesiology

After the 16th-century reformation, the church was faced with the situation of ecclesiological plurality, both differences in traditions and church divisions into many denominations, in­cluding evangelical churches. Despite the fact that the evangelical movement was founded with the primary objective of spreading the gospel, it is devoid of coherence in ecclesiology. Based on Augustine’s idea of totus Christus, this research presents a con­structive ecclesiology proposal for evangelical churches. Drawing primarily on Augustine’s notion of totus Christus, and by showing that this idea is central to his theological construction, the author proposes the importance of revisiting the doctrine of totus Christus to create an ecclesiology that links to sacramentology and soteriology. The contribution of this research is to show that the doctrine of totus Christus is more organic and sacramental so that it can become the foundation and aspiration for evangelical churches united as the body of Christ to participate in His redemptive works for the salvation of the world.

“I Will Bless Those Who Bless You”: Evangelicalism and Support for Israel in Latin America

The relations of the Evangelical movement and Israel have drawn the attention of many scholars of religion, public opinion, and political science in the last two decades. This study examines the influence of Evangelicals on their country's policy toward Israel. I conduct the first quantitative, cross-national research, investigating the links between the size of the Evangelical population of a country and its support for Israel. Analyzing 198 UN General Assembly votes of 18 Latin American countries from 2009 to 2019, my results show that as the Evangelical population in a country grows, so does its support for Israel. Unpredictably, I also find that a state of armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinians does not decrease the support for Israel.

Evangelical Responses to the Question of Religious Pluralism

<p>The relatively recent rise of religious pluralism has significantly affected the evangelical movement, the roots of which are traceable to the sixteenth century Reformation. In particular, the theological implications of religious pluralism have led to debate concerning the nature of core beliefs of evangelicalism and how these should be interpreted in the contemporary world. While evangelicals continue to articulate a genuine undergirding desire to “honour the authority of Scripture”, differing frameworks and ideals have led to a certain level of fracturing between schools of evangelical thought. This research focuses on the work of three evangelical theologians – Harold Netland, John Sanders and Clark Pinnock – and their responses to the question of religious pluralism. In assessing the ideas put forward in their major work relevant to religious pluralism this thesis reveals something of the contestation and diversity within the evangelical tradition. The authors' respective theological opinions demonstrate that there is basic agreement on some doctrines. Others are being revisited, however, in the search for answers to the tension between two notions that evangelicals commonly affirm: the eternal destiny of the unevangelised; and the will of God that all humankind should obtain salvation. Evangelicals are deeply divided on this matter, and the problem of containing seemingly incompatible views within the confines of “evangelical belief” remains. This ongoing division highlights the difficulty of defining evangelicalism in purely theological terms.</p>

Evangelical Responses to the Question of Religious Pluralism

<p>The relatively recent rise of religious pluralism has significantly affected the evangelical movement, the roots of which are traceable to the sixteenth century Reformation. In particular, the theological implications of religious pluralism have led to debate concerning the nature of core beliefs of evangelicalism and how these should be interpreted in the contemporary world. While evangelicals continue to articulate a genuine undergirding desire to “honour the authority of Scripture”, differing frameworks and ideals have led to a certain level of fracturing between schools of evangelical thought. This research focuses on the work of three evangelical theologians – Harold Netland, John Sanders and Clark Pinnock – and their responses to the question of religious pluralism. In assessing the ideas put forward in their major work relevant to religious pluralism this thesis reveals something of the contestation and diversity within the evangelical tradition. The authors' respective theological opinions demonstrate that there is basic agreement on some doctrines. Others are being revisited, however, in the search for answers to the tension between two notions that evangelicals commonly affirm: the eternal destiny of the unevangelised; and the will of God that all humankind should obtain salvation. Evangelicals are deeply divided on this matter, and the problem of containing seemingly incompatible views within the confines of “evangelical belief” remains. This ongoing division highlights the difficulty of defining evangelicalism in purely theological terms.</p>

Between Rejection and Revitalization: Tokunboh Adeyemo and African Traditional Religions

This article analyzes Tokunboh Adeyemo’s assessment of African traditional religions in relation to his allegiance to the worldwide evangelical tradition. In the 1970 and 1980s, Adeyemo, who served as the General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, was involved in the so-called salvation debates within evangelical circles. Concerned about the rise of contextual theologies on the African continent, Adeyemo, like his predecessor Byang Kato, advocated the exclusive character of Christianity in terms of salvation. Therefore, he is sometimes described as someone who attempted to replace African religiosity with a Westernized form of Christianity. This article argues that while Adeyemo reiterates the uniqueness of salvation in Christ, as attested within the international evangelical movement, he offers a nuanced assessment of pre-Christian religiosity. Navigating between the two positions of rejection and revitalization, he pioneered new ways of developing an authentic evangelical theology that is grounded in the African context.

Zwingli’s Role in the Reformation of Berne

"The goal of this paper is to discuss Zwingli’s role in the Reformation of Bern. Firstly, the earliest period of Berne’s reformation is discussed, including the priority of Luther’s influence on the city. Then those channels are discussed by which Zwingli practised a leading role in the city’s evangelical movement; namely his writings relating to Berne and his extended correspondence. By Zwingli’s correspondence, those persons are introduced who nourished close relationship with the Zurich reformer, especially Berchtold Haller. Finally, Zwingli’s role at the Disputation of Berne and in the consolidation of the Bernese Reformation is examined. Keywords: Protestant Reformation, Ulrich Zwingli, Reformation of Bern, Reformation of Zurich, Berchtold Haller, Johannes Oecolampadius "

Icy Walls Appear

This chapter explores evangelical responses to undocumented immigrants from the 1990s to the first decade of the twenty-first century. It argues that most mainstream evangelicals adopted the Republican Party’s hard-line stances on immigration (as exemplified by California’s Proposition 187) and introduced them into their theology by emphasizing biblical passages like Romans 13, which underlines the need to obey the government. Reflecting their strengthening ties to the GOP, evangelical leaders brought their theology in line with their politics. They argued that the Bible verses about welcoming the “stranger” were only applicable to legal immigrants, not to undocumented immigrants. This new differentiation between legal and undocumented immigrants marked much of the evangelical discourse on immigration in the next two decades. The competing interpretations of the biblical record translated into deep divisions within the evangelical movement, as Latinx and progressive evangelical leaders urged their evangelical coreligionists to speak out for undocumented immigrants.

Epilogue

The epilogue addresses the contradictions in evangelicals’ current attitudes about refugees and immigrants. It explores diverging attitudes and responses to the 2015 refugee crisis as well as to the travel ban and the separation of families at the southern US border in the first years of the Trump presidency. Applying the book’s argument that politics has shaped evangelicals’ theology in their views on immigration, these divisions on immigration are placed in the context of other issues that have produced cracks in the evangelical movement, such as gun control or LGBTQ rights.

The Gallican Evangelicals

The Gallican evangelicals of the 1550s and 1560s, represented here primarily by Jean de Monluc, François Bauduin, and Charles Du Moulin, stayed on the path blazed by early French evangelicals and continued to seek evangelical reform within the existing French church. Monluc, bishop of Valence, adopted Protestant ideas and practices in his diocese. He worked with the lawyer Bauduin and Huguenot nobleman Antoine of Navarre to try to forge a religious compromise at the Colloquy of Poissy. Calvin turned against Bauduin, whom he labeled a moyenneur. Legal expert Charles Du Moulin lived briefly among the Reformed in Switzerland, Germany, and Montbéliard before returning to France, where he outwardly abjured the Protestant faith but increasingly wrote about religious matters from an evangelical perspective. Du Moulin turned bitterly against the Calvinists, however, for he feared they were taking over the evangelical movement in France.