Inerrancy and Evangelicals

Nathan Finn has a good article here on the important but much disputed issue of inerrancy.

How Two Evangelical Biblical Scholars Treat Scripture

You can read here how Dan Block and Richard Schultz believe that evangelicals ought to treat Scripture.

Evangelical Leaders and Tithing

  
See this article on a recent survey of Evangelical leaders and the issue of tithing.
 

What Evangelical Leaders Believe about the End Times

   

See this poll on "What Evangelical Leaders Believe about the End Times."

   

9Marks Audio

Mark Dever's 9Marks website has free access to some nice audio interviews on interesting topics with some major players in Evangelicalism today. The interviewees include J. I. Packer, John MacArthur, Simon Garthercole, D. A. Carson, Kent Hughes, etc. You can access these interviews here.

What is an Evangelical?

The 9.17.08 edition of the Church Leader's Intelligence Report contained the following bit (apparently from The Christian Post 9.04.08).

Ellison research asked adult Americans to explain what an "evangelical Christian" is. 18% said it is a Christian who tries to spread his or her faith. 9% said it is a Christian particularly devoted or zealous about their faith (but not to the point of fanaticism) and totally sold-out to their beliefs. Other responses:

8%: Focused strongly on the Bible, believing in the Bible as God's inerrant word allowing it to guide their lives.
8%: Saved by Christ, saved by grace, believe in a born-again experience, and believe in eternal life through Christ, among other theological definitions.
6%: Conservative, ultra-conservative or radical right, anti-homosexual, Republican, highly involved in politics, etc.
5%: Fanatical about their beliefs.
4%: Closed-minded about religion.
3%: Focus on money rather than God.
3%: Want to impose their beliefs or standards on others.

2% gave a dramatically off-base theological definition. Researchers stressed almost half of Americans cannot give a definition of "evangelical" that has any substance to it.

Generosity

According to the latest Church Leaders Intelligence Report,

Among the most generous U.S. population segments were evangelicals (24% of whom tithe); conservatives (12%); people who pray, read the Bible and attended a church service during the past week (12%); charismatic or Pentecostal Christians (11%); and registered Republicans (10%). Among the least generous are people under the age of 25, atheists and agnostics, single adults who have never been married, liberals, and downscale adults. One percent or less of the people in each of these segments tithed in ’07. Among all born-again adults, 9% contributed one-tenth or more of their income. Protestants are four times as likely to tithe as Catholics (8% vs. 2%). From ’00 to ’04, an average of 84¢ out of every $1 donated by born-again adults went to churches. Since ’05, that proportion has declined to just 76¢.
Barna Group 4/14/08

Evangelical Decline?

Christine Wicker has a thought-provoking editorial on trends suggesting a decline in Evangelical influence here. She focuses particularly on the declines within the Southern Baptist Convention as a case in point.