I'm an evangelical Christian - ask me anything

[Insieme]

I'm happy to answer questions, though I'm not interested if people just come on to be insulting.

I can only give my views and talk about what I believe - evangelicalism covers a broad spectrum of beliefs and I can only speak for myself.

Ask away!

[Stillnotready]

Do you believe every literal word in the bible?

[grasspigeons]

What does evangelical mean and how do you personally evangelise?

[BlackLambAndGreyFalcon]

Are you an egalitarian or a complementarian? What is your view on women in ministry?

[glitterbiscuits]

How do you feel about atheists? Could you be friends with one?

[PlausibleSuit]

Hi Insieme.

How does your church respond to gay and lesbian people? Is it 'love the sinner, hate the sin' or is it more nuanced than that?

Do you personally hold a different view?

[Synecdoche]

Do you talk about God with your friends and family (if they are religious too)? So, for example, if someone was going through a hard time and wanted to help/give advice would you talk about how God and how God/prayer could help? Or is it more of an implicit thing? Hope that makes sense, thank you.

[Insieme]

I believe every word in the bible has meaning for us today, but not a literal meaning necessarily. When Jesus said he was a vine, that's plainly not meant to be taken literally - he isn't covered in grapes and leaves!

Some books of the Bible are poetry, or written as allegory. I obviously don't believe them literally.

As people always ask about Genesis and creation, I'll say now that I don't believe in a literal 6 day creation, but I do believe God is a creator and that the accounts in Genesis are intended to show us about the nature of God, and the nature of human beings, and how we should treat the created world around us, and each other.

[Synecdoche]

And another please... Do you feel worried for your non-religious/Evangelical friends or family that they are on the wrong path and feel that they need 'saving' in some way? Thank you.

[Sarahlou63]

Apologies for being blunt but what do you get from putting your trust in an invisible friend?

[rebelrosie12]

Assuming you have a mix of freinds, How do you reconcile believing some are going to hell with actually being friends with them? Do you pity them? Want to save them?

[rebelrosie12]

Another... How do you feel about other religions? How can they all be wrong and yours is right?

[Insieme]

Grasspigeons I use the word evangelical (loosely) to mean someone with beliefs that include Jesus atoning for our sins on the cross, and that we can not be saved by anything we do, but only by God's grace.

As for evangelising: if someone asks me about what I believe, I'll try to answer them. I don't usually bring it up in conversation first. Most of my friends and colleagues have known I'm a Christian. Some are interested, most aren't, and that's fine.

[Insieme]

Blacklamb I'm complementarian. Equal but not the same.

[springmachine]

Have you read of Morris Cerullo?

If so do you know where the European headquarters are?

[Insieme]

Glitterbiscuits probably the majority of my friends are atheists. They are my friends, so I think they're great. We may not agree about God, but that doesn't get in the way of all the other things we share and love.

[tenredthings]

Do you believe that anyone who hasn't been "saved" by god is destined for an eternity in hell ? How do you reconcile this with the notion that God is just.

[ohsoamazing]

Do you find it difficult to remain true to your faith in times were Christian beliefs aren't "cool" or when the western world is increasingly secular?

[Scrabbelator]

What do you believe? What differentiates your faith from all others? What do you want others to know about God and Jesus?

[Smallhorse]

Were you brought up in a Christian home?

[BigPinkBall]

Not meaning to be rude but there isn’t really another way to put this - how can you believe in a god? I imagine it must involve a lot of cognitive dissonance.

[Millybingbong]

I am not sure what you mean by evangelical although I am a (fairly recent) bible believing christian too. I believe that jesus died for our sins if that is what you mean above.

Can you expand more on why you call yourself evangelical and does your "branch" of christianity have another name too?

[dangerrabbit]

What do you do? Do your beliefs influence what kind of job you get and how you do your work?

[Insieme]

Plausiblesuit Hi! My church would say that they strive to be welcoming to gay and lesbian people. I'm honestly not sure we always succeed. I think most of the members would take the line of 'hate the sin but love the sinner', but I think many are coming to see it's more nuanced than that.

Simply because it is more nuanced, I don't want to simplify my view too much, but I would say we are all (all people) broken and failing to meet God's perfect standard. I can't deny that the bible forbids homosexual sex. But it also forbids gossip, judging other people and fantasising about people we're not married to, and I've done all of those things at times, so I don't see why homosexual people should be treated any worse than gossips, for example.

There are at least two people who would say they are homosexual in the congregation I belong to. Both are celibate, as far as I know. A member of my family is non-binary. This is no secret.

[Insieme]

Synecdoche yes, if a Christian friend was having difficulties, and I knew them well enough, I might well talk about how they thought God might want them to react, or how they thought the church could offer practical help. Or I might just make tea and listen, as i would do for any friend, I hope.