Why is 'Evangelical' an insult in the UK?

[Flangelica]

I've lived abroad for a few years now, but from what I've seen online, 'Evangelical' seems to be a very loaded word, which i only see used as an insult or in a negative way

Can anyone tell me why?

Especially keen to hear from people who belong to this type of church, their feelings about this.

OP I suggest you do a little bit of research into Biblical hermeneutics. Most of this was disproved in the 19th century, for example.

7 years at church school, friend (atheist) married an evangelical minister (his 4th. That ended well, as you can imagine).

This sums it up for me.

(I’ve just formally complained about an evangelical group coming to my daughter’s school to peddle religious propaganda under the guise of supporting their transition to secondary school. Not only is it preying on their expected insecurities, no parents were informed in advance or given the opportunity to withdraw children.)

Totally this. A sources of the Bible 101 at university course, would blow your mind.

Here's one as taught at Yale:

oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-152

The lecturer repeatedly apologises for upsetting any Evangelical Christians in his audience because he knows they are studying Theology because they believe it, and then he is telling them all this challenging stuff like there were loads of different Gospels not just four.

Even at the church I used to go to we said the Bible was God breathed, not literal.

@HaveringWavering
Well it makes no sense to me... If I said that of course I'd never lie with a man as I would with a woman, the literalists would say 'No, that's not what it means.'
In which case the 'taking the bible literally' argument is gone. If you take the bible literally, that's exactly what it means.
Am I to imagine myself a straight male when reading the bible, in order to get the 'proper' meaning? In which case, why would God write /inspire a bible that's only relevant to half the population?

Gay men wouldn’t lie with a woman like they would with a man either - seems the Bible only really has an issue with bisexuals!

The New Testament is by far the most reliable historical document that we have

This is so clearly untrue I have to wonder if you are winding us up here…

Ha ha good point!

Our CofE Church is very evangelical, I think evangelists are viewed negatively because they want to convert people to their faith. In my case I've found support in the church, I know some evangelical churches can be a bit sinister (thinking extreme cases). I think for us it's been a real awakening to our spirituality.

Ffs!! I am a Christian and this would infuriate me as well!! I hope they take your complaint seriously.

😤 on your behalf.

IF I wanted my son sitting through religious assemblies then I would have chosen a faith school.

e.g - Assemblies about how exercise & hobbies can help with anxiety would have been better for Yr6’s this summer.

That song is a masterpiece!!!

Ain’t it just? Plenty more in his repertoire, such as Woody Allen Jesus, Pope Song, Ten Foot Cock and a Few Hundred Virgins, The Good Book…….

I find they make a fitting antidote to the utter tripe peddled at school.

Oh that is a very good song . It really beautifully sums up what a humongous load of bollocks it all is!

For me, evangelising means a fundamental disrespect for the beliefs of the person you are evangelising to, and that is unacceptable. I'm an atheist; I don't run around handing people leaflets about the joys of believing there is no god. Because I'm not disrespectful like that.

We’ve been blacklisted by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

They tried to explain the increase on a cumulative graph regarding earthquakes as proof of god’s displeasure at gay people. DH countered with a brief basic maths lesson, followed by a walk through the latest edition of the New Scientist, which he agreed to swap for the Watchtower. 😂😂😂

There is always a New Scientist by the door just in case they ever come back for round 2!

@OnceAgainWithFeeling we don't get the Jehovah's Witnesses as much as we do the Latter Day Saints - I live in an area where there are lots of Americans. You get these two young men aged about 12 who have badges saying they're Elder FillInTheBlank - they're very earnest and sincere. I'm on a planned hiatus from work at the moment and wouldn't mind a ding dong argument, but for some reason they haven't been round lately.

OP are you planning on pushing your religion on others?

Also OP are you planning to send your DC to a mainstream (state) school (instead of one of those Christian extremist private schools)? If so, you do need to be careful what you teach them, because if they parrot homophobic nonsense at school there will be trouble.

Theres a Latter Day Saints church in the next road along from here. When I noticed it I wondered how many times a year I'd be declining their invitation to share their good news but in 12 years none have called. And that's how we like it here OP, believe what you like but keep it to yourself unless invited to share.

Have you seen the Book of Mormon show?

Every time I see them I hear the “Hello!” Song in my head 😀.

The thing is, evangelizing, and being evangelical are two different things.
A lot of those who evangelize (stand on street corners proclaiming, or go door-knocking, or have open air services, or even talk deliberately to their work colleagues about their faith) ARE evangelical, but not all.
And not of those who hold views which we'd call evangelical, go out and try and convert people - I know loads that don't.

There are a lot of reasons why evangelicals have a bad reputation in the UK and these are well summarises above. For me, I can’t bear the smugness combined with a lack of genuine intellectual rigour. The ones who claim to be intellectual or try to argue that the Bible is historically accurate or scientific are the worst. Evangelicals also tend to judge others more harshly, especially if you are gay or enjoy sex outside of marriage. Oh yes and they also have a way of injecting shame into people, all in the name of recognising sin and seeking forgiveness, and where shame helps them to control their followers. It’s insidious.

Ah yes - the smugness - gets right up the nose!

I was furious when my OH, who was very ill and needed nursing home care, was subjected to an evangelical group singing and peddling their beliefs at the home. I arrived to find he had been wheeled into this room to listen - as an agnostic it would not have been his choice. I arrived and wheeled him out.

@Flangelica "I was wondering if you don't take yhe bible literally, where do you personally draw your information from - how do you decide which parts to take literally and which to not? Do you take any of the bible literally? (I'm so sorry for the interrogation, I'm genuinely really interested in other views from other Christians, i hope this isn't horribly intrustive"Part of the conundrum is that you alre interpret the Bible, and do not take it literally.For example... 1. Do you believe that you are saved by faith alone? The Bible says that you ate not... James 2:24 (ESV):"You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone".2. Do you believe Jesus established a church while he was on earth and apponited Peter as earthly leader.. some Christians interpret the Bible and believe he did..some don't Matthew 16:18–19 (ESV): And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 1 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV): I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.3. What is your interpretation of John6... the Bread of Life discourse. do you take it literally? Some Christians believe it describes the real presence in the Euchsrist while others think that it is saying Communion is a symbol.John 6:51 (ESV): I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.4. Do you take the Bible literally when it tells you that Scripture is not to be taken as the source of all teaching from Christ? Some Christians do, some don't...2 Thessalonians 2:15 (ESV): So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.There are many many more examples ....these were the first few to mind.This is a very interesting topic because some Christians say the bible "literally" says the world is flat (They theorize that the world is flat, with a dome, or firmament above it, supported by pillars. They also say the stars reside in the "dome". They use verses such as Job 37:18, 38:13, Psalm 96, 1 Chronicles 16:30, Genesis 1 and 2, and 1 Samuel 2:8. ) or the world was created in 7 days (as per Genisis) and is 6000 years old. But other Christians believe that the truth cannot contradict of God ... as God has given us insight and understanding of science/nature that prove the world is not flat, wasn't created in7 days and is billions of years old.My existence of Evangelicals is from Reformed/Calvinist background. Among other things unique to their grouping within Christianity, they believe they are Elected by God to be saved and are Christians. All other churchy followers of Christ are not Christians... and I presume created by God to go to Hell. A lot of their teaching is against the nature of God, and sets God up as something that created people destined to Hell.... and in my mind made the Devil the Victor if the vast majority of people "created in God's likness" were always destined by God to go to Hell. There is also an attitude that if you are not the Elect then God hasn't chosen you to reveal His truth, so you may not understand what God has really revealed.

woops ...
apologies ...
the spacing disappeared from the previous post

I'll try again...
@Flangelica

"I was wondering if you don't take the bible literally, where do you personally draw your information from - how do you decide which parts to take literally and which to not? Do you take any of the bible literally? (I'm so sorry for the interrogation, I'm genuinely really interested in other views from other Christians, i hope this isn't horribly intrustive"

Part of the conundrum is that you already interpret the Bible, and do not take everything literally.

For example...

1. Do you believe that you are saved by faith alone? The Bible says that you ate not... James 2:24 (ESV):"You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone".

1. Do you believe Jesus established a church while He was on earth and appointed Peter as earthly leader.. some Christians interpret the Bible and believe He did..some don't

Matthew 16:18–19 (ESV): And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

1 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV): I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

1. What is your interpretation of John 6... the Bread of Life discourse. do you take it literally? Some Christians believe it describes the real presence in the Eucharist while others think that it is saying Communion is a symbol.

John 6:51 (ESV): I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

1. Do you take the Bible literally when it tells you that Scripture is not to be taken as the source of all teaching from Christ? Some Christians do, some don't...

2 Thessalonians 2:15 (ESV): So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

There are many many more examples ....these were the first few to mind.

This is a very interesting topic because some Christians say the bible "literally" says the world is flat (They theorize that the world is flat, with a dome, or firmament above it, supported by pillars. They also say the stars reside in the "dome". They use verses such as Job 37:18, 38:13, Psalm 96, 1 Chronicles 16:30, Genesis 1 and 2, and 1 Samuel 2:8. ) or the world was created in 7 days (as per Genisis) and is 6000 years old.

But other Christians believe that the truth cannot contradict of God ... as God has given us insight and understanding of science/nature that prove the world is not flat, wasn't created in 7 days and is billions of years old.

My existence of Evangelicals is from Reformed/Calvinist background. Among other things unique to their grouping within Christianity, they believe they are Elected by God to be saved and are Christians. All other churchy followers of Christ are not Christians... and I presume created by God to go to Hell. A lot of their teaching is against the nature of God, and sets God up as something that created people destined to Hell.... and in my mind made the Devil the Victor if the vast majority of people "created in God's likness" were always destined by God to go to Hell. There is also an attitude that if you are not the Elect then God hasn't chosen you to reveal His truth, so you may not understand what God has really revealed.