The Question That Will Define Us

By: Rolley Haggard

 Dave: Hey Norm, what's the correct pronunciation of the word “evangelical”? Is it “EVV-angelical,” or “EEV-angelical”? Long E or short E?

Norm: Long E.

Dave: So, “EEV-angelical,” right?

Norm: Right.

Dave: You sound pretty sure of yourself.

Norm: I am pretty sure of myself.

Dave: Oh? And how can you be so sure yours is the correct pronunciation? I've heard it used both ways.


Norm: Because I know the theology behind it.

Dave: Theology? What's theology got to do with the way you pronounce “evangelical”?

Norm: Simple. Using my pronunciation, if you take the “angelic” out of “evangelical,” phonetically speaking, what does that leave?

Dave: “Evil.”

Norm: I rest my case.

[Author's note: A halo each for “Dave” and “Norm” if the interaction above registers Honorable Mention in WikiLeaks' heavenly counterpart.]

* * *

The point of that little squib is to introduce an observation regarding American evangelical Christianity: It has lost the angelic. Or, to borrow language from Mark Twain, reports of its moral demise have been greatly understated.

Permit me, myself an evangelical, to explain.

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Rolley Haggard is a feature writer for BreakPoint.