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Friday, August 30, 2013

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.

continue reading at http://www.breakpoint.org


Rolley Haggard is a feature writer for BreakPoint.

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