Palin getting a mixed reaction among Evangelicals?

That's the word on the street concerning the younger generation of evangelicals.

Sorry, folks, that it was a quieter weekend in TDDville. I was consumed with project deadlines, and other responsibilities (to those of you who were hauling wood with us on Saturday, you know what I'm talking about--where's the Motrin? :)

Anyway, the reaction to John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin has created certain fault lines among young evangelicals. As might be expected, those who are more conservative view Sarah Palin as a positive addition to the Republican ticket, while the more progressive (read, liberal) wing is either in the wait-and-see mode, or has dismissed her already.

It did get me thinking about one thing, particularly whenever people purport to describe what evangelicals are thinking/feeling about a particular issue: "What is the definition of a evangelical, exactly?"

If, for example, an "evangelical" believes that abortion is wrong, or that homosexuality is a sin, and another "evangelical" believes that a woman should have the right to choose an abortion, or that homosexuality is genetic and therefore is not a sin, who's right? Are they both "evangelicals", or is one of the two more "evangelical" than the other? (I may have to expand on this idea in a future, because the implications are significant, particularly given the fact that the term is used a lot in our culture.)

Comments

[Abby]

Good question. I equate Evangelical to those among us who are Christ Followers. Whereas I use the term "Fundamentalist Christian" for those who take a harder line- think homosexuality is wrong, public schools and teachers are probably wrong, welfare is bad, the liberals are out to get us with their agenda, and so forth. I don't know if I am wrong or right in that but for some reason that is what comes to mind when I hear those terms.

And as far as Palin goes I am leaning towards wait and see whereas at first I dismissed her totally.

[Resident Atheist]

I was really hoping for more comments on this one. I have always wondered what it means.

[John]

No worries, RA. I'm saving my comments for a full-length blog post on the subject. Hopefully, we can generate some further discussion there.