THE EFFECTS OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS ON THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH - Part 2

FIRST EFFECT - THE MOVING TARGET OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH: A CONVENIENT OXYMORON

In my previous post, I mentioned that political correctness (PC) has had four key effects on evangelicals. I earlier defined PC as the social pressure to influence the thinking, words and actions of a person or group by convincing them that historical, cultural norms are insensitive, intolerant and divisive. Before I dive into the first key effect PC has had on evangelicals, I want to first answer the question, "What is an evangelical?"

The definition of an evangelical has changed over the years. It is not unusual to find that evangelicals themselves have difficulty defining the word. Some in the news media have given it a definition that does not even remotely hint at its original meaning. In a recent article in WorldNetDaily, Michael Youssef, pastor of The Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, mentions how political commentators ignore the theological origin of evangelicals and simply use it as a term to describe the politically conservative. Youssef goes on to give, what I believe is the purest definition of the term, when he says the name is applied to a person or group who believes that salvation, redemption and justification come through Jesus Christ and Him alone. He further adds that a belief in the authority of the Bible also defines evangelicals. In other words, being an evangelical is ideally about the exclusivity of the Gospel and the authority of Scripture. With this definition in mind, one has to conclude that the foundation of evangelicalism is biblical truth - truth about the Gospel and the authority of Scripture.

A key effect of PC has been its assault against truth. PC sees truth as a moving target. However, pure evangelicals see truth as fixated, ageless and never evolving. Truth can be newly discovered, but it can never newly exist. When Jesus said, "I am the Truth," (John 14:6) He was in effect saying, "I can be newly discovered, but I can never newly exist."

Modernism rejected absolute truth outright, while postmodernism does not. Postmodernism seductively allows for a truth that is a moving target and constantly evolving. This notion of an evolving, absolute truth is oxymoronic and stealthily dangerous. How can truth be absolute and evolving? Both postulates are mutually exclusive. PC takes this postmodern definition of truth and seeks to make it mainstream. Moreover, the engine that drives this vehicle - the postmodern definition of truth - is PC. In fact, it is being driven down the aisles, through the pews and into the pulpits of many evangelical churches.

When evangelicals make truth claims about salvation and the authority of Scripture, we are exercising what I refer to as sacred audacity. Sacred audacity is the freedom to boldly make a truth claim that is solely unique to one's theology or belief system, such as the exclusivity of the Gospel. If evangelicals continue to kowtow to the pressures of PC, we will relinquish our sacred audacity to proclaim our long held beliefs and become more indistinguishable from other faiths. We have to keep in mind that truth separates us (II Cor. 6:17); truth sanctifies us (John 17:17); truth saves us (John 8:32).

Sadly, a recent report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that many evangelicals are drifting away from a belief in the exclusivity of the Gospel. According to the report, 52% of American Christians believe that some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. This disturbing statistic is clear evidence that postmodernism, through the apparatus of PC, has made significant inroads into the very fabric of American evangelicalism. PC has discouraged truth thinking, truth speaking and truth acting among evangelicals. There are a myriad of polls and surveys that show this - USA Today, Barna Group, and Association of Religious Data Archive (the ARDA), to name a few.

Only sound Biblical preaching can stem the tide of the PC assault on truth. God give us preachers with the sacred audacity to herald the truth claims of our faith without fear or compromise.

Next I will deal with the effects PC has had on gender roles in the church.