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Most evangelicals, particularly at the popular level, have what I call a "dropped out of the sky" understanding of the Bible. (A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, p. 10)

Essentially what has happened is that the definition of a high view of Scripture has simply become synonomous with the verbal plenary doctrine of Scripture. … all evangelicals are virtually locked into this view for fear of espousing the dreaded low view of Scripture. (A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, p. 11)

We evangelicals have come close to deifying this collection of texts with little to no understanding of how they came to be collected into the Bible. (A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, p. 12)

If one were to take and read any book on evangelicalism … it would not take long to realize the issue of definition and the difficulties that lie therein. The problem of definition centers on the fact that evangelicalism is a movement. Movement tend to defy precise definition by their very nature. (A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, p. 17, emphasis in original)

Although most evangelicals belong to a denomination or ecclesiastical tradition, they do not comprise a single denomination or tradition in and of themselves. … There is no membership list to indicate that they actually ar such or even who they are. (A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, p. 18)

Most works on evangelicalism include some sort of conceptual definition by way of a list of "essentials" or "controlling motifs." … The core can be expressed as follows:

• High regard for the authority of the bible (biblicist).
• The centrality of the cross as God's saving activity in history through Jesus Christ (crucicentric). 
• A personally appropriated conversion experience that manifests itself in personal piety and growth (conversionist).
• Communicating this message to others for personal and societal change (activist). 

(A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, p. 19, emphasis in original)

Any theologically rigorous definition of evangelicalism tends to end up excluding an embarrassingly large number of people who regard themselves, and are regarded by others, as evangelicals. Interestingly the opposite is true as well. Kellstedt and Green have shown that if doctrinal distinctives are the basis, then many Catholics could be described as evangelical. (A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, pp. 20-21, emphasis in original)

The term "evangelical" has a history as long as Protestantism itself. This is because the term was, in fact, synonymous with "Protestant." (A High View of Scripture?, from the Evangelical Ressourcement series. Baker Academic, 2007, p. 23)

Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official top-down, paternal religion. It became a religion dependent on scholars, rather than ordinary folks, to divine moral absolutes and "Natural Law." Protestantism was supposed to be a revolt against this, with the philosophy that we could all divine the truth for ourselves from the Bible.  However, most Protestant denominations amount to the same thing as interest groups transcending communities, rather than a recapitulation of the communal Early Churches. ("Liberty and Tyranny – Confused Faith," MiddleClassForum.org, Oct. 2009)

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