Is George W. Bush "Evangelical"? He says he found Jesus and it changed his life. He also says Islam is a "religion of peace". Bush is a Methodist, wouldn't the Methodist church be considered largely non-evangelical? I went to Methodist services once and they seemed pretty liberal, both spiritually and politically.
Honestly as I Catholic I see no difference between "Evangelical" Protestants and the rest of 'em. Some may be liberal, some may be conservative, but the basic beliefs are the same. Protestants are always Protestants.
The basic variations of Christianity can be summed up as 1) CATHOLIC (various kinds of Catholics include Jesuit, Sedevacantist, Latin Rite, Byzantine) 2) PROTESTANT (Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, I have no idea where "Evangelicals" fit in, since apparently they can be members of any Protestant denomination), 3) ORTHODOX (divided by ethnic groups: Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, etc.), and 4) OTHER - Christians who follow basic doctrine but don't fit into one of those categories, like Restorationists, or they overlap, like Anglicians basically being Catholic doctrine along with Protestant ideals.
Mormons and Jehovah's witnesses, I list as a separate, new religions based on Christian ideas -- but not part of the "Christian" faith, per say.
So where do Evangelicals come in? What specifically sets them apart? If I call myself "Evangelical" tomorrow, does that make me one?
I didn’t claim who was or wasn’t evangelical.
I do know that when looking at someone like Bill Clinton, it is hard to believe that he is actually a Christian... in that, as far as the media has been able to determine, he hasn’t attended church since leaving office... *unless of course it was for a political function.
On the other hand, I do not have the power of God to say that this person or that, be they Methodist, Baptist or Catholic, is or isn’t a Christian. That is up to God to determine.
My belief was that to be evangelical, you must evangelize... to preach the gosple to others. It’s just a simple definition.