[Alex Murphy]

It goes something like this:
1: Find the most liberal theologians you can from mainline Protestant denominations — Tillich! Spong! — and then sketch caricatures of them that make them seem as outrageously liberal as possible.
2. Make these caricatures the avatars for mainline Protestant churches, always suggesting that they are typical, hugely popular and influential.
3. Cite this outrageous theological liberalism as the cause of mainline “decline.”
4. Contrast this mainline liberalism with the orthodoxy of evangelical churches.
5. Cite evangelical orthodoxy as the cause of the rapid growth of evangelicalism.
6. Lather, rinse, repeat. For years and years and years.

This is propaganda. It’s the shell-game that we evangelicals have been playing for decades now. And it’s a shifty, dishonest trick. It’s a sleight-of-hand game of heads-I-win, tails-you-lose. The trick is an inconsistent, self-serving, cherry-picking approach to who counts as “mainline Protestant” and who counts as “evangelical.”...

....Now, by any meaningful measure, people like Pat Robertson, Joel Osteen and Benny Hinn cannot be called theologically “conservative.” Nor can Tim LaHaye, Ken Ham, Bob Larson, Bryan Fischer or Cindy Jacobs. But guess what? They’re all evangelicals. We can’t pretend they’re mainliners, that’s for sure. The truth is that the mainline = liberal, evangelical = conservative framework is hogwash.

The truth is that both strains of American Protestantism include a huge diversity of theological views, with both strains including many people who can aptly be described as “theologically conservative” and both strains including many people who can aptly be described as — well, some are liberal, but even more are just kind of wildly idiosyncratic, Gnostic or freakishly freaky in their theology.

[Vigilanteman]

The only reason that liberal/mainline denominations aren't hemorrhaging members even more is the social club aspect of churches. Many people pick their churches as much or more for the social club atmosphere as they do for the doctrine.

In the end, most find out that liberals do not make good friends any more than they make good Gospel doctrine.

[hinckley buzzard]

Hm. The simple reality is that any given mainline denomination has a dominant "progressive" hierarchy or power structure, and an orthodox minority of varying strength. The same split exists among evangelicals, although commonly with the roles reversed. Virtually all are steadily losing in membership. The result has been re-alignments of members into more homogeneous subdivisions.

There is no question however that the Liberal-controlled Episcopal and ELCA Lutheran churches have become officially hostile to orthodox Christianity, and are glad to see the traditionalists driven out, as long as they leave their buildings and funds behind. I'm not aware whether the evangelicals have reached that stage.

[Yashcheritsiy]

I think I’ll just disassociate myself from both.

[MrEdd]

: Find the most liberal theologians you can from mainline Protestant denominations — Tillich! Spong! — and then sketch caricatures of them that make them seem as outrageously liberal as possible.

Presenting quotes from their books, and transcripts of their appearances in various venues is "sketching caricatures."

[AnalogReigns]

I’m sorry, but when you have groups like the Episcopalians, who OFFICIALLY VOTED to demand that congregations hire active homosexuals and cross-dressers for pastors, deacons and staff—there IS a conservative/liberal divide between mainline denominations and evangelicals.

Say what you will about the PENTACOSTALS/CHARISMATICS like Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson or Joel Osteen, (which is a different subset of the almost now meaningless word “evangelical”), but they don’t tolerate and approve of SODOMY, as the mainline Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Church of Christ, and (almost) the Methodists do...

To bring in Englishman NT Wright—whose country does not have full free-exercise of religion like the USA (and hence does NOT have the multitude of denominations...and therefore what, 90% of all Protestants there are Anglican?) just muddies the water. Wright while conservative theologically...is actually (barely) Protestant...since he denies the classic Protestant doctrine of substitutionary atonement...

The fact of the matter is the word “evangelical” because it is applied to all socially conservative Protestants NOT a part of the mainline churches, has become so broad as to become useless.

That does NOT mean however, to be a part of mainline denominations—whose organizations actively support sodomy, abortion, and, anti-Semitism (in the guise of “anti-Zionism” (anti-Israel)) is acceptable for bible-believing Christians...even though “evangelical” is an increasingly worn out word.

[aberaussie]

Right. Just be a part of one of those mainline churches for a year or so, get involved on the district, state or even national level, too, if you are so inclined, and see how welcome your conservatism is. Diversity, my foot.

[chesley]

This is total nonsense. If an evangelical church embraces liberal orthodoxy, then by definition it is no longer evangelical, regardless of what it is called.

But I do agree. If you don’t like the evangelical church you are in, find something else and stop trying to get people to validate your choices.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Pat Robertson and John Hagee aren’t conservative? By whose standards . . . Wesley Swift’s?