Episode 9: “Would Jesus identify as an Evangelical?"

Evangelicalism seems to have a massive PR problem. You probably see in the news the same thing that I do: high profile scandals, a loud voice in the culture wars, and behaviour that doesn’t line up with the historical Jesus. So I wanted to discuss the perception and the reality of Evangelicalism - both the label and the movement. As well as how it lines up with the central figure of Christianity; Christ, and his teachings.

Constantine Campbell is a Professor and Associate Research Director at the Sydney College of Divinity, and previously served as Professor of New Testament studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago and Moore Theological College in Sydney. He specialises in ancient Greek language and completed his doctorate at Macquarie University 2007. Con is also the author of 16 books, with a focus on ancient Greek linguistics, New Testament interpretation, and the writings of St Paul. His latest book is Jesus vs Evangelicals.

Other References:

• Taking America back for God by Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry
• Faith and Belief in Australia Report (2017) by McCrindle Research. See pages 26 and 34 about Christians being known as ‘caring’
• Australia’s changing spiritual landscape Report (2021) by McCrindle Research. See page 11 for stat where 76% of Australians think churches make meaningful difference to their community.
• Jesus more popular than evangelicals: See “Openness to Jesus Isn’t the Problem—the Church Is” by Barna Research (May 2023).
• Matthew 23: A warning against hypocrisy from Jesus.
• PSA = Penal Substitutionary Atonement
• We discussed a significant posture shift that occurred due to ‘Constantine’. We were of course referring to Emperor Constantine from the early 5th century, and not Con Campbell!

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