Several people have asked what the definition of evangelical is. It's an important question. But the answer is complicated because there are many facets to it, and it has become so large that it contains many contradictions.

So. Here is my attempt.

The root is evangel -- an old word that means good news. Evangelism means to share the good news. The good news is liberation, that freedom from sin and death is possible provided by God through Jesus Christ. An evangelical is someone who believes in that kind of liberation.

We're talking about people living simply, with a faith which informs their decisions to be good and humble, to take care of the world, and to be kind to each other. They're called to be forgiving because of their belief that they've been forgiven.

Sounds good so far, right?

Where it begins to turn is with evangelicalism -- this is where it starts to take on supremacist overtones. Evangelicalism involves a vast array of moving parts -- educational institutions, media organisations, a whole *lot* of churches, and the myriad of links between them all.

Evangelicalism is tainted with hierarchy. An extreme form is its history with slavery and segregation in the US. Christianity also had a significant role in the rise of Nazism, which led the world's most powerful nations to war.

Within evangelicalism, the wealth of the West (or North), and the wealth of individuals, is assumed to be a blessing from God -- even though Jesus had strong words to say about corruption that comes from wealth. (Remember that thing I said about contradictions?)

White supremacy has been stirred into evangelicalism, including the motives of evangelical missionaries -- the desire to fix other people's cultures by making them look more "like ours." The belief in other people's and nation's inferiority runs deep!

Evangelicalism has constructed staggering power structures that subjugate many. The religion founded on peace -- neighbour- and enemy-love -- has turned into a whole mess of pecking orders, and jockeying for position, power and profit. And abuse. So much abuse!

The greatest problem I have with evangelicalism is its chronic and acute lack of self-awareness. Indeed, the people who are becoming self-aware, who are deconstructing their faith, culture and political views are often treated with disdain (and fear!) from insiders.

That deconstruction is revealing so many ways that evangelicalism has twisted a religion intended to be liberating and loving into something oppressive and cruel.

Christianity was supposed to put an end to hypocrisy, and instead it gave it a book deal. A lot of book deals!

Whether evangelicalism is a system that can be redeemed remains to be seen.

But when people refuse to see the faults of their system, or their system's protagonists -- when they can't see how distant they are from their Jesus' words and actions -- there isn't much hope.