Diagnosing Today’s Enmity Toward Evangelicalism

The prevalence of hostility within the human heart toward divine authority and degrees is unmistakable within society. This opposition is apparent in today's societal disorder and evangelical animosity.

The late R.C. Sproul (2019) anticipated the cause and effect of our current predicament, stating,

The departure from divine revelation has brought our culture to chaos in the area of ethics. We have lost our basis of knowledge, our epistemological foundation, for discovering the good. (Location 237)

As for the increasing antagonism toward evangelicals, G.K. Chesterton (1986) famously asserted, "There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions."

Jesus predicted such an exclusive enmity, stating,

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. (John 15:18-20)

Most recently, however, opposition to the faithful remnant desiring to hold fast to the pattern of sound doctrine (2 Timothy 1:13) has come from within the very ranks of evangelicalism itself. Perhaps we should not be shocked by this development. As Guzik (2015) noted, it is quite possible to be religious and yet very much part of the world, for Jesus was primarily persecuted by a religious establishment that reflected the priorities and precepts of the world in opposition to the Almighty.

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References:

Chesterton, G. K. (1986). The collected works of G. K. Chesterton: The illustrated London News, 1908 - 1910. 28.

Guzik, D. (2015, December 10). John Chapter 15. Enduring Word. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-15/

Sproul, R. C. (2019). How Should I Live In This World?