August 26th, 2024
113. Evangelicals and the EHV
We are naturally very interested in people’s perception of the word Evangelical since it is a key word in the name of our translation. Asking someone to define the word evangelical reminds us of the story about a group of people trying to describe an elephant. It depends on whether they are holding on to the elephant’s side, or its ear, or its trunk, or its tail, or its leg, or its tusks. Evangelical means one thing to a pollster trying to define a sociological group for his poll. He is probably going to define evangelical just by asking the interviewee, “Are you evangelical?” In the Jimmy Carter era the pollster would have asked, “Are you born again?” The term evangelical may be defined as adherence to a specific doctrinal standard by one Evangelical Christian deciding whether another denomination has the right to the name Evangelical. To some politicians the term might mean a white male Christian who is Republican.
The word of course has its roots in the New Testament word for gospel. For Luther and his contemporaries Evangelical distinguished the Lutheran church from the Catholic church. At the time of the Prussian Union Evangelical was blurred to include Reformed and Union churches. In early America the term came to be associated with revivalism and activism. In the 20th century the term was used by Christianity Today-style Evangelicals to distance themselves from Fundamentalists. Christianity Today still uses the label, but today most Fundamentalists would likely be called Evangelicals.
So what is the relationship between the EHV and Evangelicals? The biggest group of “Evangelicals” using the EHV are evangelical, confessional Lutherans. Most other Evangelicals using the EHV, whether in the United States or abroad, are doctrinally conservative, evangelistically-minded non-denominationals, Baptists, and Presbyterians—though we have no stats on this.
The perception of the term Evangelical is complicated by the politicization of the term. As in every era, the danger to the church in regard to state/church relations comes from two directions. God has not provided us with a handbook telling us how the state and church should interact. What the Bible does do is provide us with a list of duties and tools which God has given to the state and of the duties and tools he has given to the church. Since God has assigned to both the church and the state their own distinct purposes and distinct tools, these should not become mixed or confused. Neither church nor state should try to do the work assigned to the other. Neither should ask the other to do its work. Neither should seek to accomplish its ends by using the tools of the other. Such “separation” or it would be better to say “distinction” between church and state is a valid deduction from the distinct missions and tools which God has assigned to church and state.
The founding fathers of the USA recognized this danger coming from two directions. The Constitution was designed to protect the state from the church in the clause forbidding the establishment of a state religion. (This protection of the state from established religion was Jefferson’s biggest concern.) The constitution’s free exercise clause was designed to protect the church from the state. Dangers are present on both fronts today. Some desire to have the state enforce Bible-based moral laws, with the government serving as the administrator of the moral values of a national religion. On the other hand, the state threatens the church when it forces Christians to carry out acts that are against their conscience in such areas as abortion and sexual morality.
Both the state and church have a valid interest in some moral laws but on a different basis and to achieve different goals. Church actions are to be based on Scriptural proof. Government actions are to be based on natural law.
How does this affect the use of the term evangelical? If the term is used as a pejorative term, meaning hateful, narrow-minded, and unloving, this will be reflected in animus and probably actions against every group labeled evangelical, such as the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, congregations called evangelical, and the Evangelical Heritage Version. This harassment would likely begin with laws requiring Christian medical people to cooperate in acts that are against their consciences and withdrawing funding or tax exemptions from charities and schools that do not have the “correct” views on abortion, gay rights, etc.
That this problem of the faulty use of the term evangelical is already a factor affecting the work of the church is illustrated by this question which we received in 2019 from a non-Lutheran street evangelist in California.
FAQ 49
I love your translation of the New Testament and Psalms and look forward to the whole Bible coming out. I have a concern about the name "Evangelical" in your translation. I understand the historic roots of the name, but living in Southern California as I do, the term takes on a pro-Trump slant, since many American Evangelical leaders have been so supportive of the President. Using your translation with "Evangelical" in the title is a stumbling block to some people reading and using your good translation.
Thanks for the feedback on the EHV. It was quite a surprise for us. When we chose the name, it never crossed our minds that the use of the word evangelical (which means for the Gospel) would be interpreted by some readers as pro-Trump. When we chose the name evangelical, President Trump was barely on the horizon politically. I suppose this situation is evidence of the state of polarization we have reached in our society.
Every Bible we print includes a definition of the term evangelical, which should help guard against the misunderstanding about which you are concerned.
Our translation is called Evangelical because its highest goal is to proclaim the good news of the gospel of salvation through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son. Though there are many topics in the Bible, all of them are there to serve the gospel of Christ. All of our work in producing and distributing this translation is directed to the glory of God and to the eternal salvation of people’s souls.
The members of the board of the EHV belong to churches that have the word evangelical in their names, but our churches are not engaged in political endorsements. There are a lot of good words, including ecumenical, orthodox, catholic, even welcoming, that have been appropriated by advocates of a particular doctrinal view or agenda. I am a Lutheran. Some people associate the names Lutheran and Methodist with liberal political activism, ignoring the diversity of the churches who use those names. The solution is not to throw out the names, but for people to explain their name and what it means to them and, more important, to demonstrate what the name means.
We cannot do anything to change the name now, because the full Bible is ready to print (and we do not really want to), but we can continue to show by our words and actions what evangelical means. Not all people who are evangelical are Evangelicals, and not all Evangelicals have the same political views or moral views. Not all are pro-Trump, in spite of some outspoken pastors who appear on TV as alleged spokesmen for Evangelicals. Thoughtful Christians need to look at the diversity behind various labels and not lump apples and oranges together. The best way to show what evangelical really means is by words and actions that proclaim the one gospel to all people, regardless of their race, gender, age, economic status, or political view.
If evangelical is misunderstood as pro-Trump in the minds of some people, this will not likely be a lasting problem for our translation, which will quickly be known as the EHV (to a large degree it already is). Rarely does anyone ask whether the NIV is really new or international. It is simply the NIV. No one, or at least very few, thinks the ESV is actually the standard version for English speakers (same for the CSB).
An easy solution for users of the EHV who are concerned that a segment of their audience might be put off by the term Evangelical and not give their message a fair hearing is to simply call it the EHV and to show by their works and actions what the word evangelical really means.
It was very interesting and eye-opening to get your perspective, so we are sharing it in this FAQ in order to reach a wider audience of potential users of the EHV.
[It is likely that people who would reject the EHV for allegedly being Republican or even pro-Trump would not be much happier with it when they find out what evangelical really does mean and what laws of God the EHV teaches.]
Here is a rerun of our original FAQ concerning the name Evangelical Heritage Version.
FAQ 15
Why is your translation called the Evangelical Heritage Version?
Our translation is called Evangelical because its highest goal is to proclaim the good news of the gospel of salvation through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son. Though there are many topics in the Bible, all of them are there to serve the gospel of Christ. All of our work in producing and distributing this translation is directed to the glory of God and to the eternal salvation of people’s souls.
Many of our congregations have the word evangelical in their names. The word evangelical expresses the nature and purpose of the congregations of their church body.
Our translation is called Heritage because this word looks to the past, the present, and the future.
Heritage expresses our respect for the generations of Christians and for the faithful translators who have passed the Bible down to us. We are very conscious that we in the present are building on the foundation which they have laid. As the old saying goes: We can see so far, because we are standing on the shoulders of giants.
The term Heritage also looks to the future. The gospel is a precious inheritance that is to be passed from generation to generation until Christ returns. It is our prayer that this translation will have a part in that great mission which the Lord has left for his church. Our goal and motto is expressed in the hymn verse:
God’s Word is our great heritage
and shall be ours forever.
To spread its light from age to age
shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way.
In death it is our stay.
Lord, grant while worlds endure,
we keep its teaching pure
throughout all generations.
The words evangelical and heritage were two of the words that received the most favorable recommendations during our test of names among our supporters, so we are confident that this name will express the hopes and dreams for our translation among our translators, reviewers, editors, and users.