And yet we find Evangelicals embracing and espousing Enlightenment epistemology and the various corrupt and polluted ideologies it has produced. From feminism to the individualist framing of marriage (and thus divorce) to deeper traditions regarding everything from Common Sense Realism and outright rationalism. Confessionalism which as a movement is separate from Evangelicalism (and yet often overlaps with it) is also rooted in the same kind of scholastic-philosophical syncretism we see among Roman Catholic theologians such as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and Bonaventura.
At times the modern varieties are more rigid - all the more within the framework of Enlightenment thought and Empiricism in particular. The rationalism at times is so extreme it makes someone like Abelard appear reserved and even conservative. Evangelicalism is at present rapidly succumbing to theological modernism - its rationalist tendencies have reached the breaking point and the faith (as Evangelicals understand it) is undergoing rapid revision at the academic level. The real harvest of this is only now being hinted at. In another generation I contend that most Evangelical churches will be indistinguishable from the Mainline and its theology of cultural accommodation. Some have argued that Evangelicalism is already today's Mainline and assuming its role, is set to follow the same path of cultural conformity and doctrinal downgrade.
Rome may be accused of retaining a false gospel of sacerdotalism which amounts to superstition connected to mangled and often contrived rites that do little to effectively change a person and their life. Evangelicalism embraces the cheap grace theology of decisional regeneration - which itself is treated in sacramental fashion - often in an ex opere operato form. The end result all too often is the very same worldliness so evident in the lives they live and further evinced in their attitudes toward everything from money to concepts of success, education and ethics, business, politics, nationalism, litigation, and even retirement. Their attitudes and values regarding these questions are all marked by the world and its way of thinking.
Evangelicals will often point to Catholic paedobaptism as producing worldliness. Indeed paedobaptism when wed to a sacralist and Constantinian order will simply reinforce the dominant forms of false Christianity. This does not prove paedobaptism is unbiblical. It simply represents an abuse of it - just as the conversion methods of Evangelicalism pervert an event and process that is otherwise genuine. It spawns confusion and with its low understanding of regeneration and saving faith - and the largely absent doctrine of sanctification - the result is their churches (and congregants) differ very little from the world. I contend it is this same unregenerate impulse that also drives the worship forms which tickle the sensibilities of pop culture aficionados but have nothing to do with Scripture or genuinely seeking the glory of God or a determination to obey his commands when it comes to the Church and the Christian life.
In the final analysis we can say that the Medieval Roman Catholic Church was a syncretism - a synthesis of the Church and the culture of Hellenistic Late Antiquity and that of Germanic Northern Europe. This played out in everything from its ecclesiology to its ethics.
Western Evangelicalism is likewise a syncretism but in a different context. It is a blending of the Church with the culture of Enlightenment individualism and capitalism, and as such its ecclesiology and ethics are market driven utilitarian and pragmatist. Both manifestations are simply put Christianity blended with the world.
And to add to the already dizzying confusion, today's Catholic Church has simply added on this Enlightenment layer to its thinking and existence as well.
Within Evangelicalism there are presently two unofficial branches or tendencies which seem to dominate and yet both utilize the Enlightenment prism in terms of framing of narratives and epistemology and as such they are cut from the same cloth even though the proponents are violently opposed to each other. I refer to both the liberal and right-wing/anti-liberal (and increasingly fascist) tendencies within the larger movement. They view themselves as diametrically opposed but in reality are simply putting a different spin on the same idols and lies often associated with Classical Liberalism, the revolutions it spawned, as well as Western and specifically American identity.
One Evangelical faction is falling into egalitarianism and compromised views of Scripture - subjugating its teachings and ethics to the dictates of Liberalism. The other is worshipping wealth, violence, nationalism, and in many cases also has compromised on the question of Scriptures. Often those that seem stalwart have already sown the seeds for their own fall in a generation. And others may uphold Scripture but are given over to Judaizing interpretations and syncretism. The end result is they are as far astray as the liberals they so despise.
It bears mentioning again, the same forces and divisions are at work in contemporary Romanism.
One faction is succumbing to Liberalism's humanist impulses and putting egalitarian principles above all other truth and ethical concerns - and in the Church this results in a subordination of revelation.
The other faction has grown drunk on its myths and fear and because it has embraced consequentialism, it has fallen into a series of moral breakdowns, episodes of self-deceit, and rank hypocrisy. It wants to fight cancel culture, but does so by means of erecting a cancel/censorship regime. It wants to fight judicial activism but does so with judicial activism. They decry the politicisation of the justice department and law enforcement and thus respond by politicising everything. They mock and ridicule biased judges but then celebrate those who engage in the same partisan behaviour. They crusade against corruption but replace it with even greater and more naked forms of the same. On so many points they have simply lost their way and abandoned the New Testament. I was reminded of James Dobson calling for the assassination of world leaders who oppose the United States but given that he sold out long ago to mammonism and power, such expressions (which deny and abandon New Testament teaching) are to be expected. The latest episode of deceit and whitewash surround Charlie Kirk and his assassination. His Christianity was in service to his political agenda. He was a racist and associated with evil people and their doctrines and yet already a mythology is being generated. To my mind it's clearly a case of judgment, the loss of conscience, discernment, and even basic sense.
The truth is this supposedly existential contest is largely a distraction as the prism (both groups employ) is itself corrupt and needs to be discarded. The Left-Right divide and the general contest for genuine claims to American culture are a waste of time. America was and always will be founded on the rejection of Scripture and anti-Christian principles - even if at times it has pretended otherwise. It has created a venue for Christians to live without large-scale persecution but the end result is probably more destructive as countless groups can be pointed to as examples of losing their edge, along with testimonies of compromise that result from ease of life and conformity to and support of a system which doesn't persecute them, but instead slowly seduces them and undermines their faith and principles. It is the Constantinian Shift all over again.
The end result is this. Rome has long been recognized as apostate. That is until recent years when Catholics became co-belligerents in a war for culture and America. This ostensibly higher ideal and commitment allowed Protestants to set aside the idolatrous anti-christ system of Rome for the common cause of fighting Enlightenment secularism. And the basis and means for doing so were ironically rooted in Enlightenment secularism. One need only point to the most recent example of Mrs. Charlie Kirk. Forty years ago Evangelicals would have categorically rejected the notion that she (as a Roman Catholic) could possibly be a Christian - let alone her continued celebration of being a former beauty queen. Today, her faith is celebrated with calls to emulation. There is no hesitation or question - even from otherwise 'staunch conservatives'. The destructive work of men like Francis Schaeffer and Charles Colson is reaping the harvest. Thanks to them, the Church has lost its identity and the only gospel that seems to excite people is connected to American Right-wing politics. The fact that Charlie Kirk is being revered as a martyr is just further evidence of this.
Evangelicalism is cut from the same acculturated cloth. As Rome was apostate in its natal context, so it is with American Evangelicalism. From its doctrine and practice, to its functional rejection of Scriptural authority (despite its claims to the contrary) the movement has fallen into the exact same patterns as its Roman predecessor. It too has reached the point of apostasy and the point of this exercise is to call people to exit. The time is long past.
And yet the time couldn't be better. Everything is in a state of flux and collapse. Walk away and turn to forms of Christianity that are Scriptural. They will be more rigorous and uncomfortable. They will be counter-cultural and result in a denigration of status. But just what is it this life is all about? Why are we here? Why are we Christians? To get something out of it? To find comfort and peace? To ally with evil and 'conquer' the land? To what end? What victory is that?
We're Christians because we believe Christ rose from the dead. This truth validates a host of truths. We live in a world of lies and it grieves us especially when we see how this present evil age has affected us and alienated us from God - from Truth. The faithful turn away from the lies and will not go back. Once our eyes are opened the enticements of the world have no power over us. Their gold does not glitter and the pleasures of the world do not beguile us. They have no charms to offer.
Ultimately Evangelicalism is an affirmation of the world - and probably on this central point even worse than Roman Catholicism. It is apostate. It's leaders are deceived deceivers. It's fruit is rotten and this is evident. It was always bound to take this course. The modern post-war movement was sown in misguided zeal and corrupt thinking.
This is not to say that every Evangelical is lost. That would be a mistake. But I would argue that we can safely say that a good number of them are as are many of the leaders so respected and renowned. I would add that often Evangelicalism (and even Pentecostalism) has a different kind of ethos outside the United States, but this too is changing as more and more of them fall under the sway of American Evangelicalism's style and methods. Latin America and Africa are cases in point.
I can listen to Roman Catholic radio and be edified at times. I can hear sound things when listening to Eastern Orthodox podcasts. This doesn't mean that these bodies are not apostate. The same is true of Evangelicalism.