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articulations of the construct. But this only raises a second, perhaps more difficult, question: why is common grace the best theological construct among the many available within the Christian tradition to inform evangelical cultural engagement? And here two important sub-questions emerge: 1. why is common grace the most amenable option to the broader evangelical family? and 2. how does common grace compare in its “explanatory scope” to other doctrines which can inform the Christian’s relationship to culture? To answer these questions requires briefly clarifying what is meant in this paper by the term “evangelical.” Defining evangelicalism has been a difficult task historically. Alister McGrath attributes the difficulty to the various origins, resources, and contexts associated with the multifarious movement.45 He does his best by offering up six controlling convictions that identify evangelicals: 1. the authority of the Scriptures, 2. the centrality of Christ as incarnate God and Savior of sinful humanity, 3. the lordship of the Holy Spirit, 4. the need for personal conversion, 5. the priority of evangelism for individuals and the church, and 6. the importance of Christian community.46 Timothy Larsen thinks he can get that number down to five characteristics when he says that evangelicals are: 1. orthodox Protestants, 2. of the revivalist tradition, 3. who have a preeminent place for the Bible, 4. and stress reconciliation with God through Christ’s cross-work, 5. and emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit to bring about individual conversion, an ongoing life of fellowship and service, and participation in the great commission.47 Of course, the classic definition by David Bebbington only had four distinguishing marks: conversionism, activism, Biblicism, and crucicentrism.48 Perhaps the list might even be narrowed down to two by proposing that evangelicals are “children of the reformation” who are thus committed to 1. the authority
45
Alister McGrath, Evangelicalism & the Future of Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1995),
46
Ibid., 56.
54-55.
Timothy Larsen, “Defining and Locating Evangelicalism,” in The Cambridge Companion to Evangelical Theology, ed. Timothy Larsen and Daniel J. Treier (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 1. 47
48
Ibid.