Over the last 4 years, I've been traveling to Ukraine. In preparing for this travel, I have been studying their belief system and their culture so that I can better understand their worldview. I was amazed in my studies to find that they will often refer to the Christian roots of the nation dating back to like 900AD...Christian roots??? Wait? What?
I've been in that culture and while I love the people and love the beautiful land and desire to be among them, I would hardly say that this is in fact a nation that has Christian roots. Eastern Orthodox was the dominate "state-run" religion for many generations, even centuries and it is in no way a belief that actually follows CHRIST JESUS. So it got me to thinking...what does it mean to be Christian vs. Evangelical Christian.
According to Wikipedia..."To begin, let’s break down the two words. The term "Christian" essentially means "little Christ." "Christian" is the term given to followers of Jesus Christ in the first century A.D. (Acts 11:26).
The term "evangelical" comes from the Greek word that means "good news." Evangelism is sharing the good news of the salvation that is available through Jesus Christ. An evangelical, then, is a person dedicated to promoting the good news about Jesus Christ. Combined, the description "evangelical Christian" is intended to indicate a believer in Jesus Christ who is faithful in sharing and promoting the good news.
The article continues..."In Western culture today, there are many caricatures of evangelical Christians. For some, the term "evangelical Christian" is equivalent to right-wing, fundamentalist Republican. For others, "evangelical Christian" is a title used to differentiate an individual from a Catholic Christian or an Orthodox Christian. Others use the term to indicate adherence to the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. In this sense, an evangelical Christian is a believer who holds to the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith alone. However, none of these is inherent in the description "evangelical Christian."
Clearly the Eastern Orthodox Chruch wants to label themselves as Christians of the real type but I have yet to see one single ounce of love demonstrated in their belief system. Their followers will all tell you that they are condemned to hell and that there is no hope. They work themselves to death to try to become a God and believe that Mary was the closest to making this level of diefication. They only see Jesus as the one who's death on the cross brought victory over satan so that man could get back on to the right path of diefication and begin his work again towards becoming a God.
They want to become a god in their Christian religion and we as EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS want to become CHRIST-LIKE....there is a huge difference...we'll discuss this more next time...stay tuned.
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