 previous article in this issue | next article in this issue  |
|
Document Details : Title: Hartstochtelijk protestantisme Subtitle: Bronnen en kenmerken van de evangelische beweging in Nederland Author(s): KLAVER, Miranda Journal: Tijdschrift voor Theologie Volume: 50 Issue: 4 Date: 2010 Pages: 385-400 DOI: 10.2143/TVT.50.4.3203449 Abstract : The rise and increasing influence of the evangelical movement in the Netherlands is a significant trend in Dutch religion, contrary to the dramatic decline in membership of mainline churches. A characterization of the evangelical movement shows how a shared praxis of faith rather than doctrinal statements bind believers together in a narrative community which goes beyond denominational structures and formal church membership. The evangelical spirituality is expressed in a concentration on the Bible as the word of God, but is at the same time informed by personal religious experience. It is this intriguing combination of an external authority found in the Bible, together with the normative subjective experiential dimension of the believer's faith, that constitutes a form of experiential and personal religion that is well received in a changing cultural climate of individualism and the diminishing power of traditional religious authorities. An investigation of the historical sources of Dutch evangelicalism reveals how evangelical sensibilities have been present as an undercurrent since the early development of Dutch Protestantism, whereas the institutionalization of evangelicalism in the nineteenth century was hindered due to the structural ordering of society in religious-political communities. The rise of the evangelical movement can be explained as the interconnection of the influx of American evangelical mission organizations, the already existing breeding ground of evangelical spirituality and an increasing process of individualization since the cultural revolution of the sixties. Recent developments show the increasing evangelical influence within Protestant mainline churches as evangelical practices are absorbed and in part welcomed as a remedy to turn the tide of apostasy. This so-called process of 'evangelicalization' points to endeavours to correct a too rational Protestant culture that has devalued the relevance of faith in everyday life and has lost the bodily and sensorial aspects of faith. Due to this process of 'evangelicalization' the boundaries between mainline churches and the evangelical movement and churches are diminishing. The rise of the evangelical movement has stimulated the development of academic evangelical theology and moves into the direction of the contemporary reformation theology. However, evangelical practices, especially concerning interpretation of the Bible, stand at great distance of the intellectual world of evangelical theologians. |
|
