Evangelical Christians comprise a large and energetic segment of American Protestantism. These believers are best known for advocating a high view of the Bible's authority and placing a high priority on evangelistic outreach. Recently, however, evangelicals have been buffeted by charges that their ethics are flagging or failed and that their theological distinctives do not reflect the central tradition of the Christian church.

In this volume, respected leaders of the evangelical community address with candor many of the central issues critics have raised about the movement. They represent presenters and respondents to the EVANGELICAL AFFIRMATIONS consultation, a council of theologians convened at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School to discuss and draft a theological statement defining an evangelical Christian stance in American contemporary society. The contributors attempt to drive a new wedge for orthodoxy while also tackling the hardest and most difficult questions. They honestly encourage the debate that wages within evangelical circles both to the right and to the left by analyzing what are the distinctive marks of evangelical faith and practice.

This important book is must reading for all those interested in the evangelical faith and in a measured evaluation of the prospects of evangelical Christians to penetrate the decadent culture of the last decade of the twentieth century with the gospel of Jesus Christ.