| The topic of this dissertation is a study on the thought of modem Christian Evangelicalism. Generally speaking, evangelicalism is mainly a modern Christian movement or trend which transcends confessional and denominational boundaries to emphasize conformity to some basic principals or a set of shared beliefs and outlooks of the Christian faith , eg the supremacy of Holy Scripture, the majesty of Christ, the lordship of the Holy Spirit, the necessity of conversion, the priority of evangelism, etc. It originated from and has been a decisive influence among the Fnglish-speaking peoples in the North Atlantic world; and now scarcely any part of the world has untouched by the global renaissance of evangelicalism. Etymologically, the designation evangelical derives from the Creek term euangelion, which means "gospel" or "message of good news". Basically, therefore, an evangelical is one who believes and proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ, the message that Christ died for human sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day in fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures, thereby providing the means of redemption for sinful humanity (1 Cor. 15: 1-4).One can distinguish three dominant paradigms in evangelical history. The first paradigm derives from the confessional and dissenting movements of the sixteenth-century Reformation; it can be called classical evangelicalism and seeks to sustain the doctrinal heritage of the continental Reformationist traditions. The second paradigm, pietistic or revivalist evangelicalism, derives from the eighteenth-century German and English Pietist movements and, in the United States, from the Great Awakenings. Its emphasis is upon the experiences of conversion, sanctification and spiritual regeneration. The third paradigm, contemporary or new evangelicalism, derives from the modernist-fundamentalist conflict of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and gives heightened emphasis to biblical inerrancy, personal conversion and social activism. Sociologically, evangelicalism has three features in general. First, evangelicalism is transdenominational; it is not confined to any traditional denomination, nor is it a denomination in its own right. Secondly, evangelicalism is not a denomination in itself, but is a major trend or theological movement within the mainstream denominations. Thirdly, evangelicalism itself represents an ecumenical movement; there is a natural affinity among evangelicals, irrespective of their denominational associations.There are six chapters in all.In chapter 1, I discuss the nature and characteristics of evangelicalism in general and give a comprehensive study of who they are, what they believe, how they exist and where they are going.In chapter 2, I carefully make an investigation into the historically development of evangelicalism, especially into the questions of the relationship between evangelicalism and the Reformation, Puritanism, Pietism, revivalism, the Great Awakening, and the Fundamentalism. Furthermore, I demonstrate that there are three stages in the development of contemporary evangelicalism and examine the characteristics of each of them.In chapter 3, I concentrate on the important issue of the supreme authority of scripture. Regarding the nature and authority of scripture, many evangelical thinkers have moved from the standpoint of "totally inerrancy" to some form of "infallible teaching" model, in which scripture is held to be infallible only in the affirmation of its message. This infallible message is variously construed as all matters of faith and practice, or all matters pertaining to salvation, or the overallmessage of scripture, or the essential message of scripture. I examine systematically what the difference is between them and how the change has developed within the movement of contemporary evangelicalism. It is concerned with the revealing initiative of the God the Father.In chapter 4, I concentrate on the strongly Christocentric character in evangelicalism. For evangelicals, Christian theology is first and fo...
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