The Christian Post (CP) reports Evangelical Press Association (EPA) members will vote during the last half of September on the EPA’s Board of Directors recommendation to rename the group the Christian Communicators Network.
The EPA represents Focus on the Family, Moody Bible Institute and the Salvation Army among its over 300 members. Representing many periodicals, organizations and individuals, they have a combined over 20 million readers. The Christian Post is one of the EPA’s member publications.
Ed Vitagliano, vice president of American Family Association (AFA), says the decision to change the name would be a mistake.
“Just to switch to something like Christian Communicators Network seems to be a step in the wrong direction. I think that Christians are looking for more clarity, not less,” Vitagliano states.
The word “evangelical,” CP says, is attacked as a “code” for a certain political orientation or viewed as a faith that harms people.
The board of directors says it “recognizes that … evangelical increasingly carries political, cultural and sociological meanings that often obscure its theological intent.”
Vitagliano says that’s corporate speak for “we’re ashamed of the word.”
“I think sometimes it’s evidence of a cowardice that does not want to be subject to being reviled by the wider community,” Vitagliano says.
According to CP, “evangelical” means 'the good news' from the Greek word “euangelion.”
Vitagliano says ‘evangelical’ has a clear meaning, even if it might poll less popular than in the past. It stands in defense of innocent human life, in defense of marriage and family and the biblical message of human sexuality.
“When you have a group like the Evangelical Press Association saying that the word evangelical is divisive, I think what they mean to say is the Bible is divisive, and they don’t want to stand against the spirit of the age,” Vitagliano states.
