Evanscandal

Neologisms for Evangelicals

EVANSCANDAL (n.) [ee’-van skan’-dl]

[evangelical: 1525–35;  < Late Latin evangelicus  (< Late Greek euangelikós; see evangel , -ic) + -al] [scandal: 1580s, “discredit caused by irreligious conduct,” from Middle French scandale (12c.), from Late Latin scandalum “cause for offense, stumbling block, temptation,” from Greek skandalon “a trap or snare laid for an enemy,” in New Testament, metaphorically as “a stumbling block, offense;” originally “trap with a springing device,” from PIE *skand- “to leap, climb.”][4]

1. An evangelical leader – caught in a scandal, sinful or illegal action, public disgrace, offensive conduct, shameful behavior, “defraudings,”[5] or any other opprobrious deportment – who engages in cover-up, “spin,” denials, blasting critics, shifting blame, implausible deniability, harassing victims, counter-attacks, accusations, theological twistings, arguments over minutiae, obfuscation, hiding evidence, misleadings; and employing semantic gymnastics, righteous indignation, lying, deceiving, justifications, technical jargon, outright vengeance, and other similar methods.


2. An evangelical leader who commits such actions and gets caught, who resorts to marketing strategies to restore (“spin”) his/her tarnished image. Such marketing methods include hiring a public relations firm, lawyers and press agents; enlisting radio talk show hosts, publishers, media outlets, writers, and big name leaders in the “evangelical industrial complex”[6]; and engaging friends, buddies, colleagues, and associates to speak favorably about him/her – all engaged in damage control and the restoration of his/her shattered public image. Such leaders, using these tactics, try to “get away with it” with as little
collateral damage as possible.


3. An evangelical leader who commits such actions and gets caught, who believes that he/she is “basically good but just flubbed up a bit,” and who depends on the whole “Oops!” episode “blowing over quickly” so that they can just get on with their ministry/business. Such leaders often operate out of multiple corporate structures, which enables them to sidestep the controversy and continue on in equally profitable ventures as though nothing happened. 


4. An evangelical leader who commits such actions and gets caught, who fails to acknowledge sin or admit wrongdoing, refuses to name the sin, does not express true contrition, avoids public expression of repentance, and neglects to perform restitution wherever and however possible – but, rather, issues a press release with sweeping blanket statements designed to minimize the impact, trivialize the issue(s), sweep everything under the carpet, and superficially appear to be sorry. Such leaders heavily depend upon “evangullibility” so that they can continue on as before without any serious or long-lasting negative consequences. 

RELATED WORDS:

• EVANSCANDALIZE (v.)
• EVANSCANDALIZING (v.)
• EVANSCANDALIZATION (n.)
• EVANSCANDALOUS (adj.)
• EVANSCANDALOUSLY (adv.)
• EVANSCANDAL SHEET (n.)
• EVANSCANDAL-MONGER (n.)

SEE ALSO:
EVANSCHULTZICAL: “An evangelical, most likely a leader, who, when confronted by obvious heresy, hears nothing, sees nothing and knows nothing.”

Endnotes:
1. John Loftness, cited at “C.J. Mahaney Issues Statement Protesting His Innocence,” at http://abrentdetwiler.squarespace.com/brentdetwilercom/cj-mahaney-issues-statement-protesting-his-innocence.html. See also: http://apprising.org/2014/05/22/c-j-mahaney-issues-statement-concerning-civil-lawsuit/ and http://apprising.org/2012/10/17/lawsuit-claims-c-j-mahaneys-sovereign-grace-ministries-concealed-sex-abuse-allegations/
2. Kyle Firstenberg, formerly of Mars Hill. This admission about the Mars Hill culture was included in his statement of repentance, reported by Warren Throckmorton, March 25, 2014, “Former Executive Pastor Repents for Culture of Fear at Mars Hill Church,” http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/03/25/former-executive-pastor-repents-for-culture-of-fear-at-mars-hill-church/ and the many other posts at this site pertaining to Mark Driscoll. See also: http://apprising.org/2014/05/21/did-mark-driscoll-teach-jesus-made-mistakes-as-justification-for-his-own-mistakes/ and the many other posts at this website pertaining to Mark Driscoll.And see: http://m.christianpost.com/news/fallout-from-radio-show-hosts-allegations-that-pastor-mark-driscoll-plagerized-includes-deletion-apology-and-producers-resignation–110271
3. Email statement by Rev. Johnnie Moore, Jr., senior vice-president for communications and assistant to the president at Liberty University in response to criticism about Glenn Beck’s Mormon sermon, documented by Jonathan Merritt,May 19, 2014,  “Liberty University responds to complaints about Glenn Beck sermon,” http://jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com/2014/05/19/liberty-university-responds-complaints-glenn-beck-sermon/ and covered by Pastor Ken Silva in his post, “LIBERTY UNIVERSITY DEFENDING GLENN BECK AT ITS CONVOCATION,” May 23, 2014,at http://apprising.org/2014/05/23/liberty-university-defending-glenn-beck-at-its-convocation/ 
4. Scandal derivations from Dictionary.com and also from Online Etymology Dictionary which elaborates some interesting history: ‘Attested from early 13c., but the modern word likely is a reborrowing. Meaning “malicious gossip,” also “shameful action or event” is from 1590s; sense of “person whose conduct is a disgrace” is from 1630s. Scandal sheet “sensational newspaper” is from 1939. Scandal-monger is from 1702.’ Re: scandalize, it reports: ‘Originally “make a public scandal of;” sense of “shock by doing something improper” first recorded 1640s.’
5. See “Defrauding: What does it mean?”, Feb. 27, 2014, http://www.recoveringgrace.org/2014/02/defrauding-what-does-it-mean/ pertaining to the Bill Gothard scandals.
6. Quote is from Ruth Graham, “The Evangelical Celebrity Machine,” http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2013/12/mark_driscoll_plagiarism_accusations_janet_mefferd_accused_the_seattle_pastor.html  
7. Statement made by Tullian Tchividjian, “Tullian Tchividjian Pushes Back Against Tim Keller, DA Carson’s Gospel Coalition Statement on His Exit,” story by Moran Lee, May 23, 2014, Christian Post, http://m.christianpost.com/news/tullian-tchividjian-calls-gospel-coalitions-claims-attributed-to-tim-keller-d-a-carson-about-his-exit-a-flat-out-lie–120272/

Graphic adaptation courtesy of Pastor Ken Silva of Apprising.org.