Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

EVANGELISM

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of the eighteenth century. This pan-
denominational evangelicalism includes
Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity,
which is the fastest growing part of the
Church today.

EVANGELISM. The proclaiming of
the Gospel (euangelion). The term “evan-
gelist” is used three times in the New
Testament (Acts 21.8; Eph 4.11; 2 Tim
4.5), alongside other designations of min-
istry or gift. The Apostles are also said to
have “evangelized.” Today the term “evan-
gelism” is used particularly to refer to
methods of proselytization performed by
Evangelicals, which can include rallies
with key speakers, beach missions, dis-
semination of tracts, and the develop-
ment of certain dynamic styles of worship
(using contemporary media and music,
for example) that seem continuous with
other aspects of people’s lives.

EVERLASTING. Without a temporal
beginning or end. Some theists contend
that while God is everlasting, God is not
atemporally eternal or timeless.

EVIDENCE. In most theories of knowl-
edge historically, evidence is a normative
concept of reason that can justify, entitle,
or warrant a belief. Some naturalists
have proposed non-normative accounts,
according to which evidence is that which
supports reliable beliefs for human beings

whose cognition has developed through

evolution.

EVIDENTIALISM. The view that beliefs

are not justified unless supported by

evidence. This position is thought to have

reached its zenith in Descartes, Locke,

Hume, and W. K. Clifford. Clifford (1845–

1879) held that it is a sin to ever hold a

belief without sufficient evidence. Unfor-

tunately, he never defined what consti-

tutes sufficient evidence.

EVIL, THE PROBLEM OF. If there is an

all-powerful, all-good, and all-knowing

God, then why is there evil? This is

the classical theistic problem of evil that

comes in the form of either a deductive or

a probabilistic argument. Deductive argu-

ments contend that there is a strict logical

incompatibility between theism and the

existence of evil. Probabilistic arguments

usually concede that it is logically possi-

ble for God and evil to co-exist, but they

argue that, given the amount of evil that

exists, it is unlikely or improbable that

God exists. A theodicy attempts to justify

the apparent problem of the existence of

evil in God’s creation. See also ANTI-

THEODICY; THEODICY.

EVOLUTIONARY ETHICS. Ethics as

derived from evolutionary theory. This

faces the difficulty that evolutionary the-

ory does not seem to provide a reason

to believe that if a form of life survives