VOA标准英语2009年-After Rocky Year, Evangelicals Ponder

Criticized as materialistic¹, often hypocritical, some look inward

Ted² Landphair | Washington, DC 21 December 2009

 
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith
 

One-fourth of U.S. adults – not just Christians⁴, all adults – identify themselves as evangelicals.  And evangelical Christians appear to be at a crossroads at the turn of the old and new years.

Evangelicals believe the Bible is a living road map for their lives.  Some are members of old-line denominations⁵ such as the Southern Baptist Convention.  Others worship in small, unaffiliated congregations.  Still others attend mega-churches whose preachers attract thousands more followers⁶ on television.

 
Carol M. Highsmith
One of world's biggest evangelical mega-churches is the Crystal Cathedral in California. Pastor⁷ Robert Schuller's church has 10,000 members, including many overseas.

But when about 500 evangelicals gathered in Massachusetts in October, they loudly applauded speakers who warned that the movement has lost its way.

Jeffrey MacDonald, a journalist, theologian, and Congregational minister, covered the event.  He heard speakers lament⁸ that some evangelicals have become so involved in politics, heated social issues like abortion⁹, and doctrinal differences that they have lost touch with their spirituality.

Attendees also feared that Americans are beginning to tar¹⁰ all evangelicals with the brush of hypocrisy¹¹, after several famous pastors¹² and Christian³ politicians have been caught preaching a life of purity and living a life of sin.

 
Mark Lawrence Photographers
G. Jeffrey MacDonald is a Protestant minister and a journalist as well. He's among those who are troubled by the emphasis on flair¹³ over substance in some evangelical churches.

MacDonald puts the crisis in context in a provocative¹⁴ new book called Thieves in the Temple. He argues that Christians have cut the heart out of the church experience by demanding entertainment and therapy rather than moral challenge.  As churches become what MacDonald calls religious marketplaces, he writes, they lose their power to shape individual character and to impact society for the better.

MacDonald and speakers at the gathering¹⁵ of American evangelicals admit that a little pizzazz helps churches reach people in an age of superstar concerts and high-definition theater screens in the home.  But they worry that the emphasis on showmanship and recruitment of new members has pulled some churches far from the deep, personal needs of their flock – and of their communities.

[Thieves in the Temple, by G. Jeffrey MacDonald, will be published in the Spring by Basic Books.]

Read more of Ted's personal reflections and stories from the road on his blog, Ted Landphair's America.
 

1 materialistic   

a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的

参考例句：

• She made him both soft and materialistic. 她把他变成女性化而又实际化。
• Materialistic dialectics is an important part of constituting Marxism. 唯物辩证法是马克思主义的重要组成部分。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

8 lament   

n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹

参考例句：

• Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
• We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

10 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

11 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

12 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

13 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

14 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。