David famously introduced what many refer to as the “Bebbington Quadrilateral.” These four distinctive and interlocking emphases continue to be the gold standard for characterizing an evangelical, regardless of whether one uses that title to describe oneself—or not. In this episode, we discuss the criteria that should be used to identify an evangelical and why it matters as we consider the contemporary state of the Church.
David Bebbington is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Stirling in Scotland and Distinguished Visiting Professor of History at Baylor University. He is a leading expert on the history of the global evangelical movement. Together with Mark Noll and George Marsden, David edited an important and influential book entitled, “Evangelicals: Who They Have Been, Are Now, and Could Be.”
Evangelicals: Who They Have Been, Are Now, and Could Be by Mark Noll, David Bebbington, and George Marsden