Post-Christians and Post-Evangelicals

I've recently been having a discussion with some "post-Christian" friends of mine (people who've left the faith), and it's set me thinking about the differences in our responses to very similar experiences. They have become "post-Christian", whereas I have only become "post-evangelical". (The term comes from a book, The Post-Evangelical.)

I tend to see both being "post-Christian" and being "post-evangelical" as reactions, to some extent, to evangelicalism, part of the difference being that as a post-evangelical I see Christianity as broader than evangelicalism - that is, I can reject the latter without rejecting the former - while, judging from the comments of my friends, they identify the two pretty closely. In other words, what they think of when they say "Christianity" is evangelical Christianity, and a fairly immature form of it at that.

I thought it might be helpful to set out a table of what it (in general) means to be "evangelical", "post-evangelical" and "post-Christian". Part of what makes me "post-evangelical" is that I'd have difficulty saying exactly what it means to be "Christian" in any reasonable space, so I'll just stick with the three for now (though see my attempt at a credo).

Normal caveats apply, i.e., people are complex, and the following is a simplification of a complex situation. If you fall broadly into one of the three groups, you may nevertheless find a number of points in the corresponding column which don't describe you, or don't describe you adequately.

Having said that, people do tend to fall into groups, and I think that broadly speaking these distinctions are valid.

The other caveat is that I am (as I've said) myself a post-evangelical, meaning that I've been an evangelical and moved from there, and not moved in the post-Christian direction. The consequence of this is that I favour my "own" group, just like everyone else does, and think less of the other two. After all, if I didn't think it was the best place to be I'd be in one of the others or a fourth place.

This may mean you think I'm being less than fair to your group if you identify with one of the other two, particularly if you're an evangelical. I'm not talking about the most mature evangelicals here, but the kind of person I was a few years ago, which I think is more common than the mature sort (who may be closer to the "post-evangelical" column in some ways, without necessarily belonging properly in that group).

Evangelical	Post-Evangelical	Post-Christian
The Church
The means by which Bible truth is communicated and interpreted. A source of authority in everyday life.	An imperfect and flawed institution which nevertheless acts as a channel for divine grace and a medium for living the Christian life.	An imperfect, flawed and perhaps evil institution which exploits and manipulates people.
The Bible
Inerrant (in the original manuscripts), inspired, infallible, totally authoritative, the revelation of the Word of God, the sole ultimate authority for life and faith.	The inspired revelation of God, a reliable witness to Jesus Christ who is the Word of God, a means of understanding God and ourselves. Probably authoritative even though possibly flawed.	A deeply flawed human document full of contradictions, impossibilities and ridiculous statements. Outdated, boring and without any authority or meaning for modern people. Used by the church to exploit.
Suffering
Either: An attack of Satan (non-human, non-divine agency). Punishment for sin (personal responsibility plus divine agency). "Trials" to make us strong (divine agency). Tragic consequences of the Fall (general flawedness of the universe).	Possibly several or all of: Our own fault for being stupid (personal responsibility). Tragic consequences of the way things are (general flawedness of the universe/people). An opportunity for growth (divine grace).	Either: Tragic consequences of randomness (general flawedness of the universe). Our own fault for being stupid (personal responsibility). The result of others' malice, error or wrong-headedness (e.g. suffering caused by the church). Possibly God being a bastard.
Pleasure
Probably a temptation to lead us astray from the true path.	A gift of God to be enjoyed appropriately.	A major purpose and goal in life.
Personal Growth
Consists of reading the Bible more, understanding it better, praying more, taking part in more Christian activities, feeling more positive about your faith. You will probably end up looking more like the leaders of your group as a result.	Consists of becoming fuller and more rounded in every area of life: physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, psychological, interpersonal (including sexual), artistic. You will probably end up looking like a better version of your distinctive personality as a result.	Consists of becoming happier with yourself and your life, physical, mental, emotional, psychological, interpersonal (especially sexual) and (possibly) artistic. You will probably end up more self-assertive as a result.
God
The ultimate authority who rules your life.	The ultimate lover who enriches your life.	The ultimate myth used to exploit people. (Atheist post-Christian.) The ultimate mystery, not knowable by humans in any meaningful way. (Agnostic or deist post-Christian.) A malign being who causes suffering.
Sex
Outside marriage, frightening, dirty, shameful and fascinatingly forbidden (though many don't let this stop them). Without it (or rather without marriage) you are incomplete. Inside marriage, still frightening, to be taken terribly seriously, but created by God for perpetuation of the family unit. Discussed uncomfortably and clinically, if at all. Must be heterosexual.	A part of being human, without which you can nevertheless be happy and fulfilled. Created by God for pleasure, reproduction and mutual affirmation, not dirty or shameful, to be enjoyed in the context of commitment (some would say that formal marriage is not required, others disagree). Discussed freely and taken seriously, but definitely not to the exclusion of fun and laughter. A few accept homosexual unions.	One of the great pleasures and purposes of life. Without it you are a loser and frustrated. One of the big hangups that the church has got totally wrong. A great fascination, to be discussed at every opportunity but not to be taken too seriously - it doesn't mean very much in some ways. How you do it and with whom is nobody's business but yours and theirs.
Death
An occasion for grief, but leavened with hope if the deceased is an orthodox evangelical Christian or has had a deathbed conversion.	An occasion for grief, leavened with hope which doesn't reduce the grief but keeps it from being inordinate, especially if the deceased inclined towards God.	The end. That's it. So party while you can. Life is short, play hard. Sad for the family and friends, though, who won't see the person again.
Conversion
An event, initiated in theory by God, but the convert's assent is required. Opinions differ on whether it is reversible.	A process, initiated and guided by God, even if we don't always notice. Who knows if it's reversible? We don't understand it anyway.	A psychological phenomenon. Reversible under different psychological conditions (such as growing up).
Prayer
A duty, with mysterious supernatural power over reality if done "right" and for long enough.	A mystery, a giving of events and people over to the care of God. May or may not give the results we ask for but will help our attitude regardless.	A psychological phenomenon with no actual power over the real world.

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