An open evangelical is a Christian who, literally, “opens” the Bible, reads it and believes every word it says.
A conservative evangelical doesn’t need to “open” the Bible. He has already decided what the Bible says – “It says what it has always said.”
I’ve managed to get out of bed today, which is progress, though I’m still distinctly under-the-weather. I hope in particular to be well on Saturday morning as I have a major parish event to handle. In the meantime I’m catching up on some blog reading/ newspaper reading, and this issue with Elaine Storkey I find fascinating. What I said to Tim in a comment is relevant here – it’s not that I want to kick the conservatives out or break communion with them, it’s more the other way around. In some small way I think that making my understanding of authority explicit clarifies this underlying issue.