Engel scale
{{Short description|Religious scale}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=December 2022}}
The Engel scale was developed by James F. Engel, as a way of representing the journey from no knowledge of God, through to spiritual maturity as a Christian believer.Søgaard, 2000, p.311 The model is used by some Christians to emphasise the process of conversion and the various decision-making steps that a person goes through in becoming a Christian.Love, 2000, p.231
Background
The original model was developed by James F. Engel and Viggo Søgaard. It was later refined by Engel, who added several ideas from behavioural science, and published it in his 1975 book with W.F. Norton What's Gone Wrong With the Harvest and 1979 publication Contemporary Christian Communications.
Model
The model emphasises the journey of faith and spiritual maturity through a number of stages.Hartman, 2007, p.74–75
+5 Stewardship
+4 Communion with God
+3 Conceptual and behavioral growth
+2 Incorporation into Body
+1 Post-decision evaluation
New birth
-1 Repentance and faith in Christ
-2 Decision to act
-3 Personal problem recognition
-4 Positive attitude towards Gospel
-5 Grasp implications of Gospel
-6 Awareness of fundamentals of Gospel
-7 Initial awareness of Gospel
-8 Awareness of supreme being, no knowledge of Gospel
Two possible additional stages before stage eight could be:
-9 Unawareness of supreme being.
-10 Resistance or antagonism to the concept of a supreme being.
Criticism and development
The Engel scale has been criticized for its fixed linear approach, which has led to a number of modifications.Hazelden, 2000 Søgaard developed the Engel Scale into a two dimensional model in 1986. The Gray Matrix, another two dimensional model produced by Frank Gray of Feba Radio, and Thom S. Rainer's Faith Scale are both also derived from it.Hartman, 2007, p.75–76
See also
{{Portal|Christianity}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|first=James F.|last=Engel|title=Contemporary Christian Communications: Its Theory and Practice|publisher=Thomas|place=New York NY|year=1979|isbn=0-84075-152-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarychri0000enge}}
- {{cite book|first1=James F.|last1=Engel|first2=H. Wilbert|last2=Norton|title=What's Gone Wrong with the Harvest?: A Communication Strategy for the Church and World Evangelization|publisher=Zondervan|place=Grand Rapids MI|year=1975|isbn=0-31024-161-8}}
- {{cite journal|first=David L.|last=Hartman|title=Implementation of the Personal Styles of Evangelism in the Highland Seventh-day Adventist Church for Maximal Evangelistic Impact|journal=Human Subject Research Archive|volume=8|year=2007|url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1007&context=hrsa|accessdate=7 May 2019}}
- {{cite web|first=Paul|last=Hazelden|url=http://www.hazelden.org.uk/pt02/art_pt068_modified_engel_full.htm|title= The Modified Engel Scale|website=hazelden.org.uk|year=2000|accessdate=7 May 2019}}
- {{cite book|first=Richard D.|last=Love|chapter=Conversion|editor-first1=A. Scott|editor-last1=Moreau|editor-first2=Harold A.|editor-last2=Netland|editor-first3=Charles Edward|editor-last3=van Engen|title=Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions|publisher=Baker Books|place=Grand Rapids MI|year=2000|isbn=0-85364-995-2|pages=231–232}}
- {{cite book|first=Viggo B.|last=Søgaard|chapter=Engel Scale|editor-first1=A. Scott|editor-last1=Moreau|editor-first2=Harold A.|editor-last2=Netland|editor-first3=Charles Edward|editor-last3=van Engen|title=Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions|publisher=Baker Books|place=Grand Rapids MI|year=2000|isbn=0-85364-995-2|page=311}}
Category:Conversion to Christianity