We have largely succeeded at sanitizing the public square of overt religious references, such that an American Christian can go about his daily life and not be assailed by assertions of Islamic faith, or reminders of religious Daoism, or Hindu deities. In this largely sanitized space lies a subtle temptation.
The temptation is to think that there is a “plain vanilla” way to engage life where one’s religion really doesn’t matter. You can get the basics of life down, no matter what your religious thoughts might happen to be, and then add in your religion like a condiment on a hamburger. Some people like ketchup; some people like cheese; in Australia they serve it with a slice of beet (for real!) Takes all kinds….
This secular approach has a certain amount of street-level credibility. You change the oil on a Camry the same way whether you’re an atheist, a Christian, or a Zoroastrian. It’s not as if you turn the nut to the right if you’re Jewish and to the left if you’re Muslim, right?
That’s true as far as it goes, but we need to ask why Muslims and Jews both have to turn the nut the same way. Why is it that everybody has to change the oil the same way no matter what religion they are? Why is the world the same for everybody?
Because there is some way of understanding the world that really does go all the way down, and everybody has to bend to it. The question is, what is it?
When we secularize the public spaces in the name of “neutrality,” we are not in fact being neutral. We are behaving as if physical reality is all there is, and religion is a fun idea you can layer on top of “real” reality if it helps you somehow. We are acting as if that is the understanding of the world that goes all the way down.
But it isn’t.
Faced with a secular environment, whether it is in in a gym, a karate dojo, or as mundane a setting as a grocery store, American Christians feel as if there is nothing wrong. We have forgotten the exhortation that Paul gave us: “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
We are Christians; we seek to live in such a way that every part of our lives is in submission to the Lordship of Christ. We acknowledge no secular practice of anything at all.
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Prayer Exercises
- It is easy for us to fall prey to a secular world-and-life view because expressions of it are all around us, and after a while we begin to believe it. Ask God to reveal any areas of your life where you have begun to believe this lie. Wait in silence to see what He will reveal to you.
- In any area that comes to your attention, confess the lie you have begun to believe, and ask God to show you the truth in that area of your life. Wait to see what He will say to you, but also remain attentive over the coming weeks. The answer may come in the form of a thought, an interaction with another person, an event, or something else. Be willing to listen and see what God will do.
- Ask God to show you any strongholds in your own life, or in your community’s life, that need to be pulled down, any thoughts that need to be brought into subjection to Christ.
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