For the purpose of this piece, secular will refer to the state, and sacred will refer to the church. What are the distinctions? At the most fundamental, the secular/state has the power of coercion where the sacred/church has the power of persuasion.

Coercion is force through the implementation of laws, police, military, propaganda, taxation in any combination or all together. Persuasion is the use of words, ideas and examples. Coercion seeks to control the body and the material possessions that the body owns and to influence behavior in a way that is contrary to the sacred. Persuasion seeks to change the heart, mind and behavior leading to an escape from the secular.

The two must live on the same planet in the temporal world. The secular promises heaven on earth, and the sacred promises Heaven in an eternal afterlife filled with joy, peace and security. The sacred comes into particular conflict with the secular when the sacred points to the word of GOD which says that the person pursuing the secular way will end up in an eternal Hell where there is no joy, peace or security.

This conflict leads to the secular persons being filled with vitriol for the sacred oriented persons. History is replete with the secular persecuting the sacred – often times with torture and death, or in more merciful secular societies they may only make the sacred oriented persons second class citizens with limited participation, if any, in society and its perceived benefits – real or imagined.

Time and time again, the patience, grace and love exhibited by the sacred ultimately won over the secular – at least to the extent that they realized the sacred had something worthwhile to offer. What did they have to offer? Primarily, they had salvation from sin and eternal damnation by way of repentance and belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of GOD Who died on the cross for the sins of the world, but not for everyone in the world.

Yes, the sacred also profess the exclusivity of Jesus Christ’s offer of salvation being limited to His elect (chosen from the beginning of time to be saved and spend eternity in Heaven with Him). Again, this angers those who do not want to give up control of their lives and attitudes. As a result the prosecution and vitriol are rekindled.

The secular are ruled primarily by a subjective world view that puts an emphasis on personal feelings and righteousness. In contrast, the sacred believe that none are righteous but Christ, and personal feeling are neither consistent nor objective. The secular look for “consensus building” solutions to problems. This gives them comfort in that they believe they have exercised wisdom by going with a majority opinion. One must ask, “Has the majority every been wrong?” Certainly the majority, by a long shot, wanted Christ crucified. Ask any of the secular, “What do you have against Jesus Christ?” With a possible rare exception, they have nothing against Him. Their hostility is directed toward Christians who are by their own admission, if they are Christians, flawed! So their argument falls to the floor.

As an example of majority rule (or the manipulated and coerced appearance thereof) we have people destroying their health and physical well being by pursing unhealthy living styles. In so doing, they are also debilitating their spiritual health as well. Suicide, divorce, substance abuse, murder, gang violence, a huge prison population, lenghty delays and expensive justice, inflation, massive debt, high taxes, intrusive government, a declining standard of living and so on, plague the secular society. Because the sacred has to live along side the secular, the sacred has to suffer some of the oppressive aspects of the secular society.

The secular continually denigrate and disparage the solutions of the sacred because, in their assessment, they are too harsh and restrictive. An intellectually honest and dispassionate look at the sacred’s solution to the world’s problems would reveal a sincere, humble and merciful approach to dealing with the poor, disconsolate, sick, injured, aged etc. At the same time, the sacred seek to employ an equitable method for adjudicating injustices, crime, and miscreant behavior. Prisons and slow moving courts that don’t serve justice are not merciful. Corporations that get fined while the criminal elements that run some of them cannot be prosecuted for their crimes does not comport with the sacred philosophy. The sacred does not approve of politicians who lie and take bribes – the Bible actually and specifically condemns that in Deuteronomy 16:18,19.

The bottom line is that the secular and the sacred wil always be at odds with each other. At some point in time, those in the sacred will move on to Heaven, and those in the secular will move on to Hell, and the battle will continue with a whole new cadre of soldiers. Soldiers for Satan, and soldiers for Christ. There is no middle ground. Jesus says you are either for Me or against Me. So, if you are a soldier, intentionally or unwittingly for Satan, then this writer pleads with you to defect and join the army of GOD – repent of you sins and believe upon the LORD Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of GOD who died for your sins if you are His elect!

Pensiamento Peligroso