Date Published: 07/03/2009
In a previous post, I commented on a KERA interview with Christopher Caldwell from Sunday, June 14, 2009. In a tangential reply of little significance to the theme of the interview, he made a distinction between atheists and secular people in Europe. That got me thinking about the secularism of the United States.
Without implying what Christopher Caldwell might say, I would suggest that those who call themselves atheists have make not believing in God, any god, an article of faith around which they organize their lives. They are likely to seek to persuade those who believe in God or gods that they are in error, illogical or unscientific. Some may even write books or make speeches militantly attacking religion as dangerous and harmful.
The people I know whom I would describe as secular are not so much opposed to believing in God as just uninvolved with God. They are happy to tolerate religious people as long as they keep their religion private, like a personal hobby. They may even welcome humanitarian endeavors of religious origin, as long as religious expectations are not imposed on the recipients of the service, or perhaps even volunteers or staff. If asked, secular people may well say they believe in God and even describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”
As a Christian theist who puts a high priority on my intimate relationship with God based on faith in Jesus, I have no interest in fostering a cultural Christianity, but I am passionate about inviting secular people to get to know and trust Jesus. In fact, I have become convinced that cultural Christianity is hazardous to authentic faith in Christ. Generic expressions of religion loosely associated with Christian symbols, such as the Golden Rule and the Lord’s Prayer, can delude people into thinking that they can be Christian with these superficial signs without a life in which everything springs from Jesus.
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