Secular vs. Sacred: Is it Really that Simple?
by Mia Burke
Photo by Stephanie LeBlanc on Unsplash.
Secular and sacred. Formal words dividing reality into godly or ungodly, Christian or worldly. But is God’s creation so cleanly divided? God’s opening words during Creation, recorded in Genesis, state that everything He created is good.
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!
In its intended state, it’s all good. Not to be naive or unrealistic, there are unredeemed and profane elements of our culture. However, God’s primary vocation is the business of redemption. Cultural Theologian, William Romanowski, in his book entitled, Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture (2007) observes, that the popular arts are not outside of God’s judgment- or beyond God’s redemption. God is ever looking to take man’s perversion, twisting, and misuse of creation and bring it back to a positive, healthy, or useful state.
Consider sex. On the one hand, we have God’s intention for sex: It is good. It has a purpose: connection, reproduction, pleasure, and intimacy. But in a fallen, unredeemed state, it looks like pornography, human trafficking, adultery, or rape. So can we say sex is ungodly, secular or worldly? It depends on whether it has been redeemed or not.
Photo by Stefano Intintoli on Unsplash
Barry Taylor, in his book Entertainment Theology: New-edge Spirituality in a Digital Democracy (2008), makes the observation, that the argument isn’t really secular vs. sacred, but a “separation between the sacred and the profane (40)”.
A second consideration in the argument is the question: Can we hear God’s voice or presence in the “worldly?” Can God use the secular to speak the sacred to us? Romanowski makes a profound statement about art in culture,
Popular artworks look at life in a fallen world that is at once hostile to and also in search of God.
What do you think?
Greecing Westen Mindsets
Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash
One factor that plays into this division is our worldview, the glasses in which we view reality. In the ancient Hebrew worldview, all of creation (spirit, mind, body) falls under the headship of a Creator. So reality is as simple as creation/Creator. Our western mindset, handed down to us from the Greeks (and I’m sure some people groups before that-- thinking about Babel) surmises that spirit/emotion and the physical exists separate from each other. The Greek-influenced Christian view of reality highly regards rational reason and thought with a separation of spirit from physical matter.
In Plato’s Theory of Forms, he states that the physical is imperfect and in constant change, so is therefore inferior to the ideals of the spiritual. The physical is only a shadow of the true reality of the spirit. This Greek way of seeing the world has seeped into how Westerners interpret what is real:
Spiritual or Physical
Godly or Ungodly
Christian or Worldly
Secular or Sacred
A polarizing of reality. It’s one way or the other. It's an or with no room for an and.
Does this perspective (a separation of matter from spirit) shape how you see things?
Going back to Barry Taylor, he observes,
In modernity, the godless secular society... was easy to establish the sacred with regard to the profane; the sacred was found in everything supposedly untouched by secularity. The lines were neatly drawn, the City of God vs. the City of Man.
But in the present situation, these dividing lines are no longer viable. The general view is that sacred is available anywhere, even in the midst of what might be viewed as profane in other times. The sacred is viewed as part of the very fabric of the world we inhabit, not standing in opposition to it (104).
In other words, as the lines have moved, God is more visible in the midst of His creation.
The Dilemma of Technology
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
One example of this polarizing divide is people’s attitudes towards technology. Some believe it harkened the beginning of the end for humanity. Ask anyone about science’s pursuit of AI (artificial intelligence), and you’ll find polarizing opinions. Even the innovator Elon Musk has serious reservations and has started countermeasures to combat some researcher’s unethical pursuit of this branch of technology. Many fear a Terminator-esque future stemming from an out of control pursuit of AI, yet there are amazing potential uses for it (nanotech healing diseases).
Christian “Hollywood” Drew (2020). Photo courtesy of Shawn Burke.
Before we get lost on the rabbit trail of the merits (positive and negative) of AI, let’s refocus back on technology. I’d like to introduce you to my friend Christian Drew a.k.a. “Hollywood.” Chris utilizes redeemed technology in innovative ways to keep connected to friends and family. From his phone, computer, apps, and software to work, managing his volunteer commitments, and to maintaining his safety- Chris has it figured out. Due to limited eyesight, he keeps abreast of the latest books and ideas through audiobooks. Technology has had a normalizing effect for Chris, allowing him the independence that would limit him without it.
Chris states that he is thankful for companies such as Apple, led by the late Steve Jobs, that pushes the envelope on technology for people with disabilities. He notes, “Jobs had hoped that one day his technology would change the outlook on life for those with disabilities with apps such as voice recognition.” He laughs as he looks back at the first generation of SR (Speech Recognition) Dragon Speak (1997), “when I would literally yell at the software to type my paper, and it never worked. It was horrendous. It wasn’t even worth opening sometimes. It has come so far with this latest SR software, Siri.”
Utilizing Art as a Connection Point
In addition to technology, art is another hotly debated area for redemption. Fellow artist Deborah Atchison, a Northwest Florida potter, opened her art gallery, Atchison’s out of a pure desire to connect local Christian artists. By not separating art into secular or sacred, the indistinction allowed Deb to start conversations with customers about God. Regularly, she talked about godly ideals and His love for her customers through the ‘safe space’ that art created.
Deb notes, “Talking about art, allowed me to make connections to my customers either in the theme, aesthetics or in an unexplored perspective” - allowing her to start conversations that could go to deeper places that she might not have had access to prior. She used these conversations as a jumping-off point to pray with or connect people to God without them feeling pressured or threatened. It became, and still is, a ministry for her to the community.
Deb Atchison (2017). Photo courtesy of Deborah Atchison.
Deb and Customer outside of the Atchison’s Gallery (2017). Photo courtesy of Deborah Atchison.
Atchison’s Gallery (2017). Photo courtesy of Deborah Atchison.
Music in Worship
Tammy Veroneau, my friend and worship leader, and I connected over the topic of secular vs. sacred in ministry. I wanted to know as a worship leader where she saw the line. Tammy notes that “Jesus came to make the sacred accessible. Previously it was only available to the ‘righteous’ of the culture- priests and High Priests. For example, He ministered to those thought outside of the reach of God- the prostitutes, those with a disability, and tax collectors. He also healed on the Sabbath.”
Tammy patterns her ministry after Jesus’ example. She says, “The ultimate question is: can ‘it’ be redeemed?” She says the goal is to connect people to Jesus. “The previously unchurched, those unsure of God due to being turned off of religion or because of a previous experience hears U2, The Beatles, or Journey and it catches them off guard, providing some type of familiarity.”
Tammy Veroneau and the Community Life Worship Band (2018). Photo courtesy of David Schulz.
One of the best examples of this was a man whose wife dragged him to church one Sunday. When the family walked into the building, the band was playing his favorite song. He stopped and asked his wife to check the kids into the children’s area so that he could hear the rest of the song, and what they might play next. Tammy says that “the immediate goal is to bring walls down, so when worship starts, God can work with as many barriers removed as possible.” The band’s use of non-church music helps facilitate this.
However, on the flipside- there needs to be balance. Tammy explains that she’s not going to select a song that upsets both sides just to make a statement, but looks at the meaning in her music choices. She notes, “The lyrics need to go with the theme.” There is a balance of welcoming the unchurched into service and ministering to those who come weekly to grow and ‘do life’ together.” Often she will pair a secular song and a hymn in the same service. This past January, she led the band in a jazzy rendition of Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle”- playing on the theme of time and awareness of its progression and taking full advantage of what we’re given. The church responded well and relaxed into a fantastic worship set after the welcome.
So What?
In reality, there is a lot at stake in this topic. Theologian Margaret Miles notes,
“It is often in the sphere of entertainment that values are formulated, circulated, resisted, and negotiated.”
What is presented through the culture is consumed, unfortunately, often without a filter or thought for the consequences of this worldview, idea, or way of living.
Cultural Theologian, T.M. Moore, gives us a practical way to approach this whole concept. He notes,
“We must make decisions about the forms of pop culture with which we are confronted, and in which we choose to participate- pronouncing some of them worthwhile and useful to our Kingdom calling, and others unworthy of our walk with the Lord and unfruitful for our mission” (79).
I find hope in the fact that our God is good. He’s in the business of redemption and ever works towards restoring all things to His good and perfect will. Instead of focusing on dividing reality into secular or sacred, it's about asking if a particular artifact is redeemed, and if not, how can I redeem it for His glory, our collective good, and for a worthwhile purpose? I love Tammy’s summary of Jesus’ ministry:
It's about making the sacred accessible to all.
I reflect on how I’m living into that both in my consumption of culture and my ministry. How are you finding navigating this in yours?
Resources
We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.
The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.
And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.
Read. Engage. Enjoy!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.”
So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there!