Secularism - Religious skepticism or indifference. The view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or public education.
Secularization - to make secular; separate from religious or spiritual connection or influences; make worldly or unspiritual; imbue with secularism.
The three definitions above are similar in their fundamental meaning. Secular is an adjective that describes something or some one's view of religion, the sacred or what is spiritual; secularism is a way of thinking that does not include religious thinking in determining truth or in making decisions; and finally secularization is the process of separating (pushing out) the religious from worldly, the spiritual from the unspiritual (some would say practical), your personal belief (your values) from public facts (science).
Our western modern culture is working very hard, and in many ways has succeeded, in pushing our view of God, His word, and His ways to the private and personal and out of the public arena of debate and discussion. Under the guise of pluralism and intolerance it is no longer acceptable to view God as a fact, personally involved in His creation, and redeeming mankind to bring it under His lordship and care.
Many times we have bought into this subtle secularization by thinking that God is concerned about me personally (my salvation & getting to heaven) but He really has little to say in how I work, how I handle my relationships (in the church or out of the church), my money (not just giving to the church), spend my time (not just church activities)... the stuff of life and living. The strategies and tactics we employ to handle the issues of this life many times exclude God and call on our own resources to resolve.
One of the tactics of secularization is to redefine words so that their meaning is untethered from biblical reality and shifts it to the ever changing sway of the public opinion/arena. Some examples include freedom, sin, marriage, Jesus, God, origins of life and creation, and family just to name a few.
Another tactic behind secularization is to see limits as negative and inhibiting. Limitlessness is the (no limits) byword of secularization. Secularization creates an expectation of unlimited freedoms, choices, resources, and opportunities. Anyone or anything that restricts, or holds back or teaches self-restraint or self-discipline is seen as intolerant and keeping you from being all that you can be. Thus institutions like church (with its teachings on sin, the call to a cross carrying lifestyle, and subordination to Jesus as Lord) and family/marriage (with its commitment to covenantal monogamous relationships and subordination of all members within that household) are challenged and redefined. Marketing as a whole creates this discontentment
- Limitlessness when preached within the context of finding happiness, creates an uneasy discontentment and a subtle fear. Both feeding on the idea that had we made a different choice or experienced more we could be happier than we are today.
- Limitlessness when preached does not see God as sovereign, but transfers that sovereignty to us.
- Limitless is a marketing tactic within commercialism. You don't like this product, you don't like how you look, don't like your relationship.... we have something new for you!
- Limitlessness when preached sounds exactly like Satan in the garden (Gen 3:5-6) enticing Adam and Eve with the fact that the limits God had imposed (don't eat from the tree) are really keeping you from being like God. Satan redefined and in the process undermined God's word spoken to Adam and Eve. Satan marketed his product by showing how enticing the fruit was to eat. Listen to these words in Genesis 3:6 "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."
Even as I write it is difficult to see how God designed limitations actually bring a peace and contentment when all that surrounds us is pulling us in a different direction. One wonders how many illnesses are born out of striving for these unrealistic expectations.
My attempt in writing is to not create a rule, but to challenge a thinking, and create a backdrop for discernment within our own culture. Nor am I attempting to create an excuse for not pursuing excellence in life.
Finally I am not casting stones, as I am convicted by the progress of secularization in my own thinking and actions. If anyone needs God's help I am at the front of the line!
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