The Sacred and the Profane

Knowing what a culture or society holds sacred goes a long way towards understanding the heart of that culture. This is something anthropologists and archeologists understand but it is something that most of the rest of us give little thought to. In the United States of America the motto we print on our currency is: In God We Trust. That sentiment has been foundational in the development of our nation. It doesn’t mean that every individual believes in the same god, or believes in God at all. It means that, as a nation, as a people we hold it important to recognize God as having the central position in the affairs of men and in the unfolding our history. Just read the personal writings of any of the founding fathers. They called on God to direct them in forming a new nation, to bless and protect it every step of the way, and they gave Him credit for its successes.

The affirmation that God exists is written into the Declaration of Independence, one of our ‘sacred’ documents. It says: We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these rights Governments are instituted among Men…

It was considered a ‘self-evident’ truth that there is a Creator and that He is responsible for endowing men with the birthrights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Holding that as a sacred truth has guided us into building the greatest nation in the history of the world.

Those that don’t want even the notion of God in their lives are making a concerted effort to erase all mention of Him from public places these days. They have twisted the intention of the Constitution to separate all levels of government from any form of religious values. That was not the intention of the founding fathers at all. Their intention was to prevent the formation of a state religion. To legally impose any specific religious beliefs on the citizenry is a violation of the First Amendment. To deny anyone from even mentioning their own religious beliefs in a public setting is also to violate the intent of the First Amendment. The founding fathers believed that all Americans, that all human beings, should be allowed to explore their religious beliefs for themselves. They also held that belief in God was a necessary common value for a strong and stable society. That much is evident in their writings.

It seems the only values we are supposed to share these days are the politically correct ones. When some Hollywood celebrity wants the spotlight they’ll make a show of telling us exactly what cause of the day is. Some endangered moth may need saving somewhere and the only source of help could be an actor whose only real talent is in pretending to be other people for the entertainment of strangers…and making obscene amounts of money for it. If they were born with the genes that make them attractive that could replace even the need for talent of course. They may be completely morally depraved but they can convince themselves that they are decent people if they can sponsor a telethon or a thirty second commercial urging us to spend our money on ‘the cause’. (No need to spend their own money when they bring their fame to the table.)

The one value that many of them, and others that crave the spotlight, don’t want to be reminded of is the belief in God. You see believing in God can make people uncomfortable. It can demand that they actually be a decent person instead of just appearing to be for the camera. That is the very reason it is so important that we maintain a common belief in God as a sacred value.

America has been guided by the principle that all people are entitled to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for over two centuries. Our Creator is central to that principle. Americans have spilled their own blood in every part of the earth to bring those rights to our fellow man. At the heart of our culture has always been the truth that there is a God. From that flows the truth that we have a purpose and a destiny. To believe that we are accountable to a higher source, that we will be called on to answer for, not just what we do in life, but also what is in our hearts, can go further than any camera in modifying our behavior. Whether each individual believes it or not isn’t important. It sets the bar higher for all of us. It can make the world a better place. Our generation is paying a high price to learn that. If we are to survive as a republic we’d better learn it because where nothing is sacred, nothing is stable. Our founding fathers knew that. They considered it a sacred duty to put God in the very heart of our culture. Whether He remains there or not is up to us.

Spiritual but not Religious

“I’m spiritual but not religious.” That’s a common thing to hear these days. More than a few people who will tell you they are ‘spiritual’ are hard pressed to tell you exactly what it means though. These are folks who have tried to find their own path in life and with it, their own set of beliefs. ‘New Age’ spirituality has grown up since the sixties. It’s now almost main-stream in its appeal. I believe the main reason for that is the failure of traditional churches to deliver the true teachings of the scriptures. The most important part of true teachings is the example of righteous men and women of faith. It is what we do that speaks louder than anything we say…

Catholic and Protestant ‘Men of the cloth’ have almost turned hypocrisy into a sport. It’s commonplace these days to hear of their sexual, emotional and even physical abuse of their followers. Financial abuses are even more commonplace. Even those who aren’t guilty of such abuses often appear to be nothing more than superstitious, narrow-minded bigots. Instead of living the life and ‘walking the walk’ of what they claim to believe, many seem to spend most of their efforts in arguing subjects they have little or no expertise in. There are men of the cloth that preach racism, hatred and intolerance as a part of 'the' faith. Family members, friends and neighbors have turned on each other out of sheer hatred...over matters of faith. Parents have abused their children and Husbands have abused their wives all in the name of God.. So many sins have been committed in the name of God it is a wonder any non-believers listen to Bible thumpers at all! The watered-down and distorted teachings that most churches preach and the hypocrisy filled examples of 'Christian' faith do little to draw anyone to true conversion.

What society is left with is a spiritual void that many non Judeo-Christian traditions have rushed in to fill. It is a misnomer that ‘New Age’ beliefs are new. Most are comprised of a hodge-podge of very old native traditions. The worship of nature, or aspects of nature, are a common theme. The desire to be made privy to some body of secret knowledge is another common theme. Central to many of them is the belief that through ones own efforts one can evolve or ascend to a higher state of being. What they all have in common, from a Biblical perspective, is that they are all false teachings. They have a kind of spirituality but it is a counterfeit spirituality. The problem with a counterfeit is that when you have one you stop looking for the real thing. Just imagine that someone owes you money and pays you in counterfeit bills. You think you’ve been paid…until you take it to the bank.

A religion is typically an organized body of believers with a specific body of beliefs that defines relationships. It defines our relationship with God. It defines our relationship with other human beings. It gives us a direction for ourselves in our own life. And it gives us a world-view into which everything else finds a context. To be ‘spiritual’ is to be aware of, to interact with, and to be guided by the non-physical aspects of reality...i.e. the spirit realm. (These are, admittedly, imperfect, working, definitions but they serve to make one think about the terms.)

A counterfeit religion leads us away from the truth by giving us a false, or inaccurate, world-view. It is, by definition, a lie. A counterfeit religion causes us to expend our energies in a wasteful or useless way. Any kind of religion or spirituality that tells us we are OK just the way we are is false. Just look around at the way we are! Any religion or spirituality that causes us to focus solely on ourselves is a counterfeit. The 'enlightened' old man on the mountaintop doesn't make the world a better place.

A true religion points us to the true God and His will for us. A true religion makes us look at ourselves. A true religion urges us to become better people. A true religion urges us to look beyond ourselves and help our fellow man. We are all in this together... A true religion makes us, and our world, better. A counterfeit causes us to focus only on ourselves.

It has been my experience that people who claim to be "spiritual but not religious" are usually focused only on themselves. That focus doesn’t make them better people and it doesn't make the world a better place. It squanders their energies instead of directing them into real spiritual growth. A counterfeit religion doesn’t direct people to God, it directs them away from God. A counterfeit spirituality may very well be in touch with the spiritual realm of existence...but not with the right spirits. If you look anywhere but to God for guidance, for spiritual help, for comfort, or for truth…you are practicing a false religion. You are practicing a lie...spiritual or not.