What is “the sacred?” What is it that our culture, or any human culture for that matter, holds sacred? What is it that we, as counter-cultural followers of Christ, should hold sacred? How must we decide whether a cultural artifact is “sacred” or simply “important?” In my three years here at Covenant, my idea of what Christians should hold as sacred has been challenged by both the courses and community we have. What follows is an attempt both to think through our ideas of the sacred and to spark discussion amongst fellow Christians.
At its most basic, “the sacred” is that which has been set apart for some higher meaning or important purpose. Immediately, we see that this is a loose definition; under this definition, the sacred could mean anything, whether that be the rites of human sacrifice in a polytheistic society or the perfect pairing of a cup of coffee and a rosy sunrise. These two are wildly different activities, and yet both are examples of two very different ideas that humanity has held as extremely vital to life: “appease the gods or be smitten” and “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Simply based on this example, it seems obvious that we need a more specific definition for “the sacred.”
What is it that the culture around us holds sacred? Christian apologists and theologians have struggled with this question for millennia. As a single culture changes over time, its definitions of the sacred, and how that same culture executes the sacred, change radically. However, every human culture will have a single common denominator: worship of the self. The idea of the worship of the self permeates cultural artifacts (the products of a culture that identify it to other cultures) in a wide variety of ways, some obvious, some subtle. This self-worship presents itself in many ways across different cultural eras, but each cultural artifact will consistently glorify humanity before it glorifies God.
What is it that Christians should hold sacred? As Christians, our culture is one that transcends this world and has its focus in Heaven. Our location, however, is here on Earth in whatever culture it pleased God to place us in. Naturally, ethicist Richard Niebuhr points out, this creates a schism between Christians and the world around us-- a rift that continues to cause conflict, whether that be a dynamic, interpersonal conflict or a passive, philosophical conflict. Our Christian culture is not only separate from other human cultures, but also one that has a higher purpose and is set apart from the rest of the world.
See what I did there? We are different from the rest of the world because Christ is our sacred and holy foundation and figurehead, which is something no human culture can claim as its heritage. My fellow Christians, we ourselves are sacred and holy and the things we hold sacred are to be different from the rest of the world. Therefore, when the world around us builds their cultures on valuing sports and recreation, our culture must be built on holy worship and praise to God; our analysis of culture must start with Christ, not cultural or anthropological theory gathered from the cultures of this world.
How, then, do we define the sacred? We’ve seen that the Christian view of the sacred must be different from that of the rest of the world, but where do we go from there? As Christians, our sole purpose, our “chief end,” as it were, is to glorify God and enjoy His gifts to us, and so our “sacred” must do nothing but bring glory to God.
When we consider those cultural artifacts which are important to us, we must ask ourselves: is this artifact bringing glory to God, or to myself? A love for athletics or an appreciation for religious architecture may not be inherently evil, but we must examine how we use these cultural artifacts and ask: do they match up with how God calls us to appreciate the world He has given us? The simple fact that an artifact brings us joy, comfort, or pleasure does not mean that it is wrong or right, but we must test everything we encounter against God’s Word and His will for our lives, whether it be in our earthly culture or another.