Sin - The Sweet Nutritive Poison

By: Rotich Wilson
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:25:30
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In this world that is radically secularizing, the clergy have resorted to reshape the gospel to fit the sinner, rather than to change the sinner.

But if you thought that what triggered off secular theology was sinister, then you are wrong. The major cause of its emergence was not very evil. It was the rapid technological successes that were motivated by the great economic depression, meaninglessness and despair that befell the whole world after the Second World War.

This challenged many scholars to redouble their efforts in searching for not only knowledge but also tangible solutions to societal problems. This aggressive search for solution caused so many shifts in the society especially in Europe and in America. Most societies shifted from being agrarian to being industrial, from rural to urban, from traditional beliefs to modern beliefs and practices from being religious to being secular.

Secular theology is not secularism but it is secularization. Secularism refers to the rejection or expulsion of religion and religious consideration.

While secularization or actually secular theology is a process of delivering human beings, ‘first from religious and metaphysical control over (their) reason and (their) language Secular theology ‘suggests an outlook upon life which operates without any reference to God or to define claim upon life.’(Smith, 1992).

The founder of secular theology is Harvey Cox Professor of divinity at Harvard University. To spread secular theology faster in 1965 Cox published his best selling book which is entitled, Secular City. Later, in his review of the Secular City, Cox said that, “we should learn something from the ancient Jewish tradition of not pronouncing the name of the holy one, live through a period of reverent reticence in religious language, and wait for the spirit to make known a new vocabulary that is not so tarnished by trivialization and misuse.”(Smith, 1992).

Harvey Cox deserves to be lauded for his observation and for sincerely highlighting that God’s name has been earmarked, trampled and misused. From the start of the New Testament up to now, except the period of Acts, God has been so gracious that human beings especially those who are not so committed to Christianity have made fun of him (God) and His name.

While Christians have become increasingly unfaithful especially in giving their tithe several church buildings and projects have stalled while secular projects are mushrooming and succeeding enterprisingly. In such situations the successful secular businessmen may ridicule the church as they say that the God of the Christians is so poor that he cannot afford cheap projects.

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However, the truth of the matter is that the failure of the Christian churches to improve their infrastructure is not caused by the fault of the faultless God but it is caused by the fault of the unfaithful professing Christians. The sex and theft scandals of the clergy are currently making most newspapers to sell faster than Hotcakes.

Besides enriching the pressmen, the misdeeds of the clergy are exposing the sacred name of God and his noble service to be trivialized. The solution of these problems is not to stop mentioning the name of God altogether as the secular theologians suggest but it is simply to observe and to practice the third commandment which succinctly says ‘ you shall not misuse the name of the lord your God for the lord shall not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.’(Exodus 20: 7)

It is not only the mention of God that secular theologians would want to silence they would also want the whole world to stop talking about the existence of sin. According to the secular theologians, ‘it is no longer necessary to speak of people as sinners sin has no place in the ‘technopolis’ – nor for that matter do most other religious or metaphysical terms. The secular city really has no place for religion.”

The original intention of the secular theologians in keeping silent about sin was not very sinister. They actually wanted to make the gospel relevant to the secular man. They also wanted to make sure that the sinner is placed in a warm soft and comfortable seat as he receives the gospel in a cushioned, comfortable and beautiful scented package which is presented not in a pricking screeching voice but in a friendly, soothing and succinct sound.

The secular theologians have compromised so much that they have committed the crime of cheating sinners to live comfortably in sin. When a clergy man assures sinners that there is nothing spiritually and seriously wrong when they live in sin, yet profess to know Christ then the clergy men will be assured of the largest following and hence the heaviest weekly income.

This is mainly because sin is sometimes a sweet nutritive poison. It is sweet because it gives pleasure to the sinner. It is nutritive because a sinner may become prosperous in sin but just for a little while and it is no more (Psalms 37: 1-16).

Article source: Expert Articles