1. Church Contexts: Secularism
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2. Introduction
Antiquity: Sacred (The god’s) & Profane (outside, around the
shrine)
Developed: profane = not sacred
Christianity: Sacred = beliefs, Profane: renounced in conversion
Christians began in the secular!
No secular: ontologically
Yet In practice: exists as place without reference/order to Jesus
Christendom: no secular space/place
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3. Introduction
Christendom: de-secularization
Re-secularization: common religious grounds shrinks to nothing
Key concept: how do we practice our religion, and where in
culture?
Church responses: anabaptist (withdraw), RO (pre-modern), E/C
(Collapse into) etc?
Early Church: saw themselves as separate from society & culture
Christendom: Christians so influential had new role as society
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4. Introduction
Augustine ( ad.354–430): Two cities, secular as autonomous, but
passing
Escape from world, or collapse: don’t work
Augustine Resisted Christendom
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5. From beginnings to the Christian
Empire
Secular is this age and will be replaced when Christ returns
Resurrection: Powers overcome already, clock ticking, limited
Church: where Jesus is Lord now, distinct from secular world
Church: proclaims and shows eschatological gap of world and
people, between resurrection and parousia
Christians: “Third Race” like Jews, Romans - Sect vs Cult
Roman plurality: it’s downfall, and turn to Christianity
Christianity: alternative ‘polis’, new social order
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6. From beginnings to the Christian
Empire
Early Church: until 250 AD, being counter culture was
easier
World flows into church: how do you deal with
success?
Persecuted Church: did not develop resources for
success
Christendom: embrace, you don’t become but are born
Christian and Roman
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7. Augustine and the Secularization
of Rome
Summer AD 404: Augustine preach, ‘Christian Triumph’ over
empire
AD 413 had changed his mind
Christian Anxiety over role change in Empire & Power
Response: 1) Cult Martyrs 2) Attention to church history 3)
Asceticism (denial)
(What do we need to do now Christendom is past/here?)
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8. Augustine and the Secularization
of Rome
Eusebius, Bishop/Historian (c. ad 264– c. 340): Constantine
conversion as messianic
Tertullian ( c. 160– c. 240): What has Athens to do with
Jerusalem?
Augustine: we live in mixture, two cities
Augustine: nothing sacred about Rome, it could pass anytime (and
did)
Resisted: making the world sacred, or all profane
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9. Augustine and the Secularization
of Rome
Augustine: earthly city is mixed with good and bad, as is the
church!
Eschatology & Teleology: difference between city of Heaven and
governments/rulers (city of Earth)
Governments: second order, no matter how good and passing
Church: Experience of kingdom, declaration and eternal formation
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10. Augustine and the Liberal
Tradition
Secular Liberalism: State is contract by people, not human nature
Max Lerner, “Freedom plus groceries”, is the modern state
Secularism: refusal to commit to any theological anthropology &
cosmology
Secularism: tolerant, won’t enforce beliefs (except it’s view of
beliefs!)
Enlightenment: scientific method disconnected world from
teleology, ethics and virtue, leaving contract and individualism
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11. Augustine and the Liberal
Tradition
L Newbigin: Plausibility structures, inability to transmit moral values
Augustine: rejected this secular, lapsarian view to explain sin, rift in
behaviour, disordered life etc
Augustine misunderstood: fall does not mean world that is unable
to achieve any good, so let’s contract, but it is passing
Augustine: very high view of world, but through the fall
Two liberal state views: state gives vision of community, or
communities give vision and state protect them in that
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12. Augustine and the Liberal
Tradition
Augustine: great value to world, but due to fall, we should be
suspicious of any story of public life/community other than
Kingdom
Augustine: would accept good ordered society, but not pagan
ones
Augustine: City of heaven is the true public, res publica
Rulers: must do their best but will fail
State: Can adopt Christian values, but not make excessive claims!
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13. Augustine and the Liberal
Tradition
Augustine: eschatology, there is gap between world and church
that cannot be closed (due to fall etc)!
Augustine would say: Democracy is not Christian, no matter how
good
Augustine: we cannot force Christian values on society
But we live them, in the church, and proclaim them, and support
our roles in society
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14. Augustine to Christendom
Within 100 years of Constantine's conversion, Christian = Roman
Ascetic: withdrawal from world to cope
Augustine: Allowed for mediocrity, due to fall
Augustine: use of the world, enjoyment correct use and re-
ordering
Augustine’s time: Baptism as conversion, participate in most of
society as secular
By pope Gregory Great, 6th century (200 years later): All is
Christian
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15. Augustine to Christendom
Augustine’s Time: Church looked for God in the culture to connect
with it
Gregory Great: severance from culture and tradition, only church
culture
Cassiodorus: In between Augustine and Gregory Great
Roman secular educate elite, converted later in life, founded
monastic movement
He wrote about powerful pagans converting, but none by time of
Gregory
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16. Augustine to Christendom
Gap between church and world was closed
Christianity then imported into western europe/Germany
Church became safe in the world
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17. Implications
What is sacred and secular for us today?
How might US new Christendom?
What can it learn from Augustine & Church history?
Cult, Sect? How should we live in the world?
What’s your/church eschatology/teleology?
How do we unmask secularism as a controlling religion?
How do you see the church as public, modern/E/C, in and out of
the world?
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