The rise of secular religion - Part 5

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman explore how Christians have lived faithfully in their cultural moment for thousands of years, how we must break free from the Sunday/Monday heresy, the importance of a personal relationship with Christ, how Christianity is a bad religion without such a personal relationship, and how the culture has created a new religion of humanism and self-affirming authenticity.

Mark discusses how we often don’t see the results of our faithfulness in our lifetime, and we must leave the results to God’s providence. Faithfulness takes patience, and, as Jim has written, “You can’t measure the eternal significance of present faithfulness.” They delve into the Protestant Reformation, how it began, and some of the key believers in the movement.

They then address the “Sunday/Monday heresy,” which refers to the view of many Christians who live as Christians on Sunday morning but have their own lives every other day of the week. Christ calls us to give every minute of our lives over to him. 

This leads them to discuss the essential part of Christianity as being in the relationship with Christ, not the religion. While religion is important, i.e., going to church, singing hymns, liturgy, etc., without the relationship, religion is an empty shell. Jim reveals a time when, as a pastor, God convicted him that while Jim loved Jesus, he wasn’t in love with Jesus. 

They then delve into what has become the overarching ideology or creed of our culture: personal authenticity. They discuss the evolution of this creed over time: how Christianity was at first important and culturally encouraged, then it became a personal hobby, then irrelevant, and now it’s considered dangerous. The culture has almost fully bought into humanism. 

They consider the implications of this creed, how nowadays everything is centered around feelings and our experience. 

Sometimes, true repentance is harder than religion. Often, having a relationship with Christ is more difficult than following an empty creed. Many issues in our culture stem from the transference of responsibility to anything and everyone but ourselves. There’s a sense in the culture now that “I” cannot be at fault; it must be the system or other people. While there are complex issues here, the gospel ultimately relies on the submission of oneself to Christ, no matter our circumstances. 

Resources and further reading

• The Coming Tsunami, Jim Denison
• The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert E. Coleman
• To Change the World, James Davison Hunter
• “The Third Great Awakening,” Christianity Today 

About Dr. Jim Denison

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. He speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.

About Dr. Mark Turman

Dr. Mark Turman is the Executive Director of Denison Forum and Vice President of Denison Ministries. Among his many duties, Turman is most notably the host of The Denison Forum Podcast. He is also the chief strategist for DF Pastors, which equips pastors and church leaders to understand and transform today’s culture.

About Denison Forum

Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, The Denison Forum Podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.