Prologue
Christianity has been a big part of my life growing up, shaping my personality and worldview. I have however struggled to fit into organised religion, having tried various different Christian traditions.
I have spent the last 30 years looking at different religious traditions as well as secular belief systems. This was not merely to satisfy my intellectual curiosity but from a desire to find truth and meaning.
This is a follow up to a post that I did in October 2021 entitled, Is God dead?
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Our god ideas
We make a huge mistake when we dismiss the idea of believing in god as outdated and irrelevant in our modern world.
We do this because we reduce god to an idea, teaching or traditional religious belief system. When in fact, the word ‘god’ would be better described in our secular age as what you value the most.
The word ‘god’ would be better described in our secular age as what you value the most.
Believing in god is not about belief in an idea or set of teachings about a supreme being somewhere far away. It is the daily expression of what you actually value and pour yourself into each day.
Naming god is idolatry
We make a huge mistake when we make the words and ideas about the Divine the object of our worship rather than the Ultimate Reality that they point to. Both religious and secular people are equally capable of being blind and falling into this trap.
Literalism is idolatry
The rise of secular religions
Secular fundamentalism, the religion of no religion, which denies any absolute, except its own absolute claim that everything is relative.
Rama P. Coomaraswamy
If you have been celebrating the death of the Divine One, you may be in for a surprise because ‘God is not dead’.
The rise of secular religions that place as its highest value power, pleasure, prosperity, happiness, health, environment, political correctness, culture, social justice and various identity markers have collectively captured and taken over the hearts and minds of a new generation of believers.
These man made idols (ideologies) now possess us:
- Capitalism
- Materialism
- Consumerism
- Conservatism
- Environmentalism
- Nationalism
- Racism
- Sexism
- Nihilism
- Others
The old gods have been replaced with new gods
Act as if God exists
Merely believing something to be true is useless unless it changes they way you live. Instead of trying to understand God, act as if God exists.
This is not a one time act but small daily acts of letting go of your ego and consciously embracing a new way of life.
Where to now?
If you are looking at where to start then I would recommend listening to, A Personal Spirituality: Finding Your Own Way to a Meaningful Life by Thomas Moore. He provides practical ideas and practices on how you can create a personal spirituality in a secular world.
Faith without works is dead.
James 2:17
Further reading
These are some of the books that have been helpful starting points for me.
Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World by Tara Isabella Burton.
Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman.
Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times by Dr. James Hollis.
The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity by Douglas Murray.
Dark Religion: Fundamentalism from The Perspective of Jungian Psychology by Vladislav Šolc and George J. Didier.
Groupthink: A Study in Self Delusion by Christopher Booker.
The Psychology of Totalitarianism by Mattias Desmet.
Exodus 