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<\/a><\/p>\nHistorical Church \u2013 London\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Modern Church- USA<\/p>\n
The church architect has changed over the years, and so have people’s views about God.<\/p>\n
Charles Taylor shares his revelation of how God is viewed in this secular age (West). In his book, Secular Age, he covered several areas including in years past, people believed in God and the supernatural, God\u2019s presence was more visible in the beginning, for example, appointing Kings and prophets, the enchanted world believing in supernatural beings, and how people view God now.<\/p>\n
This book of 900plus pages is full of many thoughts and theories. Reading James Smith book, How (Not) to be Secular, helps one to focus on which Taylor theories you want to read. I chose the \u201cimmanent frame.\u201d\u00a0 Taylor wrote \u201cthe buffered identity of the disciplined individual moves in a constructed social space, where instrumental rationality is a key value and time is pervasively secular. This is understood as \u2018natural\u2019, order, contrasted to a \u2018supernatural\u2019 on, an \u2018immanent\u2019 world, over against a possible \u2018transcendent\u2019 one.\u201d\u00a0 (542) He further says that \u201cthe immanent frame can be open, allowing for the possibility of the transcendent, or closed.” (551) He references these closures as “Closed World Structures\u201d. He identifies two points:\u00a0 \u201cthe rational agent of modern epistemology and religion is childish.\u00a0 An unbeliever dares to take up an adult stance and face reality.” (562) \u00a0It is difficult for some to understand how people believe in a God they cannot see. Smith points out that \u201cGod is reduced to a Creator and religion is reduced to morality.\u201d [1]<\/a><\/p>\n Taylor believes that people are leaning more to their inner goodness than to a supernatural being guiding them. This is not new. Taylor wrote, “First, the social order is a blueprint for how things worked together to our mutual benefit and identified with the plan of Providence, what God asks us to realize. The nature of a self-sufficient immanent order without reference to God, a proper blueprint is attributed to Nature.\u201d\u00a0 (543) God is our creator, and he developed the plan of humanity’s existence. God created the earth, and all are inhabitants. With science interjections of theories, it has sometimes removed the view of God as creator, and it looks towards a natural evolution. Some people don\u2019t believe in the spiritual world of demons and spiritual warfare. There are Christians that are skeptical about spiritual warfare. Miracles are not viewed as such due to the advancement of science and healthy eating of natural products.<\/p>\n Dr. Taylor delivered the Gifford Lectures, entitled “Living in a Secular Age,” at the University of Edinburgh in 1998\u20131999. The Gifford Lecture website summarized the book by chapters. On chapter five it wrote that \u201cTaylor sees two major dilemmas confronting both faith and unbelief. The first, how to define moral and spiritual aspirations for human beings while showing a path to transformation which does not crush, mutilate or deny what is essential to our humanity\u2026The second, violence was pointing to the deep metaphysical roots of violence in human nature. The dilemma facing both religious and nonreligious positions is that the struggle against evil can itself generate evil so that the goodness of the final goal is itself undone in the process of trying to reach it. The only escape from this spiral of violence is the path of renunciation, seen supremely in Christ but also with its definite nonreligious analogues. Forgiveness and reconciliation can actually be achieved by transcending the natural impulse for violent retaliation. This challenge faces all of humanity, whether believing or unbelieving.\u201d [2]<\/a> This statement is truly reflected in the political times of America. Political differences have always fueled arguments between people’s belief, but this current environment has become violent verbally and physically. For example, People fighting at campaign rallies, Christians fighting against selected White Evangelical Christians,\u00a0 fighting within the Republican camps, and international allies fighting America. Forgiveness and reconciliation seem inevitable. This is where those who believe in God must be the first to forgive yet it\u2019s not in existence.<\/p>\n Doubters of God and Jesus Christ is centuries old. Matthew 16:13-20The Voice says, 13\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus then went to Caesarea Philippi.Jesus<\/strong>\u00a0(to His disciples)<\/em>:<\/strong>\u00a0Who do people say the Son of Man is? Disciples:<\/strong>\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Some say John the Baptist.[<\/sup>a<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup> And some say, Elijah. And some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Jesus:<\/strong>\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And you? Who do you say that I am? Peter:<\/strong>\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>You are the Anointed One. You are the Son of the living God.\u00a0 The Pharisees, Christian leaders, did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. For hundreds of years, some people have sought for other theories about life rather than the theory of God. To understand the transcendence of God, one must have a relationship with him through experience. It not an introduction as one human to another, it’s an experience.<\/p>\n Taylor, although he paints at times a bleak future, he does speak of hope. \u201cThe secular \u2018’wasteland’… young people will begin again to explore beyond the boundaries.\u2019 (770) \u00a0He believes there will be a move away from \u2018excarnation\u2019, the disembodying of spiritual life, and from homogenization in a single principle, to celebrate the \u2018integrity of different ways of life.\u2019 (772)\u201d [3]<\/a><\/p>\n Young people are realizing there is a spiritual connection but seeking a new way to worship. The young experience through different music. Thir new worship is not so different when I was growing up and gospel music came into worship.\u00a0 The guitars and drums were essential to ensure the beat and loud sound. It rocked the core of the old saints. Today, churches sing little to no hymn and have praise groups, lights, and videos similar to a rock concert according to some conservative church leaders. As Christians, to help people recognize God we need to be confident in the characteristics of God and move on God’s call and not our own when sharing the Gospel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> James K A Smith, How (Not) To Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor, Grand Rapids: Wm B Eerdmanns Publishing Co., 2014, p51.<\/p>\n