Sacred and Secular

Sacred and Secular: A Study in the Otherworldly and This-worldly Aspects of Christianity by Archbishop Arthur Michael Ramsey, 77 pages

This is the print version of a series of lectures delivered in 1964 by the then-Archbishop of Canterbury.  This was a year before the publication of Harvey Cox's seminal work The Secular City, but the ideas associated with that book were already dominant in intellectual circles on both sides of the Atlantic, in large part due to the influence of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  These lectures serve as a corrective, reminding the reader that Christianity can never be entirely focused on the things of this world, while simultaneously reiterating that the good things of this world must not be neglected.

Ramsey carefully explains how Christianity serves the world precisely by retaining its otherworldly orientation - only by acknowledging the transcendent can the good for this world be recognized and embraced.  It then follows that the traditions of asceticism and mysticism continue to have a vital role in Christianity.  Finally, he addresses the questions of whether Christianity can truly exist absent a religious culture, and to what extent Christians can embrace a fully secular culture.

An excellent defense of a Christianity that must always be involved in the world, but must never be reduced to it.