"Today's Christians know that they do not, as their ancestors did, live in a society where God's presence was unavoidable.  No longer does Christianity form the moral basis of society.  Many of us now reside in secular communities, where arguments drawn from the Bible or Christian revelation carry no weight, and where we hear a different language from that spoken in church.

"Instead of engaging this secular world, most Christians have taken the easy way out.  They have retreated into a Christian subculture where they engage Christian concerns.  Then they step back into secular society, where their Christianity is kept out of sight until the next church service.  Without realizing it Christians have become postmodernists of a sort: they live be the gospel of two truths.  There is religious truth, reserved for Sundays and days of worship, and there is secular truth, which applies the rest of the time.

"This divided lifestyle is opposed to what the Bible teaches.  The Bible tells Christians not to be of the world, sharing its distorted priorities, but it does call upon believers to be in the world, fully engaged.  Many Christians have abdicated this mission.  They have instead sought a workable, comfortable modus vivendi in which they agree to leave the secular world alone if the secular world agrees to leave them alone."

This is not a call for confrontation, but of engagement.  Leonard Sweet recently said that the world is looking for Love and the Church is giving them Reason.  Christ called for us to genuinely love as He loves, and then, as the opportunity arises, share with them the Good News of what a relationship with Christ has meant to our lives.  But sadly for many of us D'Souza's words are all too true. 

I read a passage in "The Message", a paraphrased version of the Scriptures by Eugene Peterson, that just exploded in my heart.  I thought that instead of writing something myself I would simply share this passage of Scripture as rendered by Peterson.  It's a familiar scripture for many of us, but I believe Peterson brings out a depth and freshness that will make it "new" to all of us.  In this passage, Jesus is speaking ... ... ...