Does the Sacred and Secular Meet in Christ’s Incarnation? – A Response to Michael Slaughter and Warren Bird

“Incarnation is the place where sacred and secular meet” (Michael Slaughter and Warren Bird, Unlearning Church, 51).

Is it? Christ is Holy as is the human flesh that he received during His incarnation. The human flesh was good in the eyes of God until it became stained by the sinfulness of humanity. But Christ’s flesh remained good because of His immaculate conception. It seems dangerous for the Emerging Church to  be welding the sacred with the secular in the Person of Christ. Instead, they should consider the meaning of the Incarnation in regard to the sacred and the secular. Christ’s incarnation demonstrates God’s desire to restore humanity to right relationship. It demonstrates His love and desire to forgive. Christ’s presence on earth (His earthly message) indicates God’s desire to engage the world with His presence and call them back to Him (back to a relationship with the sacred). 

Perhaps, the Emerging Church is wrong on this issue, or they need to find another way to make their point. Otherwise, the meeting of the sacred and secular may lead to the secular becoming sacred.