On What is Sacred

Last month, as part of the current presidential election year in the United States, the two major political parties had important opportunities to make their case for their platforms and candidates, as part of each party’s national convention. One of the things that stuck out to me was the somewhat casual use of the word “sacred”.

At the intersection of faith and politics are frequent claims that this or that should be considered sacred. Those with a devoted faith must examine these claims critically, and for those that desire to follow Christ this means reconciling these claims with the call of our Savior and Lord—meditating on what is truly sacred, versus what society attempts to frame as sacred.

So what is truly sacred? One of the ways we can identify what is sacred for Christians is by looking at what are often called the “five solas” of our faith. That is to say, the five things that alone bring about our salvation and bring us closer to God.

• Faith alone
• Grace alone
• Jesus Christ alone
• Glory to God alone
• Scripture alone

As much as these are five individual ideas, they are also equally dependent on one another. Faith is incomplete without reliance on Grace, devotion to Christ, the glorification of God, and a deep love of the Holy Scriptures. Similarly, our understanding of the Scriptures must also go alongside our glorification of God, our devotion to Christ, our reliance on Grace, and our heartfelt Faith. And, as much as these five ideas are interconnected, so within these five ideas all things sacred must dwell.

Let’s consider the sacred nature of Holy Communion. We partake in this act out of faith, trusting in God’s grace to accept our unholy selves, following the call of Christ to do this regularly, striving to glorify God while partaking, and using the Scriptures as our guidance. (We could do this same exercise with the baptism, prayer, the Gospels, the cross, and anything else that is truly sacred.)

When we consider these five pillars of our faith alongside our political and national ideologies, we quickly realize that much of what we often view as sacred politically and nationally does not fit within our faith.

It is an easy temptation in any society to claim political ideologies as sacred, to remember historical figures as demigods, and to pledge a holy allegiance to national symbols. For Americans, this often comes in the form of viewing constitutional rights as “God-given” rights, elevating monuments to past leaders to the status of “holy ground”, and requiring strict rites of “adoration” to the national flag. You often hear all these things explicitly regarded as “sacred”.

Now, let me clear, I am not saying here that respect or love of country is bad. By no means. However, for anyone that claims their salvation is founded only in faith, grace, Christ, God’s glorification, and Holy Scripture there is no room for any national or political ideology to be adored as sacred.

We must examine ourselves, our national leaders, and our political systems with a critical eye, re-centering ourselves and our faith around what is truly sacred. Where there are false framings, erroneously elevating this or that as “sacred”, let us be those who only uplift and venerate the truly sacred.