Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: The Need for Theological Education Reform

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Bible, Theology & Philosophy
Theology of Work
Vocation
Anthropology
Christian Colleges and Seminaries

“Every course in every theological topic at the seminary/divinity school level needs rethinking to eliminate the perpetual ‘sacred versus secular’ residue and to foster the integration of faith, work, and vocation in a holistic way.” - IFWE

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Dave Doran
Thu, 03/13/25 7:31 am

Seems as if a basic premise of this article is flawed by a misunderstanding of the priesthood of believers. The author argues that it means believers should “view their workplace as a place for worship and mission.” While I don’t disagree that believers should do their work to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31) and be witnesses in the world (John 17:15-18), this isn’t rooted in the priesthood of believers. If so, then OT saints had no obligation to live this way? More importantly, 1 Peter 2:5 ties it to forming a “spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” OT = physical Temple with service in it limited to the priests. NT = spiritual temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21) with all believers gifted for and called to service in it (cf. Eph 2:10; 4:12-16; 1 Pet 4:10-11). My simplified way of thinking of it = access to God through Christ alone (1 Tim 2:5; Heb 7:24-25) and ability to serve Christ within the new temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:10-15; 1 Pet 4:10-11).

There are better ways to speak of the importance of a believer’s work and role in society than to desacralize church life and broaden the concept of mission to mean anything you do for God in this world.

DMD