Christ came into the world not to destroy the world, but to redeem the world.

That the sacred you see does not destroy the terrestrial's fear. It transforms it.

God instructs the building of a temple. God instructs the building of a tabernacle.

God instructs all the elaborate ritual.

The first stage of my conversion to Christianity involved a radical denial of this world.

An attempt to live a life of pure spirituality, in which I shunned this world and said no to it in every dimension.

But I don't think that Christian maturity came into my own life until I went through the second stage of conversion.

We're now in the context of grace. In the context of a relationship with Christ, I could embrace the world again.

That grace does not destroy nature, it fulfills it.

That Christ came into the world not to destroy the world, but to redeem the world.

That the sacred you see does not destroy the terrestrial's fear. It transforms it.

So that a Christian now in his maturity should be able to not say I hate the world. He hates worldly nash.

He hates the spirit of this world. He hates the antipathy of this world to the things of God.

He hates the rebellious character of this world to the things of God, but he does not hate the creation.

The Christian is one who lives his entire life, quorum dayo, in the presence of God and out of love for God, in an obedience to God,

being able to go out and say yes to planning things in the field and seeing the fruit of your labor.

Say yes to the beauty of the dance or the athletic event done in obedience to Christ.

The Christian can love music, can love art, he can love drama, he can love working with the sand.

He can love all these things as part of the created sphere when it is done in submission to the king.

In a word he embraces nature of fresh.

And when Christianity comes into the world, it was on a collision course with the Greek world that said no to this world.

That one of the spiritualize everything, to eternalize everything.

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