Secularism, mental health and identity politics

The Church as ‘The Inn for the wounded’ in The Good Samaritan

For many years now, the modern world has tried to live without God. 

The world has become an existentially, fraught and fragmented place, and  a hostile place for human consciousnesses to inhabit. 

Mental health problems are unprecedented as are addictions and disintegration  of  family life  is prevalent. 

There is real trauma out there. As a result of trauma, people often retreat to their own psyches. They build fantasy worlds which, these days, are often integrated with virtual worlds. These places can become psychological retreats that the demands of an ever harsher world can’t reach.

A person can ‘be what they want to be’ in these sanctuaries of imagination. They can identify as something completely different than the limitations of their situation or physicality allows. They can ‘be’ what they want. Their minds are open and vulnerable to the manipulation of the enemy. They can even identify as animals. The animal world being simpler and safer and without pressure to communicate verbally. In these worlds, there is validation and support from other like minded souls.

We can mock this phenomenon or we can try to understand it with compassion. 

In a secularised world there is no safe place for the psyche. There is no moral standard to protect and guide. There is no ritual grounded in ancient practice and truth. There is no sacred mystery. There is little value or meaning in life. 

This is the hell of John Lennon’s ‘imagine’ which promises peace in the world but delivers internal despair.  

As Christians we must reach out with the good news of truth that liberates, and sets captives free.

We must stand for truth but also, equally we must be the love and compassion those who have been hurt by secularism are seeking. 

Most kids these days are growing up in a darkened world. Let’s make the church not only a beacon of uncompromising truth but also a place where those who seek solace in fantasy can find real and lasting shelter and sanctuary and their true and beautiful identity in He who loves their souls and came to save them: Jesus.