THE SECULAR CREED

ENGAGING FIVE CONTEMPORARY CLAIMS

The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims

Copyright © 2021 by Rebecca McLaughlin

Published by The Gospel Coalition

The Gospel Coalition

P.O. Box 170346

Austin, Texas 78717

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by usa copyright law.

Art Direction: Steven Morales

Cover Design: Gabriel Reyes-Ordeix

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the esv® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

isbn:

978-0-9992843-0-8 (Print)

978-0-9992843-2-2 (Mobi)

978-0-9992843-1-5 (ePub)

THE GOSPEL COALITION

The Gospel Coalition (tgc) supports the church in making disciples of all nations, by providing gospel-centered resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise.

Guided by a Council of more than 40 pastors in the Reformed tradition, tgc seeks to advance gospel-centered ministry for the next generation by producing content (including articles, podcasts, videos, courses, and books) and convening leaders (including conferences, virtual events, training, and regional chapters).

In all of this we want to help Christians around the world better grasp the gospel of Jesus Christ and apply it to all of life in the 21st century. We want to offer biblical truth in an era of great confusion. We want to offer gospel-centered hope for the searching.

Join us by visiting tgc.org so you can be equipped to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. “Black Lives Matter”

2. “Love Is Love”

3. “The Gay-Rights Movement Is the New Civil-Rights Movement”

4. “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights”

5. “Transgender Women Are Women”

Call to Loving Arms

For Rachel,

and for everyone who longs for

justice, truth,

and love.

INTRODUCTION

“What does that mean?”

My 8-year-old held a bracelet she’d found at school. Stamped on its rim were three words: “Love Is Love.” On our drive to church, we pass a hair salon, its windows filled with posters of George Floyd and massive, multicolored wings proclaiming, “Trans Lives Matter,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Love Is Love,” “Better Together.” Across our neighborhood, yard signs declare,

In this house we believe that:

Black Lives Matter

Love Is Love

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

We Are All Immigrants

Diversity Makes Us Stronger

Signs like this sketch out a secular creed or statement of belief. It centers not on God, but on diversity, equality, and everybody’s right to be themselves.

Seeing signs like this, Christians tend to grab hammers. Some grab one to drive the sign into their lawn. They lament racial injustice, they believe in diversity, they know women ...

Content not shown in limited preview…
SC:EFCC

About The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims

In The Secular Creed, Rebecca McLaughlin outlines five contemporary claims that form a statement of belief for many of our secular neighbors. Since God has called us to live among neighbors and friends, with diverse backgrounds and beliefs, and we are called to love them and point them to the saving knowledge of Jesus, these are claims with which the Christian community must interact. This book helps us dive deeper into some of the critical issues society is facing and shows how contemporary controversies point us back to our need for the rock-solid foundation of the love, mercy, dignity, and justice taught in our sacred text that was written two thousand years ago.

McLaughlin boldly engages sensitive topics that we are taught to avoid at family gatherings. She frames her chapters around five claims that have begun to appear on yard signs in cities across America: “Black Lives Matter,” “Love is Love,” “The Gay-Rights Movement Is the New Civil Rights Movement,” “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights,” and “Transgender Women Are Women.”

Support Info

sclrcrdcntmclms

Table of Contents