The modern age, 17 – 20th century, was home to the rise of radical humanism or secularism. What is wild about this is that humanism deprived of its connection with God becomes less human and more animal. Demonstrable notions of humans having many of the same parts of other mammals was suppose to convince us that humans are animals. Features of a subclass does not mean that we are that class, does it? To be coy and potentially annoying, Dungeons and Dragons has many classes that have similar features, but one is not the other although encompassing features of the other. I choose a kid’s game to make the point: a ranger class is not a rogue class even though many of the skills belong mutually to the two. Peptides are essential to proteins, but amino acids are not proteins without their presence. Having components of a subclass does not make one that subclass. The radically differentiating feature of humans is that we are able to break our ideological confines: this is what “Spiritual” means in at least one of its most profound nuances. The Spirit of God is considered the Life-Giver, but what is creation other than the Spirit going beyond its present situation (we will never say God has confines) to craft something new. It is no small observation of many biblical texts that as someone becomes more evil the Bible will use slurs like “They are like beasts,” “the wicked are wild animals.” Animals do not break out of their ideological confines: instead, they are locked into their behaviors via instinct, memory, repetition, and habitat constrictions. There is a direct connection between innovation/advancements/inventiveness and human spiritual identity. Humans are world makers, who can change their ideas to change the entire world around them. No animal does this. It is incremental advancement, a kind of advancement that builds on itself. Humans strive to make the habitat suit us. The entire mission of getting and settling on Mars is based on this premise. Mars is not suitable for humans, but we believe we can make it suit us. As humans become more wicked and become more like animals, innovation itself will die. As a kind of thought exercise, the uniqueness of homes built in American from the late 1800 through the 1940s was incredible, with artistry and innovative craftmanship on full display. The decline in careful and biblical Christianity since pairs with the “model homes” trend, where cookie cutter homes are produced in mass.

There is more to human spiritual identity than simply innovation, but this is a feature that humans love, evinced by stories and films in mass. This spiritual quality is given to all humans everywhere, whether they believe in the Risen Christ or not, and this quality can be used for good or evil. Humans are meant to be innovators. Humans are meant to be transcendent, ever breaking their current ideas that cage them in. To know God, this quality needs to be working always. Romans 12:2 notes, “Do not be conformed to the image of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As we break through former cages of thought in this advancement to know God more fully, the text notes we will be able to “test and prove” what the will of God is. As Jesus famously quotes (John 10) from Psalms when answering the Pharisees, “Are not those to whom the word of God came called gods,” citing Psalm 82:6, “I said, you are gods.” Jesus says that God called them gods, and forcefully proclaims that Scripture cannot be broken. We humans are meant to press into our divine qualities, which is what pressing into innovation does. It is not surprising that as people use this quality they amass huge power and influence; I am thinking of the power technological advancement has bequeathed to those that control it most closely. Press into a divine quality God gave to humans but no other creature, and get god-like power. The advent of mass media has enabled a collective conditioning to ideas through sheer repetition and reach, appearing on screens that are virtually ubiquitous everywhere. It isn’t omnipresence, but it is nevertheless impressive. To be spiritual is also to break out of typical moral categories and combine morals/emotions that do not belong together according to the natural human; this is a feature most often found in the redeemed, but I will build this out soon.

Dr. Scalise