A doing dualism....

It is it really possible or even probably that the way we do church is the problem?

Alan Hirsch caught my attention when he said, "Platonic Dualism is the belief that the world is separated into spiritual and nonspiritual, sacred and secular realms. This worldview, largely forein to the Hebraic mind, became the predominant one in the church by the late fourth century, largely through the influence of Augustine and other church theologians. The issue of dualism is raised here because, although we now reject this philosophy intellectually, we still tend to practically embody this belief in the very structures and activities of the church in a way that precludes any life-affirming message we might want wish to portray verbally. The result of the dualistic understanding of life and faith is that of the artificial environment of the fishbowl, because it separates in practice what is essential to a holistic biblical worldview and spirituality: an all-of-life-under-God approach."

If this is not true in practice, why do we in the church think we must program our reach into the world? We have this outreach and that program designed to get people on the beaches picking up trash or serving in the local food bank. What should be a natural expression of life for believers is now laid at the church doorstep and if it is to be done it is done artificially through a structured ministry of the church. What should be a natural flow of "being the Church in the world" often ends up "doing church in the world".

Can anyone state specific ways where dualism is practiced in the church? If dualism is present, it carries huge implications and even larger than I first thought.