Jerry, I think I agree with what you say. I'd like to clarify the topic of "worldliness." The church has varied broadly in what it deems worldly. Some segments of the church have impressed on their followers that any enjoyment creation is a distraction from the heavenly mind that a Christian should have. Other segments of the church live lives which indistinguishable from those who are not followers of Christ. I believe both approaches are wrong. Sin has to do with action, not physical creation. I believe that God has intended every part of physical creation to be enjoyed by humanity. We do indeed distort this enjoyment with our selfishness, greed, and violence. The worldliness identified in Scripture is following the ways of society that have systematized this selfishness, greed, and violence. Rejecting worldliness is not a rejection of any of the good things that God created. This is, in a sense, a rejection of God. Religion has also often taught us that God only works in the area of our human weakness, and any natural strength should be pushed away. The work of Christ in us restores us to the person that God created us to be. It does not strip away all that we are and recreate us from scratch. Therefore, we must embrace the things in us that are good and true, while rejecting the sin that would distort what God has made good. I'm sure that we could roll around these ideas all day long, but I don't want to take up too much of the readers time.

Thanks for your comments Austin. I believe we can go farther than living from one reality into the next. I believe that we should be living in both at the same time, actually that we are making the two become one. When Jesus said that "the Kingdom of God is at hand" He was not speaking of a distant reality, but of a way of existence that was coming into the midst of His hearers right NOW. Impacting the people of the world so that they can one day go to heaven is still accepting a level of dualism that I do not believe Scripture promotes. We are to be people who are bringing the Kingdom of God to earth, starting the work of new creation, which Jesus will complete when He returns and brings heaven to earth.