Mere Fidelity The Desecration of Man with Dr. Carl Trueman
May 13, 2026
Carl Trueman, professor of biblical and theological studies and author, outlines how modern culture’s frenzied violation of the sacred reshapes ethics and personhood. He explores desecration’s pull in abortion, gender, technology, AI, and end-of-life debates. He proposes consecration through creed, worship, and a hospitable moral code as the church’s response.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Desecration Feels Like Playing God
- Desecration gives perpetrators a God-like exhilaration by destroying divine authority stamped on human beings.
- Trueman uses the Reformation image-smashing and the phrase “blood of the divine on our own hands” to show the intoxicating pleasure of profanation.
Identity Language Acts As A New Sacred
- New sacreds replace old ones: language taboos around identity function like religious prohibitions.
- Trueman notes words about race, sexuality, and gender now carry sacred status and policing similar to older religious taboos.
Technology Amplifies Desecration By Letting Us Tinker With Humanity
- Technological power makes contemporary desecration uniquely dangerous by enabling tampering with human substance.
- Trueman cites mid-20th-century tech (gene editing, IVF, A-bomb) as shifting from external efficiency to altering human nature.
