Contradiction between the First and Second Axioms - Billy Cox

The first axiom, as expressed by Belden Lane states, "sacred place is not chosen, it chooses". Alone a reader can accept this easily, but directly after this Lane divulges his second axiom, which declares, "sacred place is ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary." How can a sacred place not be chosen, when it is people who perform the rituals that make a place extraordinary?I have argued this point with my peers and none have been able to answer it to my satisfaction. We have argued that perhaps the place is sacred prior to ritual, but then it is no longer ordinary. All subsequent debates on this issue have been similar, all that changes are the examples presented. It is this almost instant contradiction with himself, that discredited Lane's ideas on the axioms for me.