day no. 16,292: asking the lost for directions

"It is our practice now, at least in the large cities, to find from our psychiatric priesthood that our sins aren’t really sins at all but accidents that are set in motion by forces beyond our control. There was no such nonsense in this church." -- John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

It is an error to accommodate your liturgy to the tastes of a hypothetical unbeliever who may happen to visit or to select the songs you will sing based on what you imagine an unbeliever would be interested in singing or to change the words of familiar hymns for the sake of making them less offensive to people unfamiliar with them.

Imagine being invited into a mosque. What would you expect? You might be surprised by a few things for sure, but you would shocked if they rearranged their routine to make you feel less awkward. If you are there, you're there to see it for what it is, not for what they think you want it to be. I would feel sorry for the religion that felt like it had to wipe its own feet at the door of its own house for my sake. Maybe “sorry” is the wrong word, but “respect” certainly wouldn't be the the right word. How could you respect the beliefs of those who accommodate them to what they think you want to hear? You cannot find the lost by asking them what they think they need. They're lost for a reason. Perhaps directions aren't their area of expertise. Unless you want two lost people, maybe don't submit to their sense of direction.

Steinbeck visited what he called a John Knox church (i.e. Presbyterian) and it was everything he expected it to be: straight forward, aggressive, and unapologetic in its worship of the Triune God. If only we had more churches like the little one he visited that morning.

Do not be so eager to invite psychology into your religion. Be more eager to insist that your Christianity get a seat in their psychology. We do not evangelize the lost by appealing to their perceived needs. When you do that, you're only accepting the basic tenets of their faith in order to gain ground for yours, but that is like a virgin venturing into the back seat with a boy in order to teach him the value of chastity. Whatever sway she has with him, it isn't chaste. Whatever she gains, she can't get back; whatever she wins, she loses. It is a Pyrrhic victory at best.