Christian Cliches

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.” (George Orwell)

by Stephen Rodgers

There is a longstanding tradition of using language to manipulate the ideological field of battle. Whether done to make bad ideas seem palpable or good ideas seem villainous, there is no shortage of linguistic maneuvers and shortcuts that undercut clear communication and obfuscate truth. If you’ve been around LBC long, you’ve probably heard me poke fun at what I often refer to either as “Christianese” or “Lighthouse Language.” I’ve seen veterans of my Bible studies take newcomers aside and sincerely warn them that I’m prone to asking them what they mean when they use theological terms. There’s a question on the Flocks Worksheet that even asks “How would you explain the sermon to a child?” and those who’ve been in my flock know that this question is not to be trifled with or glossed over, rather this particular question is serious business to be ignored at your peril.

Given that it’s an election year, I could springboard from that introduction into a very different sort of article, but for today, I’d rather focus on something of much more permanent value: cliches in Christian language that often either confuse clear theology, or even worse, introduce heterodox or even heretical ideas that take on orthodox trappings simply by dint of being oft-repeated.

While examples could be multiplied, GTY recently did a series of articles on some of these cliches, exploring what they proclaim vs. what the Bible actually declares. I commend them to you.

Pro Rege