By Sound Doctrine Both To Exhort And To Convince The Gainsayers. (Titus 1:9)

Is Christian Doctrine Dull?

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893 – 1957) was a well-known author, playwright, and scholar. She had a knack for unmasking misperceptions of the faith. In her day, efforts to redefine Christian practice and teachings were fuelled by an apparent boredom with presentation of doctrine. In her Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine, she countered this mentality, critiquing the appalling apathy and biblical ignorance of those who called themselves "Christian." Sadly, though, times have not much changed and her words are as pointed as ever.

Christianity, of late, has been having what is known as a bad press. We are told that churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine — dull dogma as people call it. The fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of dogma that makes for dullness. The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man — and the dogma is the drama.

The cry from the ignorant today is: "Away with the tedious complexities of dogma — let us have the simple spirit of worship; just worship, no matter of what!" To this, Sayers in her Letters says, "The only drawback to this demand for a generalized and undirected worship is the practical difficulty of arousing any sort of enthusiasm for the worship of nothing in particular."

Equally startling is the discovery of how many people there are who heartily dislike and despise Christianity without having the faintest notion of what it is. If you tell them, they cannot believe you. I do not mean that they cannot believe the doctrine; that would be understandable enough since it takes some believing. I mean that they simply cannot believe that anything so interesting, so exciting, and so dramatic can be the orthodox creed of the Church.

Surely it is not the business of the Church to adapt Christ to men, but to adapt men to Christ.

It is the dogma that is the drama — not beautiful phrases, nor comforting sentiments, nor vague aspirations to loving - kindness and uplift, nor the promise of something nice after death—but the terrifying assertion that the same God who made the world, lived in the world and passed through the grave and gate of death. Show that to the heathen, and they may not believe it; but at least they may realize that here is something that man might be glad to believe.

Therefore, let us not forsake the need to "speak the things which become sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1)

In Him,
Rev. Robert Chew