Give Me That Old Time Religion

As I continue to produce voiceover recordings of Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s sermons, he frequently refers to his ‘religion.’ As a boy, I remember folks speaking of Christianity in the sense that it was their ‘religion.’ I remember singing, ‘Give Me That Old-Time Religion.’ Anyway, as I go through his sermons and edit them for recording, I refuse to substitute another term; such as Christianity, for his original use of the word ‘religion.’ I’ve lived long enough to have lived through a succession of word changes to define the Christian: first, my religion was accepted, then Christian, then we used Born-Again Christian, followed by Christ-followers… I’m sure you can think of others. The point is, our lives should define our faith. The world should see Christ in me, and yes, when people ask why I am different, my attribution should be to Jesus, my blessed Lord and Savior.

No, I’m not changing the word ‘religion’ as Charles Haddon Spurgeon used the word to any other word or term. If a person says that they missed something in the translation, it’s a matter of their heart, which has its own, worldly lexicon.