Hang on to those old hymnals

My church, like that of John Tompkins, author of "Hymns I have Lost," recently received new dumbed-down hymnals. But we still sing a few old favorites from time to time, using xeroxes from the old hymnal. Nobody has seen this as rebellious or uncooperative, though we're quite liberal, stuffy and mainstream. After all, the hymnal is assembled for the convenience of the congregation, not vice-versa.

Especially in an age when every educated person has read Orwell, and knows at first- or second-hand the horrors of Nazism, Stalinism and the Cultural Revolution, it amazes me that there are still people trying to reform society by uprooting other people's religious and cultural traditions.

I urge Mr. Tompkins and other churches to keep using the old songs, as well as the new. The compilers of the new hymnals are liberal, gentle, sensitive people - they will not dare coerce you openly. They're our religious leaders, but they're not in charge of our politics or how we use the English language. The memorable words of the liturgies, the King James Bible and the classic hymns are what engraves Christianity on the fleshy tablets of mainline protestants' hearts. If we let these customs lapse even temporarily, the young will never learn them and the old will become resigned or disaffected. Keep on singing!