Preaching to the Choir

[AngelB]

I know what people mean when they say someone is "preaching to the converted", but can any one tell me what it means when someone is "preaching to the choir"? It's not a phrase I hear very often compared to the "converted" one, and I'm not very clear on it's meaning. Can someone shed some light?

Thanks

Gez



If you have a problem, if there's no one else to blame, and if you can find him, maybe you can blame... DPlank

 

[CajunCenturion]

It means the same thing. The 'choir' is not just a singing group, but is also a specific area of a traditional church. That area, lies between the nave and the sanctuary, and in additional to seating for the singing group, it also contains the clergy area. So when one is preaching to the choir, they are preaching to those who sit in the choir area of the church.

Although I don't have a source to confirm, I believe that 'preaching to the choir' actually predates 'preaching to the converted', but is not used as much today because 'preaching to the converted' is more secular.

Good Luck
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[tsdragon]

Interesting. I can't remember the last time I heard "preaching to the converted", but I hear "preaching to the choir" fairly frequently. That's directly opposite of what you two have apparently experienced.


Tracy Dryden

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For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[Thadeus]

I don't think that "Preaching to the choir" is outdated in any way. I think what you are seeing in usage is probably a regionalism.
I'm not making claims on which is used more or which predates, just noting that guick google search shows a 165K to 60K ratio.

~Thadeus

 

[elanor]

I don't think either is outdated...I think they serve two different purposes. My understanding of the difference between the two phrases is that "preaching to the converted" implies that people are actually listening to the "preacher" or his ideas, while "preaching to the choir" implies that the audience for such "preaching" is either compelled to listen or non-existent.
Thanks!
Elanor

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Thadeus,

Same here. I hear 'preaching to the choir' pretty often, but can't say with certainty that I've ever heard 'preaching to the converted' in conversation. I also suspect that this might be a regional difference.

Elanor,

Interesting interpretation. That's not what I've ever taken the meaning to be at all. I've always thought that either phrase just means that you are talking to someone who already agrees with you. It might even have a slight connotation of 'Shut up, already. I agree with you, so stop trying to convince me'.

Example:
[ul][li]Speaker1: Man,I just love Krispy Kreme donuts. They rock. If you don't love Krispy Kreme, you must be a complete idiot. Who in the world would *ever* go to Dunkin Donuts when they can drive two more miles and get Krispy Kreme?!?!?!?[/li]
[li]SPeaker2: Dude, you're preaching to the choir. I got two-dozen this morning and ate all of the ‘hot and now’ originals before leaving the parking lot! [/li][/ul]

As CC pointed out, the members of 'the choir' are congregation members, as are 'the converted'. So preaching to them isn't going to change their views.

Here's at least one place that agrees with me.

_{Now I'm hungry.}

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[/tt][red]Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur[/red]

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[SilentAiche]

OK, I was gonna post a reply. Then I realized anotherhiggins said, essentially verbatim, what I would have said.

One of us, mostly John, should be worried about that...

Tim

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[BobRodes]

I would also point out that the concept of converted requires a higher level of sophistication than that of choir. That's becuase the former implies the existence of a belief system other than one's own, whereas the latter does not.

I find more humor in the first, in that it more precisely embodies the idea of wasting one's words. However, I find the concept of conversion isn't well known to cultures arising from so-called Protestant faiths. This is not to say that evangelizing isn't important to these, but rather there is a tendency to think of such activity as saving a soul from perdition rather than getting an individual to renounce a previously held belief system. In my experience, that would be a more Catholic concept.

Bob

 

[AnotherHiggins]

mostly John

I dunno.... Thinking like me doesn't bode well for you.

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[/tt][red]Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur[/red]

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