It has become quite popular for Christians (and even pastors) to mock and speak in a pejorative way about what they consider "theological" language or "Christianeze." But is this attitude warranted? Perhaps sometimes, but mostly I would suggest it’s unwarranted. Consider the following two contexts.
Unbelieving Audience
When speaking to an unbeliever or unbelieving audience it is loving and wise to explain the words you choose to use. Think of it like translating from a foreign language. If for example you are chatting with a co-worker about your faith and you start dropping words like "sin, grace, justification, and being born again" with no explanation of what they mean, your co-worker will be completely lost. But if you use these words and then explain that they mean as you use them then they are perfectly appropriate to use.
Believing Audience
More often than not, when I hear a teacher make fun of "Christianeze" they do so on Sunday mornings in the context of believers gathered together to hear the preaching of the Word and reception of Holy Communion. Acknowledging there very well may be unbelievers present, may I suggest they do their congregation a dis-service by refusing to teach them these “Christianeze” words. There are two reasons why this is an irresponsible attitude and approach.
1) It establishes a double standard
Every single sphere has specific language they use to speak with nuance about their context: sports, medicine, military, politics, mechanics, engineering, education, etc. I'm always amazed that the same people who mock the use of theological language in the church are the same people who have been well "catechized" in the language of NFL rules, coffee shop lingo, obscure parts in there cars, and learned dozens (if not hundreds) of highly complex words and concepts in insurance, real-estate, medicine, or law. When we live with this double standard, we are in essence treating people as if they are too stupid to learn the meaning of big words like "justification" "sanctification" "election" "sacrament" and that these words are unimportant. People are far more intelligent than we give them credit for and far more able to grasp complex concepts if we are willing to give them our time and attention. G.K. Chesterton said well, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” While he is describing the counter-cultural values of the Christian faith, I would humble suggest this applies to the theology and language of the faith as well. Almost every Sunday I say something along the following during the sermon, "here is a big theological word and here is what it means..." I very intentionally am seeking to teach ("catechize") our congregation on "insider" language. Why? That brings me to the second reason mocking "Christianeze" is misguided,
2) It is the language of Scripture
Election is a Bible word. Predestination is a Bible word. Eucharist (eucharisteo) is a Bible word. Justification, Sanctification, Atonement, Satisfaction, and Sacrifice are all Bible words. And by Bible words I mean God's Word's. Does a person need to know all these words to be "a good Christian"? Well yes and no. Knowing them doesn't make someone anymore loved by God's (we are saved by grace!) but knowing them helps us understand God's words, heart, and way of relating to us. Many Christians today would say, "we don't need to argue over these words, let's just love God and love others." Certainly let's love God and love others but these words are important because they are in the Bible (God's Word) and very practically because people will believe something even when not explicitly taught. It's common to hear people say they just want "practical" preaching and teaching and yet "practical" preaching and teaching has left the American church theologically vacuous with no framework, theological language, or substance to offer in response to the "theology" and "catechization" of our culture. This is no easy task and no quick fix. Is there a place for "practical" preaching and teaching? Absolutely! But one thing is for sure, we love God's people well when we love them enough to also teach them the language of Scripture.
3) Language = Meaning
God has chosen to communicate with His creation through creation, the Holy Scriptures, and through Christ Jesus. The first is often described as “general revelation” (Romans 1:19-20) while the seconded two are “special revelation” (Hebrews 1:1-2). If God uses these words to speak to His children and by them He desires to communicate to us, we should give detailed attention to the words He uses. There is nuance, meaning, significance, and substance behind each word the Holy Spirit chose to use. What He says matters and how He says it matters. To teach and pass on the Christian faith requires teaching and passing on the content of that faith through the language of the faith.
So may I conclude with a challenge. Rather than mocking the use of big words or being afraid to team them, let’s use the language of Scripture and lovingly teach what they mean and how it communicates God’s heart to us.