Baptismal rituals are very different today than they were in the early church. There is a fourth-century rubric that instructs the bishop to enter the baptistery and give this command in a loud voice: “Take off your clothes.” Whereupon our ancestors were immersed in the water of the font, with the men and women separated.

Did you ever imagine that those words “Take off your clothes” were part of Christian worship?

Everyone knows the Hans Christian Andersen story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” A couple of smooth-talking swindlers convince an egotistical king that he has just purchased the most gorgeous, elaborate, royal suit of clothes ever stitched together by human hands. Only those who are “hopelessly stupid” or “unfit for their position” can’t see the beautiful clothes.

In reality, …