If you've ever been fishing you will understand this little axiom: you catch fish on their terms not yours. If the fish are in deep water and eating a certain kind of food and if you present bait on top of the water and it's of the kind that they aren't eating, it doesn't matter how sincere you are, it doesn't matter how historical your bait is – you catch fish on THEIR TERMS.
The church has always had to learn to not compromise but to incarnate herself in the world such that the world could understand who she is and how she could continue be this light, which is the light of all men.