If you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything.
-Laurence Olivier1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
-the apostle Paul (II Corinthians 4:1-2)
Recent Comments
Mind Renewers 
I love your post. Honesty has such a bearing on sincerity, doesn’t it? Our sincerity has such a bearing on our giving, and people can feel it. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you, Ian.
The thing is, sincerity without truth and honesty is actually more dangerous than insincerity. It’s most dangerous when people can’t feel it or recognise it, then it can do real damage to them.
(General reminder to my readers: I welcome comments from those who disagree with me as well as those who agree. Ian agrees with this post, but we are certainly not in agreement on many other things, including some very important things.)
Thanks for your comment Jon and once again I agree with you fullheartedly. You sound like a really good person – one I would like to get to know better. We should talk about our disagreements some time. We might be surprised about how much we really do agree on. Thanks for having this blog for your readers, and please excuse me if it felt like I was barging in. Just looking for good thinkers who are helping the world, and I think I found one. In Christ’s friendship, Ian.
Hello, Ian. If I felt you were barging in, I could have always just deleted your comment. 🙂 It was well within the bounds of my comment policy.
But the differences are very substantive. Mary Baker Eddy’s teachings on things like the atonement are outwith the bounds of sound teaching, and the kind of thing of which we are to warn against the errors, rather than look for points of agreement. It would be a distraction from the purpose of this blog to dig into the differences, but I owed it to my readers not to entirely let it pass, either, if I was going to let your comment stand. They would expect me to note that there is a difference.
Hi, Jon. I completely understand. However I would like to clarify just a small point. As a Christian Scientist, I view myself as a serious follower of Christ Jesus. Mary Baker Eddy told her students to follow her only so far as she followed Christ. I love the Bible. That’s actually what led me to this blog. I love the title, “Mind Renewers.” I also love the focus on utilizing the Bible to make changes in life. I have no doubt we have differences in how we interpret the Scriptures. After all, people have been differing in their interpretation of the Scriptures for thousands of years. When I said, “We should talk about our disagreements some time. We might be surprised about how much we really do agree on.” I was not intending that to take place on this blog. I would never want to divert the focus of this very good blog. Thanks so much for all you are doing and thanks to your readers for loving the Bible and striving to understand how its applicable in their life. As Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “The Bible contains the recipe for all healing.” Much Love, Ian
Ian, I’m not sanguine about those “differences in how we interpret,” but I’ll not chase you away, since it is clear you understand this is not a place for Christian Science doctrine.
To other readers: I may sound “prickly,” but that is because I’m persuaded the doctrine is very dangerous. If you wonder about Christian Science, please let me know, and either I’ll respond privately or perhaps devote a post or two to it some time. I had quite a bit of exposure to it in the past.
Hi again, I’m sorry you don’t feel hopeful in our differences. I am, and always will be. I have been a Christian Scientist my whole life, and all it has done for me is helped me fall in love with the Scriptures more and more. The Bible has healed my hear, has redeemed me from sin, and even healed sickness. We are all taught different things in life, but I have to believe that God appreciates sincerity and honesty in striving to understand the Scriptures. I am not sure God is a respecter or persons or a respecter of particular religions. Something tells me God’s love is more universal than that. It is evident that whatever you have learned about Christian Science left a pretty negative impression on you, for that I am deeply sorry. After this I will keep my comments to a minimum on your blog. I hope you don’t mind if I continue to follow you. I still deeply respect many of the things i have read on your blog, and would love to continue to learn more from you and your community.
Thank you, Ian. The people I have known in Christian Science were very, very nice people, and I see nothing that makes me think otherwise of you. My sole concern was and remains the doctrine. But perhaps we should take any further discussion private.
Sounds great. I would love to understand your concerns.