Tag Archives: sincerity

Without Wax

Without Wax

This entry is part 22 of 63 in the series Ten Mangled Words You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

To recover the word sincerity from its current mangled form, we might remember some etymology. The etymology of sincerity is a favorite among preachers, and for good reason – it’s an interesting tale. It seems in the Graeco-Roman world, unscrupulous merchants had found a nifty way to sell otherwise useless cracked pottery. By using wax,… Continue Reading

As Real As I Feel

As Real As I Feel

This entry is part 21 of 63 in the series Ten Mangled Words You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

An assumption of a generation intoxicated with authenticity is the notion that feelings don’t lie. Given their spontaneous and often uncontrollable nature, emotions are seen as the inevitable and unstoppable eruptions of the heart. Breaking through the surface layer of ‘masks’, ‘forms’, or some other supposed act of evading one’s inner truth, emotions represent pure,… Continue Reading

Sincerity and Profanity

Sincerity and Profanity

This entry is part 20 of 63 in the series Ten Mangled Words You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Many pastors and Christian leaders believe they are purifying Christianity and worship when they remove any kind of formality from corporate worship. Formal dress, an exalted tone in prayer, or reverent music are eschewed for a more casual and informal approach. They appear to believe that retaining forms that are not immediately recognizable or penetrable… Continue Reading

The Colloquial, the Casual, and the Crafted

The Colloquial, the Casual, and the Crafted

Those who call for ‘authenticity’, ‘realness’, and ‘sincerity’, are not always sure what they mean, if you press them for a definition. Some mean honesty, some others mean integrity, both of which are virtues the Bible commends and commands. But some of those calling for authenticity are really calling for a removal of formality from… Continue Reading

What Titus Found in the Most Holy

What Titus Found in the Most Holy

This entry is part 19 of 63 in the series Ten Mangled Words You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

When Titus attacked Jerusalem in 66-70 A.D., before ordering its destruction, Titus entered the Most Holy Place to see for himself what was really hidden behind that veil. He found, to his dismay, nothing, besides the Mercy Seat. There was “nothing there”. Titus is like many modern Christians, intoxicated with the idea of ‘sincerity’, ‘authenticity’,… Continue Reading

Sincerely Amused

Sincerely Amused

This entry is part 18 of 63 in the series Ten Mangled Words You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

It’s a supreme irony, or perhaps a sad blindness, that the present generation is supposedly in love with ‘authenticity’, ‘sincerity’, and ‘keeping it real’. After all, we’ve been doing everything but that for nearly a century. As Neil Postman pointed out in Amusing Ourselves to Death, we took a medium designed for amusing spectacle – theatre… Continue Reading

Ten Mangled Words – “Authentic”

Ten Mangled Words – “Authentic”

This entry is part 17 of 63 in the series Ten Mangled Words You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Few words roll off the modern tongue as readily or as frequently as the family of words associated with authentic. Authenticity, real, sincere and intentional are like newly-minted gold for the Millennial tongue. Most previous generations of humans would have looked at you with furrowed eyebrows and pained expressions of confusion, had you greeted them with the line, “Keep it… Continue Reading

Improper Worship

Improper Worship

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Faulty Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Faulty worship is not often a topic of discussion in today’s Christianity. Many Christians seem to think that God is only concerned that our hearts are sincere in our worship of Him. However, from a biblical perspective, that is just not correct. Don’t misunderstand me; God is concerned about the heart of worship. Isaiah 1… Continue Reading

Sincerity or Profanity – 2

Sincerity or Profanity – 2

This time, in the words of Richard Weaver: “He is therefore trained to see things under the aspect of eternity, because form is the enduring part. Thus we invariably find in the man of true culture a deep respect for forms. He approaches even those he does not understand with awareness that a deep thought… Continue Reading

Sincerity or Profanity?

Sincerity or Profanity?

“Being real” is all the rage in Christianity now, and some folks are sure that no one had thought of it before they did. As far as they are concerned, for two millennia Christians have been “playing church” and “hiding behind ceremonies”, and performing “empty rituals”. Consequently, they see it as their goal to expose… Continue Reading