Jesus famously was asked this question at His trial before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate:
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?
John 18:37-38a (KJV)
I was fascinated by this question as a young man. I even wrote a paper in college in an Honors Philosophy class on the subject. Interestingly, before I knew The Truth (the person of Jesus Christ), and the more I researched this subject, the more confused I became. I think we all have a somewhat intuitive notion of what is “true” and what is a “lie”, but trying to define “truth” is a troublesome pursuit!
So, in one sense, Pilate’s question is not his alone, but a struggle for all of humanity. But, of course, for those who know His Word, we know that Jesus Christ HIMSELF is the definition of TRUTH (and even more!) (John 14:6). This is at once quite satisfying, in that knowing Him, we know THE TRUTH. But, on another level, this might be even more troubling to the questioning mind, since Jesus is a person, while truth is a concept (or so we’ve been taught).
But my personal struggle with all this has only intensified in recent years (about 5 to be exact) as the political rhetoric around “disinformation”, “misinformation”, censorship, free speech, and now a government “Disinformation Governance Board” (a part of the Department of Homeland Security) has blossomed. About 3 years ago I re-read the (prophetic) novel “1984” by George Orwell, and was in a state of shock for several weeks, as the realization set in that we are now actually LIVING IN such times. And the formation of our own “Ministry of Truth” here in the free speech capital of the world has only exacerbated (if that were possible) the reality that truth has pretty much vanished from the public sphere; to be replaced by … well, I’m not sure exactly what we’re being fed these days…
And to make matters worse, it seems like much of the modern (American) church has been polarized into political camps, such that we are at war with each other on such (seemingly, at least to my mind) clear-cut issues as abortion, the role of government, freedom of speech and religion, and many others. I fear we have conflated our religion and our country (or at least our politics) into an unholy alliance of the sacred and the profane, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
So, what is truth?
Or even, “what is true?”
Can I believe my conservative talk-show hosts? Can you believe your liberal talking heads? (not to put it too personally 😉 …) Can I believe my pastor? How about your spouse, or mother-in-law? DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON????
yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
Romans 3:4 (KJV)
Seems like this is MY only hope.
I have caught myself (recently, not so much earlier) refraining from shooting off my mouth in discussions with others (of a different political persuasion) with talking points that I haven’t researched myself. Or at least prefacing my remarks with “Apparently” or “I have heard” … instead of blindly claiming for truth what may be (at best) politically slanted, or at worst flat-out propaganda.
And yet, I still find myself WANTING to agree with my favorite people, just because they’re on MY side, rather than trying to find out if even they are really being truthful. And perhaps, therein lies the rub: our desires to fit in, to be part of something, to be in community, to be accepted, very often trump even our desire for THE TRUTH. And maybe it’s part laziness, or just plain busy-ness. It’s (most of the time) a whole lot easier to turn on the TV and “consume” our viewpoints, predigested by our favorite pundits, than to research, think, ponder, and pray. Or, God forbid, to change our viewpoint if we perchance find ourselves at odds with the actual truth…
One of my favorite speakers (although I’ve only heard him once) impressed me most because he seemed genuinely interested in talking with and HEARING other people’s points of view, because he wanted to ponder, and reason about his own viewpoint, so that he could arrive, more and more closely, at the TRUTH. He was speaking about abortion, which is, as you know, one of my hot button interests. Which, incidentally, I have changed and refined my view on over the years. In 1973, the year of Roe v. Wade, I was not even out of high school. I don’t even recall noticing the announcement of the ruling, much less caring one way or the other. Even when Operation Rescue came to my church in around 1988 (maybe, I can’t remember the date) I initially felt that the whole issue was too political, and so not something I needed to worry about (much less protest about) as a Christian. Being married to someone who have previously had three abortions, who subsequently came to a deep understanding of what she had done, obtaining forgiveness, and peace with God about it, and becoming (I would say) a warrior in the Pro-Life movement, did a LOT for my understanding. And yet, in the years since she died, as I have further involved myself in Right to Life, our local Hope Pregnancy Clinic, our Safe Haven Maternity Home, blogging, reading, and thinking, I find myself even deepening my understanding of the issues, the politics, but most importantly the plight of young women (and men; don’t forget the men) caught in the grist mill of unwanted pregnancy (from WANTED sexual activity), parental and peer pressures, political maneuvering, big money abortion providers, and so on.
And even so, the level of LIES, of deliberate misdirections, of hypocritical punditry, misinformation, and on and on, even more so today, ASTOUNDS me. How can people so blatantly spew the stuff they do?? How can well-meaning, religious, kind-hearted people believe, speak, act on such obvious (to me) untruths?
Of course, I only have to look at my own life to see a progression: starting from complete indifference and ignorance, to a growing zealousness, compassion, and hatred of evil. And how much more are others in their own progression? At what stage in such a journey are they? What pressures are they facing, and what influences do they have impinging on them?
Patience.
“God is not slow, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wanting that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth.” (somewhat paraphrased from 2 Peter 3:9 and 1 Timothy 2:4).
God IS going to sort out all this. My job is to be OF the truth, so I can hear HIS voice, and be led onward to Glory. And to proclaim, persuade (perhaps), and nurture others towards that same TRUTH, so we can be together forever…
So, thanks for reading, and soldier on for the truth in a world full of lies and deception!!