Lesson 7: Rethinking Truth

We are looking at Jesus’ observation that those who want to follow him have to repent. Becoming a disciple entails rethinking the way you’ve been living. This series explores various ways we can rethink what’s going on around us.

Certainly, one of the issues where we see a lot of rethinking these days is truth. It became a major issue in journalism some years ago, when Fox News argued that it could not be sued because it offered entertainment, not information. That highlighted the fact that different news agencies were offering their parochial perspectives on current events and eventually developed into one political party attacking fake news and the other calling them liars.

There have, of course, always been conflicts about truth. Indeed, there have been different understandings of truth: scientific, aesthetic, ethical, spiritual, and so on. Each looks at life and things from a particular perspective. However, there currently seems to be a fundamental breakdown across all areas.

One explanation is the loss of the basic understanding formerly assumed in all searches for truth. Despite differences, it was taken for granted that power was not the deciding factor. Might does not make right. Yes, there were religious wars and fights for justice, but the participants always claimed they resorted to violence for a higher truth. Their victory did not give them the right to define their own version of truth.

That seems to have changed. Politicians claim victory gives the right to determine the truth. Trump lowers the standard to how he feels. He also unabashedly says he is stronger than others and so has the right to tell the weak what is true. In many ways, he is simply a man of our times. He gets away with this because our modern technological society reduces everything to achieving efficiently what I want. This radical individualism holds that truth is irrelevant. Lying is acceptable because truth is not a consideration; only getting what I want matters.

It’s quite natural for Trump to consider himself Jesus Christ because he thinks he is providing the way, the truth, and the life. Healing this situation demands going back to the basics. Even though things have changed greatly, laying a foundation based on traditional understandings of truth can give direction to our societal conversation. For a Christian, that means going back and discussing what Jesus actually said and did. Once we have a decent understanding of that, we can discuss what it means for us today.

Tags: Power Does Not Make Right, Present Society Calls for Repentance, Repentance and Truth, Repentance Calls for Change, Repentance is Rethinking, Rethinking Truth, Trump and Truth, Truth in Modern Technological Society