Truth Matters!

I am convinced that people will believe what they want to believe regardless of the truth. 

Especially in the world of Social Media (especially Facebook) opinions have outpaced facts by a wide margin. It's amazing how opinions morph into facts. What’s the old adage: “Say something loud enough and long enough and people will come to believe it is true.”

Ironically I believe this to be true.

Author Chris Hedges makes this observation:

"When facts are treated as if they are opinions, when there is no universal standard by which to determine truth in law, in science, in scholarship, or in the reporting of the events of the day, the world becomes a place where lies become true (italics added), where there is no possibility of reaching any conclusions not predetermined by those who interpret the official, divinely inspired text."

On Facebook, for example, anyone can be a published author of an opinion. Is the opinion facts based? Facebook is a great way for one to pass on an opinion as if it were true.

There is no accountability, no serious facts checking done, and no real attempt to measure one’s opinion against the cold hard facts. Doing so is hard work.

For example one of the most effective tools of communication in today’s world of politics is called “propaganda.”

Propaganda is “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.” Propaganda is indeed an effective tool for passing on something that might appear to be true but in fact may be completely false.

I can think of no more convenient place to utilize this information tool than what we witness on Facebook today. Over the past few years I have witnessed the wholesale distortion of truth for the sake of expressing an opinion or supporting a political position or a religious belief. 

Facebook has become the source of truth for so many people: “If it’s on Facebook then it must be true.” We are all guilty of passing along fabricated truth for the sake of supporting  our personal opinion or a particular stance on any given topic.

It doesn’t seem to matter that so much of our own American history has been revised or made to fit within one’s own personal frame of reference. Just posting a meme on Facebook does not make for truth. 

Politicians are indeed aware of this social media phenomenon. Facebook posts, a barrage of Tweets, or other forms of social media communications are used in attempts to spread one’s political ideology, based mostly on opinion rather than facts.

When one’s opinion is based on anything less than facts (as best we can discern what the facts really are) then we are trafficking in falsehood and not truth.

So for Christians should truth really matter?

Should we Christians be concerned about truth? Should we be concerned with the spread of lies, false accusations, and half-truths for the sake of propping up a particular political ideology or a religious position or just a personal opinion? 

Truth should matter because it mattered to Jesus. Remember his words: “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32).

Truth telling is not an option for those who follow the Master of truth, who embodied truth. Sometimes truth is dangerous or inconvenient or hard to swallow. Sometimes the costs for telling the truth are high.

In the Hebrew tradition there is this prohibition against bearing false witness. In our own courts of law citizens are made to swear on the Bible to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

So when we use our social media networks for the purpose of spreading anything false about another human being we are bearing false witness against that person—no matter how much we dislike that person. 

Christians are responsible to be bearers of the truth, as best we can in all circumstances. Yet we all are guilty of bearing false witness from time to time. 

May we all tend to matters of truth in better ways; may we all work diligently to seek the truth even if it doesn’t support our own opinion or our own politics or our own theology. The byproduct of truth is often justice.

 For some reason I just so happen to believe that our world would be a much better place if truth reigned over our lives. If justice and freedom became the norm rather than the exception in our society.

In truth justice and freedom will prevail and for Christians this may be our highest calling.

Truth matters!