St. John’s Baptist Church

Worship | Sundays @ 10:30am

We Are Not the First to Dwell in a Post-Truth Age

When Paula and I were parenting our children toward maturity, we taught them that lying is wrong. We did for three reasons: we are committed to the way of Jesus that leads us to God and we want our children to have the same commitment; as we were growing up, our parents taught us that we should not lie; and throughout our lives, we have seen the damage caused by lies.

This past week, I have spoken with pastors and friends in Western North Carolina to offer encouragement. These folks have been impacted by lies told about the help Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is bringing to their region. The recovery has been hampered because of these lies. Lying is wrong. The truth matters.

In November 2016, the Oxford Dictionary named ‘post-truth’ to be the word of the year. Our use of the term increased by more than 2,000 percent during 2015. This new-term, ‘post-truth’ describes ‘abandonment of verifiable data,’ and ‘alternative facts.’ Another word for ‘post-truth’ is lie.

We are not the first generation to dwell in a post-truth age. Centuries before Jesus taught us how to live in ethical and moral ways, Leviticus taught the way of holiness. “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another.” (Leviticus 19:11)

Later, proverbs were collected to teach this foundational principle to young people. “A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.” (Proverbs 15:5)

In contrast to this way of life, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” One commentator interprets this phrase as, ‘I am the way to the truth about the life God wants you to have.’

Once again, here’s the TRUTH. Truth matters.

Throughout the Bible, truth is expressed as the way of Godliness, righteousness, holiness. Lies are condemned as evil. This was true then. This is true now. This will always be true.

Let us renew our commitments to live by God’s truth in ways that are true. Let us refuse to subvert truth. Let us build a better world based on truth – not on alternative facts.