Part of the series Hangups
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2015-12-07.
We generally have no idea of how many lies we pass for truth because we are usually not even aware that we are being lied to.
We are generally all ignorant of what is actually happening around us. This ignorance can either be perpetuated and capitalized upon or fixed to empower the masses. It is time to enlighten home educators who have generally been kept in the dark respecting what is occurring within their community. (Ephesians 4: 11-16)
Bible Reference: John 8:44
Pontius Pilate likely stated one of the most important questions ever asked when he said “what is truth?”. He was stating a fundamental question that has directed man since creation. Indeed, one of the earliest Biblical accounts of man involves a discussion on this very issue, a discussion that continues to this day. World view, self-centredness, tradition, culture, religion, all have this common characteristic. They are established on a belief in or understanding of what is truth.
Truth is hard to describe. It is not a matter of public opinion, democratic rule or consensus. It is not something established by world view, but rather establishes world view. It is not our understanding of what we think is true, nor is it true because we believe it or created it. That is self-righteousness. It is not true because our traditions say it is, nor is it true because it is advanced or accepted by our modern culture as true. Truth has no variants. It is or it is not true. No greys, just black or white. Most importantly, it is not established by man, whose perceptions are myopically restricted by time and space, but by God, who is universal, whose vision is eternal and whose judgments are absolute.
In today’s secular society, where it is no longer the church but the Government that decides what is right and wrong, a new morality is at play. Not one based on objective or absolute truth, but on what some people (often a small minority of people) have determined to be legitimately or justifiably “true” and advanced with an attitude of moral superiority that does not debate or even tolerate opponents, but silences them. We are encouraged to applaud things that used to be understood as wrong, while denying the very same right of individual expression to those with whom we disagree, almost to the point of condoning acts bordering on terrorism. Did you realize that terrorism can actually be nonviolent? Obviously, there are those who kill to persuade others to join forces with their idea of truth, but there is also the less obvious approach of claiming authority to legislate while forcing others to conform with what is advanced as “truth”. Then there is an even more sinister form of terrorism when people and agencies willfully or unknowingly advance traditionally or culturally perpetuated half truths, errors, lies and omissions. Whether by bullets, bombs, legislation or indoctrination, to diminish the freedom to question and to direct behaviour, are forms of terrorism as each method uses fear to control the thinking and actions of others.
Whether “truth” is being sought or implanted, the fundamental question remains. What is truth? Is it something we are actively seeking or are we being told what we should be accepting as such? Adolph Hitler was said to have quipped that if you advance a big enough lie, often enough and loud enough, people will come to accept it as the truth… and that was before the advent of the new digital age! C. S. Lewis said that the best lie was 98% true, meaning that if it is not completely true, then it is not true at all.
As we have a natural tendency to create our own god, we end up creating our own way of reaching him, establishing our own parameters for what is right or wrong, acceptable or not, punishable or celebrated. However, whether cloaked in feelings of good will or advanced as right, lies so often resemble the truth that they are mistakenly accepted as such. Such is the sinister nature of lies.