(John 14:6 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.Truth in the Biblical frame of reference means that there is a one-to-one correlation between what is said and what is. It implies a desire and attempt to communicate without deception.
Truth implies deceit. Deceit and lies are the opposite of truth.
A bible verse is often quoted:
(John 8:32 KJV) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.But it is quoted as a lie. Most people who quote it refer to their version of truth. Jesus meant the truth of God, or Himself. Calling a lie truth does not set you free any more than making a cage at the zoo look like the animals natural habitat makes it home.
It is a belief in truth that is the foundation of much of Western culture. It makes scientific research possible. It gives meaning to fraud. Without truth liable is meaningless. It allows justice and the rule of law. But that is a thing of the past.
Our society rejects the existence of objective truth. In post-modern America everything is relative. Truth becomes what you want it to mean. A good example of this is the mantra that was chanted and repeated, “Bush lied, people died.” Bush did not lie, at least on the issue they were referring to. Being human, I am sure that in his life he told lies. He may have been wrong on the issue. He may have been confused. He may have changed his mind later, but the things he said were shared by every intelligence agency in the world and based on the facts given to him. This is an example of changing meanings to fit what you want them to mean. It is not a lie just because you don’t like it.
The post-modern relativism has overwhelmed large sections of what used to be God’s church. This transformation is still called the church but since it is rejecting truth, it doesn’t belong to God any more. If there is no truth, or we cannot know truth then the Bible is just an old book that some people find entertaining. Jesus was just a nut case. There is no hope.
We need to begin to stand up for truth. Part of that position means the rejection of a lot of the synonyms that have replace the word “lie” in our vocabulary. It is not spin, it is lying. It is not an exaggeration, it is a lie. You did not forget, you lied. You were not joking, you were lying. It is not a difference of perception, it is a lie. Even if you had not given your word or you crossed your fingers, it is still a lie.
It is time to stand up and be counted.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.