How Do We Know What’s True?
(Posted September 27, 2024)
There’s no doubt in my mind that, if Mark Twain were present with us today in body as well as in the spirit of his writings, he’d look at our news stories and be chuckling and saying, “See? I told you so.”
We seem to be living in a time when the concept of truth-telling is seen by some as an antiquated concept. Actual fact-based truths seem much too boring when anybody can take a juicy rumor and, in the space of a couple of retellings, turn it into an absolute “truth.” That’s how we’ve ended up with headlines that report about feline fricassee and chihuahua chili in Ohio. (This same story was told about Asians back in the height of the Vietnam War, and is simply an urban legend.)
Our Problem with Truth
We humans have a problem with being truthful. It is borne out of an erosion of our trust in authorities, and it is especially intense when the ones telling us lies and fibs have been the authorities themselves. This Sunday we have a glimpse in the Gospel when Jesus confronts the lies and manipulations that the Pharisees have been using on the people to control them. And it isn’t pretty. Jesus doesn’t mince words.
The Truth of the Seven Woes
We’re all familiar with the lovely eight Beatitudes. However, Jesus does follow up later in his ministry with what is known today as the Seven Woes: seven indictments of those in power theologically for the sins of hypocrisy, and also of ourselves, if we choose to be self-serving. Falsehoods, as Mark Twain points out, travel so rapidly between people. How are we to know when we are dealing with lies?
How to Tell the Difference Between Lies and Truth
The main goal is to become wise. While this Sunday we will concentrate on lies and God’s truth,
in the next few weeks ahead, we will travel with Jesus and with author Francis S. Collins, “The Road to Wisdom.” It will take us not only through truth, but through faith and science and the restoration of trust.
Come join us at 10 AM when we will learn how to tell the difference between lies and truth.