The Paceline

Once upon a time, in a civilization not too far away, there was agreement between most* people on facts. And there was disagreement on what to do with those facts. 

*Most does not include: religious leaders who refused to look through a telescope; sailors who feared sailing off the edge of a flat ocean; and eccentrics wearing metal hats to prevent mind reading by aliens. 

Disagreement was not a bad thing. It was a healthy means of addressing difficult questions based on a common set of facts. Truth was a starting point to find solutions. Then along came a spider named “alternative facts.”

In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year was “post-truth.” From the website Oxford Languages: “Post-truth is an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’.”

Ironically, we demand truth from our bankers, merchants, doctors, employers, and loved ones but get squishy when it comes to what we feel and what we want to believe – often for our own convenience. Churchill astutely observed that “men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”

Many pretend that what they believe is true. Constant repetition of a fervent belief cannot make something true. But it does work really well for cult leaders.

Facts are either true or they’re not. If true, they’re true for everyone. 

That absolute is not a popular belief today. Many believe that truth can be true for some but not for others.

I contend truth is universal. It’s not relative. I’m fortunate enough to have Rebecca McLaughlin back me up on relativism.

McLaughlin defines relativism as “the belief that there is no universal truth – that all truth is specific to its culture and its time.” She contends that the very statement – “there is no universal truth” – contradicts itself because IT IS in fact a universal statement.

The very cool Ms. McLauglin speaks to the rejection of relativism in her one-minute video much more eloquently than I can in any further rambling. For a deeper dive into the subject, pick up her excellent book, Confronting Christianity. Warning: it may make some Christians uncomfortable.

Truth has a long history of making people uncomfortable. Augustine said: “We love the truth when it enlightens us. We hate the truth when it convicts us.”

You know better than to build your house on the sand. You know better than to follow a cult leader into a dark valley.

Build your house on the truth. Build it on a rock.

John Maisel said it best: “rock-type truth gives God-type security.”