Is there Truth?

I’m not a doctor, but I think I may have whiplash. Last week, I read one columnist assure his readers everything is going to be fine regarding the virus. The next article was from his colleague, that assured us the world is on fire and that we are weeks away from entering the realm of the Lord of the Flies. So while I have the conch, I will like to tell you why there are so many opposite stories.

"Lord of the Flies" by Gonzalo Martínez Moreno 

 In logic, there is an axiom called “the law of noncontradiction”. The law means two contradictory statements can’t be true, when used in the same sense. For example, everything is fine and the world is about to devolve into anarchy cannot be true at the same time. Certainly, both can be false, but they can’t both be true. That’s simple enough, but let’s go a bit further. How does this happen? Are both groups lying? Perhaps. Another possibility is they both believe what they are saying and are wrong.  The media purports itself to be unbiased, but I am of the opinion that there is no such thing. Unless you are a jellyfish, you come to every issue with preconceived notions and beliefs. And, perhaps even these gelatinous scyphozoan are fixed in their view of the world.

Some are calm, collected, and reassuring, but have no grounds for their hope other than a hunch or a wrongheaded idea of reality. Others are running in circles with their hands flailing about to and fro in a panic because they can foresee no other possibility than scientific models of worst-case scenarios playing out — because they have misplaced trust in fallible scientific models, or what I like to call “guesses”. These opposite views are more like siblings. They have hope and fear based on their presuppositions. Two people can read the same news story, one go out and buy gold along with 3,400 rolls of toilet paper while the other will read it and roll their eyes and think it’s preposterous. I’m not suggesting the noble “third way” but to consider your source. Not just the source of what your read and hear, but the source of how you read and interpret. What’s your bias?

People look at things from the perspective of their beliefs. I am a pastor, and I write this column every week, not as some unbiased entity who is above it all, but a man who is convinced Jesus is Lord and Christ, and the Bible is the Word of God. The law of noncontradiction is true, but only because there is truth. God's Word is true. The Bible is sure in a day of troubles. It's a stronghold and won't change with the times and seasons. When the world is passing around falsehoods, rumors, and hunches, it's a must for God's people to rest in God’s truth. All men are liars. Trust God's sure and true promises. Pick up God's Word and ground yourself in a trustworthy word.