Every year the Oxford Dictionary chooses a "word of
the year." For 2016 it is “post-truth” which they describe as
‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective
facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than
appeals to emotion and personal belief’. Or in other words, never
mind the facts it’s what we believe that matters. It’s
a word that has been used increasingly following the wildly
exaggerated claims made in the election campaigns on both
sides of the Atlantic last year.
From a Christian perspective this is disturbing. Jesus
did not say, "Never mind the facts, it's how you feel that is
important." He didn't say, "All opinions are equally valid:
it's sincerity that counts." Jesus
said, “The truth will set you free”. Distorting truth is not
acceptable, even if much of what is reported as "news" is
spin.
So, for Christians, the question we should keep in
front of us is, "Is this true?" We should always be looking
for facts and evidence rather than opinion. Because, from a
Christian perspective, the pursuit of truth will lead us to
the one who said "I am the truth." At Jesus' trial the
politician, Pontius Pilate, asked the question "What is
truth?" He couldn't recognise the truth when the
personification of truth, Jesus, was literally staring him in
the face.
I hope that 2017 will be a
year of truth, not post-truth.
