Most of our world, Christian or non-Christian, operates on opinion suspended in thin air. Most of us believe X, Y, and Z because ... well ... we believe it. Some of this is so entrenched in our belief system that no amount of reason or evidence will move it. Someone once said, "The human being has an incredible to think logically, step by step, to the wrong conclusion." As a simple example, medical science tells us that children eating candy does not cause hyperactivity. It's just not medically true. Try to tell that to any mother of small children. They don't care what the medical science has proven; they've seen their kids with candy. And their belief in the dangers of giving kids candy to get them overactive is unwavering and unassailable. It's the same for most of us. We hold truths to be self-evident1 ... even if they're wrong. We argue about politics as if the facts are plain and clear. We divide over theology not because the Scriptures are plain, but because we grew up with this one and will not accept that one. (The "pre-Trib Rapture" is a prime example of an "absolute truth" that is not absolute in Scripture.) We hold to incontrovertible "facts" that just aren't necessarily true. Most of the time, our beliefs are built on our feelings rather than any real truth.
Scripture says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17). With phrases like "breathed out by God" and "complete" and "equipped for every good work," it seems as if Scripture would be a reliable source of truth. How much of our discussion is rooted in Scripture? More, Jesus prayed, "Your word is truth" (John 17:17). If Jesus considered God's word to be truth, shouldn't we? And, of course, we have Jesus's own claim: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Jesus claimed not to merely speak truth, but to be "the truth." It seems obvious to me that we spend far too much time putzing about, pursuing self-structured "truth" and debating unsubstantiated "reality," when we should be dedicating ourselves to Christ and the Word. (And, as an aside, no, God cannot contradict God. Those who argue we should "listen to the Spirit" and hear Him say things that are in direct opposition to what He has said are deluded. As one singer put it, "Perhaps it was the devil that whispered in your ear.") With a firm grasp on what God has said in Scripture and in Christ (John 1:1; Heb 1:1-2), it seems we'd have more sure footing to discuss what is and what is not real. Because, Satan is called "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4) and "the father of lies" (John 8:44) and we carry deceitful hearts (Jer 17:9). A reliable truth source is essential, and we have it. Let's use it.
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1 Take, for instance, those "self-evident" truths from the Declaration of Independence -- that we have a divine right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Really? Everyone dies, liberty is always limited, and "the pursuit of happiness" is what has gotten our world into this mucky moral morass today.
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