Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

• Jeremiah 7:28

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

• 2 Timothy 4:1-5

“Among the various “isms” running amok through today’s America, denialism is one seldom referenced. It is at the root of many divisions in this nation. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as ‘the practice of denying the existence of truth, or validity of something, despite proof or strong evidence that it is real, true, or valid.’ Dr. Richard Sennett, a professor of sociology at the London School of Economics, claimed that a certain amount of denialism is necessary for humans to live together in a civil way. He said, ‘In practicing social civility, you keep silent about things you know clearly but which you should not and do not say.’ He suggests denialism is a necessary private self-deception, even though it could be harmful.
“Historical events, such as Astronaut Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, have begun to be questioned. Both sides of the climate change issue have engaged in denialism. There is even a trend developing in some academic circles that suggests the genocide of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust did not actually happen.
“It is vital to cling to the truth of God’s Word. Theologian John Piper warns, ‘The root problem with those who reject sound teaching and wander off into myths is not intellectual, but emotional, and even physical.’  People tend not to want the truth when it does not match with their own ideas. They search out those who ‘suit their own passions.’ It is basic sinful human nature to want things your way, not God’s way. For that reason, you must carefully seek and hold fast to the truth. While you may not persuade those in denial, your responsibility is to stand for Scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

• Presidential Prayer Team, Vantage Point Devotional (devotion for August 28)

Has truth perished?  Those that deny that truth has perished would say, “Truth has not perished.  We have freed truth so that everyone can have their own truth.”  But when we have roughly eight billion people on earth, having eight billion different truths means it is difficult to find the Truth.  With eight billion truths, truth is meaningless, thus, it has perished.

Having eight billions truths means that the media can say whatever they like, or really what their overlords demand, and they can fall back on the comfort of, “It was my truth” when it is proven to be a lie.  But then is lying telling falsehoods when it is “their truth?”  Or do you just deny that you are telling statements proven false?

I have not been a very good presidential prayer warrior of late.  This is the first devotional from their website that I have commented on in some time.  But I could simply deny the existence of the unread devotions and pat myself on the back for doing such a good job.

Maybe that is part of denialism?  We deny we sin, thus we do not need a Savior.  We deny the rights of others, thus hating them and pushing them aside for our own gain is fair.  It is as if they do not exist.

Thus, we can angrily voice our opinion.  No one will be offended because their truth does not matter.

That is at the root of this relative truth issue.  It is not that we each have our own truth.  It is that the other person’s truth does not matter.  Thus, I do not have to love my neighbor or my enemy.  I only have to love me.

Why do Christians get upset about this relative truth world?  God is the Truth.  Jesus said that He was the Truth, the Way, the Life.  When we deny that, to our own peril, we can have our truth and not bother loving anyone.

All these new fad ideas seem to have one commonality.  The secular world is not denying this or that or the other thing.  They deny God.  Once you deny God, then His commandments are nullified.

We need to pray for our world.  Truth has perished, and with it the world will soon follow unless we come to the realization that there is Truth beyond our own selves.  That Truth is found in God.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.