I am not sure when I became aware of this truth. It may have been reading an article or reflecting on some other philosophical or apologetic thought. It is, however, etched in my mind: the dominant battle in the 21st century is and will be the battle for truth!
This is not a battle that has recently begun. It first appeared in the satanic conversation with Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5). Throughout the epochs of time, this battle has continued to rage. Even within the pages of Holy Writ, particularly in the New Testament, untruths have had to be confronted and corrected. Polemical skirmishes have occurred within the ranks of Christendom, which required remedial and restorative action. Church fathers and church councils took on this noble and necessary task, to clarify and communicate the “faith once delivered to all the saints” (Jude 1:3). Although many distortions persisted both within and without the precincts of the Christianity, there was a sufficient and solid widespread acceptance and understanding of essential truths.
Over the last centuries, however, there has been a drastic and dangerous shift concerning the establishment of truth. It is primarily epistemological, that is, it is now a change in the perception or acceptance of how we come to know truth. Truth was viewed as either being ascertained or perceived mystically or phenomenologically. Even more simply put, truth was revealed by God and/or apprehended through the senses. Philosophers or scientists who subscribed to empiricism had the added requirement of confirmation through the mechanism of experimentation or scientific methodology. Eventually, Western culture descended to a post-modernist philosophy, which posited that truth was only socially constructed. Moreover, those who held this view also declared that truth was only subjective. They asserted that “there is no objective truth”!
What has been occurring in recent decades is the substitution or abandonment of truth that is established through phenomenological observation, evaluated, and confirmed through the scientific method. Furthermore, all religious truths have been declared to be opinions. If religious truths contradict the prevailing cultural narrative, it is viewed as hostile, dangerous, violent, and phobic. Therefore, it is marked for rejection and those who dare to communicate such a message are eligible to be rejected, cancelled, and demonized.
One of the most problematic and baffling practices is the presence of theories as truths. For decades, even centuries, modernists proclaimed scientific methodology as the way to go. Theories that may offer explanations of phenomenon and hypotheses were to be evaluated. It was understood, however, that these were not truths! Now, a multiplicity of theories concerning gender, sexuality, behavior, human origins, and development are now being accepted on equal par with truths, despite the absence of any scientific confirmation. Indeed, what is being offered as truth are mere assertions, opinions, narratives, and personal beliefs. These are often so firmly held that any challenge to them is met with vitriol. Self-appointed cultural custodians, strategically placed within the halls of academia, podiums of political parties, platforms of punditry, and arenas of entertainment, are now engaging in a campaign of personal destruction, to rid the society of those who would dare to challenge their points of view. Again, the very epistemological approach that modernists claimed was necessary to establish truth and to reject biblical truth is now being discarded. There seems to be no end in sight for this descent into the abyss of fabrications, falsehoods, and deceptions.
What are we to do, particularly as Christians and preachers of the Gospel? We are to reassert and faithfully proclaim the truths of Scriptures (Acts 6:4; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). Furthermore, we are to preach Christ and His Word with boldness (Acts 4:31). We are to be prepared for the increasing persecution that is coming, because of a society that is increasingly hostile to the message of Christianity (Matthew 5:11-16; 10:16-26). Last, but not least, we are to stand on the truthfulness of Scripture, despite any declarations or assertions to the contrary (Jude 1:3; Psalm 119:89; Matthew 24:35).
Stand on God’s Truth!
