"What is Truth?"
And why is it cluttering up Pilate's hallway?
5-17-22
I've been reading comments on other substacks lately where people are lamenting that the truth is being suppressed. People are getting upset and depressed that the truth about everything in this world (i.e covid, voter fraud, 911, vaccines, abortion, transgenderism, immigration, etc...) will never come to light and we will all live in this dystopian hell of mis-dis-mal-information (aka "lies") forever.
That got me wondering about truth.
As Pilate once said "What is truth?" (John 18:38)
He spouted this remark after Jesus answered his question of whether he was a king with this response: † "You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." † (John 18:37)
Jesus also talked many other times about truth:
† "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." † (John 14:6)
† "Make them holy in the truth; your word is truth" † (John 17:17).
† "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." † (John 8:32).
So Jesus is truth. The truth existed and still exists in this world, and it is real. The truth is not a personal or subjective whim of how someone "feels" that day. The truth is not relative to a person's experience, education or social status. It is a real, solid, unshakeable fact of this world that applies to everyone equally, all the time. It is absolute, it is life and it is freedom. Or as acatholicthinker eloquently said:
"Truth. It is merciful, just, and patient. It is mesmerizing, exact, and exhilarating. It is obvious, refreshing, and visceral."
Ok. So what Napoleon? Truth exists, but it can be squashed and extinguished by falsehoods and lies. No it can't. Sure, Pilate squashed and extinguished Jesus, but He rose from the dead and the Truth continued on in small Christian communities, which were also targeted and extinguished by liars who hate the truth. This continues on up to this very day among Christians and non-Christians alike who proclaim the truth.
Whenever the truth is said on any subject, the Prince of Lies (John 8:44) immediately attacks it, which is why it seems like the truth will never come out, and liars always control the "narrative."
Do not be depressed over that tactic. Take comfort in knowing that the truth can't be extinguished, no matter how much society tries to replace it with its falsehoods du jour. There are more people that know or are on their way to knowing the truth than the powers that be are telling you there are. That is because the truth has a power that falsehoods and lies never have - the power to live forever.
The bottom line is that although it feels like nothing is changing and the narrative of lies is winning, it's not. The truth can't be extinguished, ever. Lies spread like wildfires and eventually are extinguished by the slow truth of rain/season changes. Yes, sometimes I wish we could move things along a little quicker (why can't people see what we did from the get-go?), but we can't. Things are happening, even if only one person hears what you have to say. The truth spreads slowly but it HAS to spread because it cannot die. Lies on the other hand spread rapidly because they know they have to die.
As G.K. Chesterton noted about pessimism in The Everlasting Man:
“Pessimism is not in being tired of evil, but in being tired of good. Despair does not lie in being weary of suffering, but in being weary of joy. It is usually when for some reason or other the good things in a society no longer work that a society begins to decline.”
Let's not be pessimistic about the current state of affairs. The power of truth is so overwhelming good, that even liars know the truth about truth! All they can do is scream, call you names, ostracize you from society, throw you out of your job or school or church, take all your money, imprison you, maybe even kill you. But the truth is still there, shining like a beacon, and it will continue on.
I believe Pilate knew what truth was when he spit out that comment at Jesus, who was cluttering up his hallway. He knew that truth was always squashed by liars. I'm sure he was a liar (as we all are at times) in his job and every day he dealt with other liars and falsehoods at every turn. Mind you, he did work a government job, the seat of demons and the Prince of Lies. That is why he washed his hands of the whole deal and sealed Jesus' fate. He gave in to the liars.
Let's not wash our hands of the truth. Let's not give in to the liars. Take heart! Truth wins. Live by truth, tell the truth and all good things will come from that. Jesus has your back!
