How Much Does Truth Matter?

[Richard Aberdeen]

Around 2000 years ago Jesus, apparently for the first time in human history, equated truth and freedom saying, "you will know the truth and the truth will make you free." This also implies the negative; if we don't know what is true, we have no hope of being free. And, this short idea is more profound than it may appear at first glance. It provides both the correct goal of education, to know what is true and, the correct purpose of education, so we can be free.

Today, far too many influential voices play fast and loose with the truth, weaving deceptive agendas around ideas carefully blended with false and true. Such dishonesty can be far worse than lies that are plainly lies.

Our education systems don't hold up searching for the truth as the primary goal. Rather, students are discouraged from challenging what a teacher or textbook claims. We are essentially taught the truth is whatever our educators and textbooks say it is, rather than encouraged to be unafraid to challenge what are often at best, biased assumptions.

In American classrooms we are taught from an early age to study hard so we will get good grades, so we can earn a scholarship, so we can attend a top university, so we can earn more money. The goal is to earn more money, rather than to understand what is true so we can be free, both as individuals and as a collective society.

The rise of Fox News and right-wing radio eventually produced a president telling over 30,000 documented lies, before just his first term ended, while his second term appears to be worse. A once somewhat coherent nation is now divided into two warring sides, with media disinformation machines continuing to drive us further and further apart. We are constantly reminded we are red states and blue states, rather than the United States.

If the blind lead the blind, they will likely both end up in a ditch of division, deception and confusion. And unsurprisingly, our system of money over truth and freedom has produced a president bent on overthrowing our democracy, if he can't otherwise hold onto power.

There is a fine line between freedom of speech and freedom itself and, creating policies to reign in voices of violence and overt deception. Perhaps we should have allowed the teachings of Jesus be heard in our classrooms, rather than carelessly branding them as "religion", deceiving the simple while appeasing priests, preachers and the ACLU alike.

Apparently they prefer our children remain chained to the darkness of unbridled religious and secular confusion. The longer we insist Jesus is a religion and, refuse to accept him as the key historical influence on human rights and human behavior he obviously is, the more divided and confused our nation is likely to become.

Dividing education up into various categories as "science", "history", "literature" and "religion", is a great disservice to our nation's youth. It teaches unsuspecting children that history, science and God are separate, rather than part of the whole reality of human experience, as if our Creator somehow needs a religion and, doesn't understand how his own universe works.

Unfortunately, never learning from the one who taught us the truth for free, there remains a horrendous boatload of profit to made in both education and religion. And, trying to separate the real truth from fiction in America is likely to remain a seemingly impossible row to hoe.

This in particular is difficult today, when too many conservatives believe truth is a lie and a lie is the truth, while too many liberals talk about "your truth" and "my truth", as if there is no real truth. There is no such thing as my truth or your truth. Rather, there is only "the" truth and, then there are lies.

Prior to Copernicus, most scientists and other people believed the sun revolved around the earth. This was "science" at the time, just as much as anything called "science" today. American students are not taught the truth, that human science invariably changes its mind over time, even about the most basic realities of the universe and our own planet.

Whether we claim the earth is flat, square or spherical in shape, none of these claims change the actual shape of the earth. Regardless of what we believe or disbelieve and, regardless of how much we lie and are lied to, what is true remains the same. And, only the truth will make us free.

[Clownboat]

You are very much in error, comparing the extremely poor and extremely persecuted Paul with modern day preachers.

I hear your empty claim and see nothing to respond to. Therefore I would like to see if we can get back to the questions that were asked of you.

Do you feel that your comparison of Jesus to actual poor people would be a slap in the face to said poor people? I do and I explained why.
It seems that you do understand why people walked so much in ancient times, so I think we can drop that statement.
Why do you think that Jesus was not aware that there are flying birds that don't make nests?
Do you agree that Paul created a religion for the Gentiles and desperately wanted to build a church community?
If I supplied a definition for 'poor', do you think it would include being beaten, stoned or shipwrecked? How does a poor person get passage on a ship and why would robbers target the poor? I don't understand the reason for you including these tails.