The Truth of Jesus in a Post-Truth Society
Navigating cultural uncertainty with the reassuring truth of Jesus
20th August, 2018 // in The Coffeehouse Cleric // by Alex Rowe
I recently had the opportunity to write for the Evangelical Alliance’s blog on evangelism, with the topic, ‘The truth of Jesus in a post-truth society.’ Do take a read. The link is below, with my unedited copy below that. I hope you enjoy.
While the title of this post might sound quite catchy, I’m not sure I necessarily believe in it. Before I ruffle too many feathers, let me here affirm that I am convinced that Jesus is the Truth. What doubts I do have, however, is the accuracy of the second part of my title; that our society really is one that is “post-truth.”
C. S. Lewis puts it nicely in the first chapter of Mere Christianitywhen he observes that in common remarks like, “That’s my seat, I was there first” a man not only express displeasure in another person’s behaviour but is also “appealing to some kind of standard of behaviour which he expects the other man to know about.” You see, functionally if not theoretically we are all more like objectivists than not; we have a sense of what is right and proper, of what is good and what is true. For all the rhetoric of not trusting the experts or not needing any validation except one’s own, the way we actually live — the way we speak and the way we act — suggests that we are actually much fonder of truth than we realise.
Indeed, in this cultural moment our society perhaps craves truth now more than ever. In our present climate of long unprecedented social, economic and political instability, there is a void of trust and a lack of confidence in the structures that formerly held us up. And the current challenges the church in England faces, with some traditional teachings being brought into question, need not cause us only to lament. Positively speaking, they show us that society has not given up on truth, even if it seeks truth elsewhere. The church has not been left to play on its own in the corner, but is being beckoned by the self-proclaimed adults to stand up and sit at the grown-up table. You may not like this image — I certainly don’t — but I hope it serves to illustrate that our society is not really “post-truth.” This is encouraging. There might be great competition for the truth, more interpretations of the truth, but we as human beings are not done with the truth; it’s not in our nature.
How do we go about witnessing to the truth of Jesus in a society like ours; one that has many other claimants bidding for what is true? First, we must work hard to make sure that we ourselves have grasped hold of the truth, or rather, grasped hold of Jesus who is Truth. Before it is noetic, Christian faith is relational. We are sharing with the world, first and foremost, the goodness of a Person, not the precision of a paragraph of the catechism. So, unless we are in daily communion with Jesus, in real relationship with him, our witness will be wasted. When we share Jesus, it is meant to look more like introducing him as a dear and trusted friend than canvassing for a leader we don’t really know.
Secondly, if faith is relational, then we are sharing the way in which Jesus has affected us, the ways in which our relationship with him has changed and transformed us. The idea here is simple: show, don’t tell. In a time like ours, where claims to the truth are thrown around left, right, and centre, words alone will not suffice. We will be compelling only when we present the truth with our very lives, when we embody that which we tell, when the message and the messenger are one. The way we live, particularly the way we love, speaks of the God we claim to know (see 1 John). We may live in an age that is sceptical of our claims to the truth, but we must be careful not to add insult to injury by our own hypocrisy.
Thirdly, and following, we should recognise the power of stories and be proud of our testimonies. If faith is relational and transformational, then it is also emotive. Though, of course, there is factual content to our faith — the kind of things people might try to right down in formal propositions — the communication of that faith in ways that are personal and which engage the emotions is vital. The way we tell it might be as important as how we tell it. Why? Not because we’re trying to manipulate or deceive, but because it’s real, it’s living. Like Philip to Nathanael, we say, “Come and see!” (John 1:46).
People seek truth more than we realise, and we can show them what the truth looks like. Let’s start conversations with our friends and neighbours, and if we let them, if we listen, they will soon share with us their longings for something more, for some kind of stability, for a sturdy ship to climb aboard and weather the storms of life. They themselves might not realise that they need him, but through our witness we can introduce our friends to the man inside that boat, Jesus. The one who not only rides the tumultuous waves with us, but calms them by a single word. The one with whom we have loving communion, and who changes our lives.
Thank you for reading this post. If you liked it, please do share it with your friends and family. The Coffeehouse Cleric is a weekly blog on spirituality and simple living by Alex Rowe.
