Category: Truth

The Debates Go On!

Well, the first (and only?) Presidential debate is over. Now it’s up to the pundits, and the voters, to decide what it all means. Depending what side the commentators are on, they will “debate” with each other how the two candidates did. In that sense, the debates go on.

But that’s not what I mean when I say “the debates go on!” What I mean is that in the Christian Church, ever since Christ came to reveal God and his plan to us, and the prophets and apostles have inscribed God’s word to us in the Scriptures, there have always been debates within and without the Church. The debates have been about how to interpret those writings, and about what Christians should believe as true.

When such debates arose, they have led to church splits, wars, heresies, and confusion. While no conflict is desired among those who are called to be one in Christ (“one Lord, one faith, one baptism” – Ephesians 4:5), it has been necessary to decide which beliefs are true, that is, in accord with what God has revealed, and condemn the falsehoods. Such divisions have sometimes been resolved through “debates” in official Church Councils such as the one in Nicaea in 325, and in Chalcedon in 451. Those gatherings of Christian leaders settled many issues, and wrote Creeds which we still recite regularly in church services. Some wrong teachings had arisen even while the Apostles were still alive, leading them to write strong letters against the falsehoods, thus guiding the Church in the right direction.

What are the specific “debates” that had to be resolved over the centuries? Here are some of the more important ones:

  1.  The Judaizers. This early problem happened during Apostolic times. The issue was whether Gentiles who believed in Christ had to become Jews first, being circumcised and having to adhere to the Jewish Law. When the church in Galatia fell into this error, the Apostle Paul wrote to them to correct their theology. He began his letter to them:

 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7ff).

The issue was settled at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), where it was decided that Gentile converts did not have to become Jews, but had only to refrain from sexual immorality, from blood, and from food which had been offered to idols (Acts 15:28-29). At stake here was the freedom of the gospel, and the recognition that faith in Christ, and not  the works of the law, saves.

2. The Colossian heresy. Apparently, false teachings were circulating among the believers in the city of Colossae. This heresy combined adherence to rituals and laws, and asceticism, denial of food and drink. By these actions, people diminished the role of Christ, and put their trust in their own actions to be acceptable to God. Paul’s letter to the Colossians corrected this opinion, by stressing the preeminence of Christ and the folly of observing asceticism or special days as having merit. Paul wrote, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16-17). And in 2:16 he said, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” Such things, he insisted, were fulfilled in Christ.

3. Gnosticism. Related to the Colossian heresy, this heresy was widespread, affecting many churches and resulting in the writing of many false gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Judas. “Gnostikos” is a Greek word meaning “learned” or “having knowledge.” It was a system of beliefs that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge, which came to certain people directly from God, and not from the Scriptures. The heresy also taught that physical matter was evil, and the spiritual was good; therefore some Gnostics believed Christ only appeared to have a physical body, since God could not be held in an evil body. The Church rejected this heresy and the writings it produced.

4. The Arian heresy. Settling this debate was the purpose of the Council of Nicaea. What happened was a false teacher named Arius was having a great influence among many churches. His teaching was that Jesus was not equal to God nor of the same substance, but was made by God and therefore inferior to God. This was in conflict with John 1: 1 which states that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” and “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Our Nicene Creed states that Jesus is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.” This was a direct refutation of the Arian heresy, and was opposed by Athanasius, after whom one of the creeds is named. (By the way, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a modern day Arian sect.)

5. The Montanism heresy.  In the 2nd century, a man named Montanus fell into a trance and began to “prophesy under the influence of the Spirit.” He was soon joined by two young women, Prisca, and Maximilla, who also began to prophesy.  They taught a rigorous asceticism, and that the Holy Spirit spoke  aloud through their trances. They taught the imminent return of Christ, and many of their followers abandoned home and church to be where Montanus said the New Jerusalem would descend. The heresy flourished for several centuries, but finally died out. However, in today’s church, there are many so called “prophets” who claim to speak words from God, and manifest bizarre symptoms, and also prophesy Christ’s imminent return.

6. The Pelagian heresy. This controversy began in the 4th century when a British theologian named Pelagius taught that man is born without original sin (born good) and by good living and choices could obtain salvation. He was opposed by Augustine and condemned by the Synod of Jerusalem in 415. This is still a common teaching among theologically liberal churches, and was even spoken by Pope Francis, who said in a 2024 60 Minutes interview, “We are fundamentally good. … the heart itself is good.” But the Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, teaches the opposite: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” And Paul teaches that sin has come to all because of one man. In other words, original sin. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

7. The “Filioque clause.” Not  an argument over a heresy, but a debate which highlights one of the doctrinal difference leading to a schism between the Orthodox churches and the western (Roman) churches. The dispute is about one phrase in the Nicene Creed where it says that the Holy Spirit, “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” (western version). Or, he “proceeds from the Father,” (Eastern Orthodox version). The Creed originally had only “from the Father,” but in the 6th century, the Roman Church added the “filioque” which mean “and the Son.” Partly this was done to oppose the Arians by showing the Son’s equality with the Father. At the time, both the eastern and the western churches hurled condemnations at each other over this phrase, but recently there have been attempts to reconcile. One of the issues has been, differences in the understanding of what the word, “proceeding,” means.

It was important for the Church to address these heresies and disputes, in order that the true faith be taught and preached, that the true Gospel be believed – for there is no other Gospel (Galatians 1:6-7). Of course, the debates didn’t end in the first couple centuries after Christ. They continued in the centuries that followed, which will come in the next blog!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 2 Timothy 2:14-26.

To Tell the Truth

There used to be a TV game show called, “To Tell the Truth.” In it, the host would read the biography of someone with interesting experiences or an interesting job. Then, three contestants would appear, each claiming to be the person described. The celebrity panel would then ask questions of the contestants, trying to discern which were faking it, and which one was telling the truth. The more the panel got wrong, the more money the contestants would win.

It’s a good thing “to tell the truth.” The Bible commands it, whether in the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament (Exodus 20:16), or the New Testament’s admonition to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). To lie is to do the work of the devil, whom Jesus called, “a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44).

Truthfulness to a Christian should be like breathing, a natural part of living. After all, our lives are based in the Ultimate Truth, Jesus Christ (“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” [John 14:6]).

Unfortunately, when it comes to the world today, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christians, and everyone else, to distinguish between what is true and what is false in the massive amounts of information we take in daily. We hear terms like “disinformation,” misinformation,” and “fake news.” For a long time we have had “photo-shopped” pictures, and now we have artificial intelligence (AI) generating phony audio and video of political leaders saying things they never said or did. It has become scary-easy to be fooled by such doctored media.

Having heard about one such AI engine, ChatGPT, I went to the site and asked it to write a story about Karen at Christmas (her favorite holiday). In just 2 seconds, it spit out a 525 word story that began with:

Karen was a whirlwind of festive energy when it came to Christmas. Her passion for the holiday season was infectious, and she was known as the neighborhood’s very own Mrs. Claus. Every year, Karen transformed her home into a winter wonderland, adorning It with twinkling lights, cheerful ornaments, and an array of decorations that would make the North Pole jealous.

Scary. I also asked it to write a 500 word essay on the theme of this blog. Again, 2 seconds later, came the reply, starting with:

In an era saturated with information and inundated by opinions, discerning truth has become an intricate task, demanding a thoughtful, multifaceted approach. The quest for truth is foundational to human progress, societal harmony, and personal growth. However, today’s landscape, with its digital advancements, diverse narratives, and rampant misinformation, presents a labyrinthine challenge in identifying what is genuinely true.

Yikes! I’ve been replaced! (And from now on, whenever you read one of my blogs, you’ll be asking yourself, “Did Rich write this blog, or was it AI?”)

So, why is it so hard to discern the truth in today’s society? What is about today’s “landscape” (as ChatGPT calls it) that presents such a challenge?

1. Our propensity to lie. From an early age, we lie to avoid blame and punishment, or to gain an advantage over other people. Children with chocolate all over their face deny getting into the candy. Dads tell their kids that the good Halloween candy got spoiled and he had to throw it away. Spouses cheat on each other, athletes take performance-enhancing drugs and lie about it, and politicians take bribes and deny it. We even lie to ourselves: “I’ll start exercising . . . tomorrow for sure!” Scripture says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

2. The schemes of the devil. The one who first lied to Eve, denying God’s warning about the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:4-5), continues to lie to us today. His temptations are lies – showing us a tasty apple while hiding the worm inside. He lies about our salvation filling us with hopeless guilt, or puffing us up with destructive pride. He turns people against each other with hateful lies, and against God with the lies of pseudo-scientific philosophies. (Acts 5:3 and 1 Thessalonians 3:5).

3. Advertising. From the 1949 ad that “More doctors smoke Camels” to the 1965 Brylcreem commercial’s promise: “The gals will all pursue ya,— They’ll love to put their fingers through your hair.” advertisers have said almost anything to get you to buy their product. And did you ever win a “free weekend” at some resort, subject to a “45 minute” presentation for some “exciting opportunity?”

4. Propaganda. Similar to false advertising, propaganda seeks to mold opinions and actions to suit some political agenda. Fabricated stories against political opponents, trumped up legal charges, fabricated videos and emails that put your opponent in a bad light, and false witnesses are just a few of the lies used toward a desired end. A recent example concerns the horrific attack by Hamas against Israel: some pro-Palestinian supporters claim it never happened. Then Hamas claimed that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza and killed 500 people, including children. Later, we learned that the hospital was not bombed, and the only rocket to come close was fired by a Hamas ally. Media are so filled with self-serving political claims that it’s hard to know what to believe.

5. Human error. “To err is human, to forgive divine.” So goes the 1711 quote by Alexander Pope. It is certainly one of the truer truisms about life. We don’t need to have evil intentions when we tell someone something that is false: we may ourselves believe it to be true. For example, in school we learned that George Washington had false teeth made of wood. We repeated it to others, thinking it was a fact (a certain cherry tree comes to mind, as well). Now we know his teeth were made of actual teeth. Another example: one Thanksgiving we were visiting family and were having dinner at their church. It was a fun event until the pastor announced that the Soviets had launched missiles at the US and our missiles were responding. The mood turned somber, until I realized his description of events matched a TV show I had just been watching before the dinner; he had seen part of the show and thought it was really happening. Fortunately, no one took any drastic actions before the mistake was cleared up!

6. Computer errors. “To err is human, to really mess up takes a computer.” So says Rich Eddy in 2023. Another truthful truism, I kid you not. We trust computers and their output for all kinds of information, from weather patterns to predictions of eclipses. Unfortunately, computers have sometimes made horrible mistakes, and fortunately, people were in the loop and doubted what the computers were saying.

  • October 5, 1960 – NORAD computers alerted that a massive Soviet missile strike was coming at the U.S. When people checked it out, they found sensors had misread a sunrise as missile launches, and a counter strike was averted.
  • December 26, 1983 – Soviet Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov was on duty at a Soviet early-warning base outside Moscow. He found himself staring at a red screen reading “START” as an alert siren wailed. The computer deemed that a single missile was incoming, followed by a salvo of five. Lt. Col. Petrov had a hunch the warning was a computer error, so he shut things down instead of launching -and saved the world from catastrophe.
  • January 13 2018 – Sirens and alerts on radio, TV, and cell phones warned Hawaiians that the islands were under nuclear attack, with the words, “Emergency alert – this is not a drill!” Fortunately, it was another computer error, and nobody died.For all these reasons – and more – we need to read, view, and hear information with a skeptical attitude that is ready to compare what we are told with what we know to be true. Just as Secret Service agents compare suspected counterfeit bills with authentic ones to determine they are bogus, so we need to compare the counterfeit claims of our culture, and the people in it, to what we know to be true.And how do we know what is true? We begin with the Word of God. We believe that it is infallible and inerrant, meaning it is without errors or deceptions. 1 Peter 1:24-25 tell us that the word of the Lord remains forever, and Numbers 23:19 says that God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. God’s word is true, eternal and unchangeable; what better standard of truth could there be? Jesus himself said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33).

    It is to Jesus, the Truth, to whom the Scriptures testify. The closer we get to him, and the more immersed we are in his Word, the more brightly shines the truth and the more obvious the world’s lies become. He and his word are our touchstone. True, the Bible doesn’t expose every lie out there – such as whether the gals really will love to put their fingers through my hair – but it will reveal the ones that threaten my soul. And to tell the truth, that is what really matters!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 1:14-17; John 4:23-24; John 8:31-32.

P.S. Except for the two examples I included, I did not use ChatGPT to write this blog!

 

 

Let God Be True

Last week I heard a discomforting report. A new Gallup survey of American religious practices reported that for the first time, less than half of adults in the U.S. belong to a church, synagogue or mosque. While I am not worried about the decreases in the latter two groups (if members of those faiths became Christians), the drop in Christian church affiliations is greatly concerning. Roman Catholic affiliations dropped 18 percentage points, and Protestant churches lost 9 points.

Ever since the first similar survey in 1937, the percentage of adult church affiliation has stayed around 70%. That is, until 2000, when the numbers began to slip. As our society has become more secular, atheistic, and anti- Christian, more and more people reject traditional worship. They may claim to be “spiritual but not religious,” but their words and actions reveal they deny any claim that God has on them. They are consumers of spirituality, picking and choosing what sounds good or makes them feel good about themselves, rather than bowing before a righteous God.

We can point to many reasons for it, including the banishment of religious values and practices from schools and public venues; the almost fanatical allegiance to naturalism/scientism, which people look to for answers to life’s questions; the fallacy that fairness and neutrality mean denying any devotion to Christianity; the post-modern idea that there is no objective truth; the constant slamming of Christ, Christians, and Christian symbols in our movies and television shows; the addiction to approval in the social media, which are increasingly hostile to people of faith; the scandals of Christian leaders who fall sexually or “fleece their flocks” to become wealthy; and the increasing compromise of Christian churches who sell out or soft-sell the faith in order to be acceptable to an unbelieving society.

There are probably other contributing causes to the decline of church membership, but my purpose today is not to study or attack those reasons, but rather to assess what it means for us as Christians to now be the new minority. I think the following points are worth considering:

  1. Truth is not determined by popular vote. Even if the “vote” were 99% against Christianity, the remaining 1% would be right. I learned that back in first or second grade when our teacher asked the class, “Is the sun closer to the earth during the summer, or during the winter?” Everyone in class except me said, “Summer.” But I said, “Winter.” The other pupils all laughed at me for being so obviously wrong – until the teacher said, “You’re right, Richard, it is closer during the winter.” I learned to stand for the truth, even if my view is not the popular one.

This is true in many areas, including science, math, and history, but no more so than in matters of the Christian faith. What God has revealed to us through his words and actions is truth, even if no one believes it. As Paul proclaimed in Romans 3:4, “Let God be true though every one were a liar .” Even if no one on earth believed in God or his Word, that would not change the objective reality that God lives and reigns as our Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. Of course, whether a person has faith in God or not changes their subjective reality, because their destiny is subject to their faith. John 3:18 says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

2. Christianity has always been in the minority, even though in certain times and places the majority of people have considered themselves to be Christian. Today, even though Christianity is the largest religion in the world, two-thirds of mankind is not Christian, either in name or faith.  Certainly, our society, and the world, would be better off if we were all devout Christians who practiced our faith in worship, family, service, and daily life, but the Bible warns us that we should expect opposition, and that the number of those saved will be a minority. In Matthew 7:13, Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” And in Romans 9:27, Paul quotes Isaiah concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved.” And as for opposition and persecution, Jesus warned us, saying, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. . . If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul [the devil], how much more will they malign those of his household” (Matthew 10:24-25). Just as Christ was himself maligned and persecuted, so we should not be surprised to receive the same treatment.

3. There are serious implications for our country.  One of our founding fathers, John Adams, said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Unfortunately, we have “sown the wind and reaped the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7) by ignoring God and pushing him out of our public life. As a result we have brought upon ourselves many of the problems we now face, such as drug use, division, and violence. In the Old Testament, God offered to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 10 righteous people, but destroyed those cities when not even that many could be found (Genesis 18:22-33, and 19:23-25). Is there some number of faithful people for whose sake God will spare the U.S.? Have we dropped below that number already, and if not, what is the cut-off? Are the setbacks our country has experienced lately signs of God backing off, removing his protective hand from us? And do we look to him for the solutions, or to ourselves and our government? The good news is that God is merciful, such as when he spared the wicked city of Nineveh – because they repented and turned to God (Jonah 4). Let us pray for his mercy, and for a revival of faith among those who profess Christ.

4. We have our work cut out for us. We need to become more assertive in presenting and defending the faith. We can’t assume people will flock to church or act according to Christ’s teachings. We can’t assume that the level of Christian faith will continue as it has been, or that decisions in the public arena will be made with respect to what we believe. On the contrary, we should expect continued and growing opposition to all things Christian. Therefore, we need to be engaged with our society, not by accommodating our faith to its godless attitudes, but by showing the superiority of Christ to anything else the world offers. Sometimes, faithful Christians fall into a defensive, fortress mentality, determined to defend the faith against all attacks. That is my own inclination, and I enjoy the field of Christian apologetics, which defends the faith with evidences, history, and logic. But we need to remember that it is not us who need to defend anything: rather it is the enemy – Satan and those who fall for his lies – who should be on the defensive. They have the failed theology, but we have the truth. That’s why Christ could tell his disciples that “the gates of hell will not prevail” against the Church (Matthew 16:18). Gates are for defense, so the implication is that Christ will prevail against the enemy through his triumphant Church. We are part of that Church, and therefore let us take the fight to the enemy, for the best defense is a good offense. “Onward, Christian Soldiers!”

Let us obey Christ’s command to take the Gospel to all creatures, showing love and respect, serving people’s real needs, and teaching them God’s Word – all with the power of prayer – all while ourselves continuing to worship actively in our churches, then maybe – just maybe – the next survey will show a change in the right direction!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20; John 16

P.S. For my Australian readers: yes, I know, for you the sun is closer in the summer.