“What is Truth?” Spiritually Navigating in a Post-Modern, Media-Saturated Society. Part 1

In The Gospel according to John Chapter 18 verse 38 Pilate asks Jesus of Nazareth, who is standing trial before him: “What is truth?”  The question would be comical if it weren’t so tragic. A man who has the power to decide whether to sentence an innocent man to death or not asks the question, “what is truth?”  The question itself oozes both cynicism and innocence.  There are many in our society that are convinced that they know the truth; many who are convicted in the certainty of their own hubris.  Such people are the cause for the downfall of every society, and they are the greatest threat to our society today.  The salvation of any society are the minds willing and courageous enough to ask “What is truth?” And it is to such people I address this difficult question in this difficult time.

                  

             Where do we begin? We can begin with the context of our problem: Post-modernism.  We live in a post-modern world.  While there have been many benefits from post-modernism and existential thought, such as the concept of “truth in context” and the ability to understand the fluidity of custom and worldviews, there have also been inevitable backlashes and damage done by post-modernism.  One is the abandonment of objective truth; the belief that all truth is subjective.  A key phrase in this thinking is “my truth is my truth; your truth is your truth.”  Such a phrase, of course is never used in discussion over arsenic consumption, or whether airplane pilots need training before flying passengers across the country.  So clearly there is no “my truth vs. your truth” when comes to issues that put persons in clear mortal danger.  But that argument is completely acceptable when it comes to opinions on policy, morals, news sources and values.  Why?  Post-modernism’s damage is that it has poisoned our cultural psyche into believing “what I feel is right for me is right for me; what I feel is wrong for you is wrong for you.”  The root of “subjective truth” is based on feelings.  In this context, feelings are a phenomenon to be obeyed by the self and others.  And this belief molds itself into socially accepted madness.  For example, there was a recent popular fad that taught if you just felt and dreamed of a positive future outcome, it would happen.  And without evidence, people believed it?!?! Sadly, many were disenfranchised while one charismatic writer got very rich.  As absurd as this may sound, this is precisely the same philosophy (or epistemology) that people use when they determine their sources of news and information, as well as their most sacred values.

               

           I have a project for you: on the same day read Fox News, CNN, Breitbart and Huffington Post…and then read their comments section.  Then observe, if possible, how different people react to news stories on various social media feeds.  It is a very troubling and revealing social experiment.  For example: when people in mosque were victims of a shooting in Quebec from a suspected white supremacist, people who typically side with the Democrats were commenting and sharing the story avidly; in Conservative or Alt-Right news outlets the story was quieted and in social media the silence was deafening.  When liberal rioters burned parts of Berkley Campus in protest of Milo Yiannopoulos speaking, Conservative and Alt-Right media and social media went crazy; while liberal news outlets had a hushed tone, with little to no comments from the liberal contingent of social media.  To an outside observer the hypocrisy would be comical if it weren’t so tragic.

                 

            What is happening here? People are shopping for the news they want to hear.  They are using information as a type of commercial product that can be advertised and consumed at will; or rejected at will.  What matters are not facts, but congruence.  In general, people are looking for data to support their view of others, the nation, the world, the universe.  Sources of data that support a certain worldview are consumed, advertised and praised; while data that contradicts a worldview are ignored, evaded, or outright destroyed by being called lies without investigation.  Sources of worldview-supporting data are praised; sources producing data challenging or contradicting one’s worldview are demonized.  Another observation I think is important is attributed to Walter Wink and his idea “Salvation through Identification:”

                “People today no longer are bound together by the values, rites, and customs that gave a sense of belonging in traditional cultures [postmodern world].  Without these moorings, they are easy victims of the fads of style, opinion, and prejudice fostered by the communications media.  At once isolated and yet absorbed in the masses, people live under that illusion that the views and feelings they have acquired by listening to the media are their own.  Overwhelmed by the incomprehensible size of corporations, bureaucracies, universities, the military, and media icons, individuals sense that their only escape from utter insignificance lies in identifying with these giants and idolizing them as the true bearers of their own identity.

                Salvation through identification; whether it be in cartoon shows or westerns or confrontations with foreign powers, one’s personal well-being is tied inextricably to the fortunes of the hero-leader.  Right and wrong scarcely enter the picture. Everything depends on victory, where on has the thrill of belonging to a nation capable of imposing its will on other nations. (emphasis mine)”[1]

Again, this quote brings up the situation of post-modernism, and how media relates to our identity.  Without our usual customs, rituals and rites humans are looking for significance, for ego-validation; in the media they find it.  In attaching their value to their political-hero-god, or their political party, they substitute their own authentic identity for something easy and pre-packaged.  People willingly surrender their mind and souls, being terrified of the other option.  The greatest threat to the Powers that Be, are a critical thinking mind, and a self-reflective soul.

               

             In the end it all comes back to ego, and intellectual laziness.  In our postmodern world and in our technological world, we can seemingly create our own truth, but that is an illusion.  We cannot create truth; in reality, we are simply validating our own viewpoints.  We quickly cling and parade around data that supports our view, or to our hero-guy/gal; as if they have any real bearing on who we are as a person.  And if our hero does lose, then we revolt and despair…and how could we not? The universe as we know it has been upturned.  Our perspective rules our reality.  And postmodernists and subjectivists would say: “of course it does.”  But I believe there is a different perspective on truth that must be identified and reiterated: Truth is something that is outside the self; it is discoverable, it is knowable (but only in part), and its nature is completely independent of any human wish, feeling, or desire.  We do not create Truth!

We will explore the nature of Truth, and how to engage it from a spiritual and intellectual position in the next blog.

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[1] Wink, Walter. “The Powers That Be: Theology for a new millennium.” Doubleday Publishing. New York, NY.  1998. P. 60.

The Judgement of a Nation

                Unfortunately, to live in a historic time where one is tested is not a choice; the choice lies in how one responds.  And in the United States of America, such a time is where we find ourselves.  We are in a time of crisis. The word “Crisis” comes from the Greek word krísis, which denotes “a separating, power of distinguishing, decision, choice, election, judgment, dispute.” In our time modern definition Crisis means a crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point.  Crisis is thought to always be bad, but it is not necessarily; it is, however, intense.  We find ourselves at a crossroads, a time of political and ideological division.  The result is an unprecedented display of non-civility towards each other as citizens.  The result is an unprecedented series of actions from our government that severely threatens our basic rights, and more dangerously, the processes which keep our nation safe from tyranny. 

It has been said that President Donald Trump is like Hitler; but what does that mean?  What does it mean to be like Adolf Hitler?  If the qualification is an ambitious ego that thinks it knows best how to make a nation safe and prosperous, then we would have a long list indeed. If the qualification includes attempting to silence or discredit the opposition, or seeing any opposing voice as an enemy…again, the list would be quite long.  No, if we are honest many of the qualities of Hitler, many of the qualities of evil men and women live inside all of us; the seduction of using violence to bend others to our will is something we all face.  So what is it?  I would say it is not beneficial to compare President Trump to Chancellor Hitler.  It is useful and necessary to compare the current population of the United States to that of Nazi Germany.  It is time to compare us with the people of Germany in the 1930’s; the real sin, the real problem is a collective problem, a national problem.  Adolf Hitler would never have existed without the approval of many Germans, and the silent sanction of other Germans (The Nazis only won a 43.9% vote in the last free election).  And so today, we must face the fact that President Trump’s policies and our state of government are a reflection and a result of our collective sins; but it is not too late to change course.

Collective sin is a difficult concept for us.  First, many of us Americans don’t believe in God or sin; that is fine.  No religion is required for this discussion, and I consider the word “sin” has enough context and colloquial use that no explanation or substitution of the word is needed.  Second, Americans hate the idea of collective anything really.  To individually bear the burden of crimes committed by the mass, seems to us unjust.  The justice of it can be argued in a metaphysics or theology class, the reality is we do bear the burden of each others' sins; and as a nation no time makes that more clear than now. This reality, this glaring fact of our existence reveals another truth we are loathe to recognize: We are all responsible for our own actions and the welfare of each other; a truth so many of us have ignored or forgotten.  And the results are all around us…

While many Democrats or Liberals in this historical context will eagerly point the finger at the Conservatives and Republicans who bore this tyrant, it is important to remember that we are all responsible and bear the burden: a Tyrant in America is the result of the American People. For example with globalization came increased wages and prosperity for many. But for many in this nation, that benefit was not shared.  We could have done more to promote and encourage education and skill training for job markets that were growing.  We didn’t.  We could have valued and encouraged academic excellence over achievement in sports; we didn’t.  We could have had leaders in our communities and government that taught us the way forward in a global economy is away from manufacturing, towards education in technology and science; we didn’t.  This nation still bears the scars, burden and judgement for its own continued racial injustice.  Many (white people from all political backgrounds) would love to keep slavery, Jim Crow Laws, the socio-economic impact of white flight in history books.  In history books we can pretend that the impacts of those sins are done and over; but they are not.  The sins of our ancestors are with us still today, and I hope in time we will have the courage and humility to face these impacts together.  For we must remember just as we bear the sins of our ancestors, so will our children be impacted by the choices and the world we create today. And then there is the dawn of social media…

In this our collective sin should be evident.  As a people we have developed a culture of demonizing those who believe different than us; behave different from us; are different from us.  Are we then surprised at the recent Executive Orders to build a wall and prohibit refugees and immigrants from entering our great nation? In social media politics, we have become more obsessed with our side winning, then our side being moral.  We have become more loyal to personalities or parties, then to principles.  Together, fist-to-fist, we have created a divisive and violent culture that will not listen to others, will not reflect on self…we have created a system where we no longer encourage thinking, where we no longer value bettering ourselves as moral agents; the consequences are now becoming deadly.

  The symptom of a collapsing society is its eagerness to demonize and blame the foreigner: this is Human History 101.  Any sensible person will be able to discern that it is not the refugee or foreigner that is to blame for economic decline and breakdown in community…it is this nation’s citizens that are to blame.  But it is easier to judge others than to reflect on oneself.  And so instead of asking the question, “what is my role in this?” or “how can I or we be better?”  We blame the Republicans; We blame the Democrats; We blame them…we blame powerless refugees from a war-torn nation (?!?).  Honestly, how can we seriously think refugees or migrants have had any power over our National Decline?

It is imperative that we work to break these divisions amongst us.  Not that we must agree on policy; in fact, that is the VERY thing we MUST defend: the freedom to disagree.  But, how we disagree, and how we communicate and debate ideas, this is where we need to change.  How can we find solutions together; how can we begin to trust each other again?  It is not too late…we can change; together we can stand against this tyranny and be better for it.  Republicans would do well to reemphasize their traditional values of free markets, and decreased power to the Central Federal Government: be loyal to your ideals and principles…not to politicians. Would Republicans allow such sweeping orders from a Democrat unchallenged?  And would Democrats adhere to their principles under a growing tyrannical regime under the “Democrat” label?

In the end…we are responsible for our own actions, and for each other. Unfortunately, to live in a historic time where one is tested is not a choice; the choice lies in how one responds.  And what we choose, and how we live out those choices defines our humanity. 

May God have mercy on America.

A Christmas Message for 2016

Another year has passed, and coming soon will be another abundance of Christmas sermons.  I like Christmas sermons, because it is difficult to mess them up.  For many years, I have heard sermons that remind us that Jesus and the Holy Family were homeless and were refugees, and they are right to preach on this.  The message and concern is to ensure that we care for the least among us, for in doing so we care for Christ Himself.  The message is good one, but I don’t think the most needed this year.  Other sermons bemoan commercialism.  They remind us to keep “Christ” in Christmas, and remind us that the real gift of Christmas, the only gift that matters, is the gift of Jesus from God.  They are right; the message is good, but I do not think this message is the most needed for the people of our nation this year. 

This year has been a difficult one for our nation.  The divisions that have been growing for years now, have been made manifest in a most unholy vile display of animosity, and incivility to each other.  Much of the discontent is compounded by financial and political uncertainty.  For the first time in our nation’s history we are experiencing a period of pessimism. We are now a nation with little to no hope for the future.  And the disease among us is one of a general malaise of the soul.  In the Christian tradition, this reality is very provocative.  Proclaiming a message of hope, love and life, Christians ought to be outside of this cultural context of hopelessness, animosity, and fear.  So what message can be offered to other Christians that can bring hope?

I believe there is no quick answer, no word or quick message that will bring a cure.  The cure to heal our common Christian life will involve a long endurance, a long repentance (a slow turning) , and commitment to revaluing community, revaluing each other, revaluing relationships over fame, over ego, over convenience.  The solution and cure seems impossible; and it is impossible without hope.  How on earth could our current situation of division, isolation, fear, and violence shift directions?

Well the good news is in our faith tradition.  In the Christmas story we see a subtle, unnoticeable injection of hope and salvation by God unbeknownst the rest of the world.  The actual birth of Jesus of Nazareth was of no consequence to the people of Jerusalem, Nazareth, Alexandria, Athens, no not even the capital of the empire, Rome.  On this night, the peoples in those cities and around the world continued on with their lives as usual.  The poor were still abused and hungry; political powers still strategized how to maintain power; religious people still prayed; oppressors and oppressed still maintained their relationships.  In the birth of Jesus, God was acting under our radar.  While this birth of hope was taking place, there was also the loss of hope of people all around the world, but the injection of hope came nonetheless.  Hope came once again from where we least expect it; it came from where we don’t want to look; it came from places we just can’t be bothered to look.  From Joseph to Moses to Samuel to King David to Amos; once again from an unexpected place and time comes the unfolding of our salvation history and our hope.  God acts apart from us; apart from our feelings and expectations.  And may I suggest this is where we find hope.  At the time of Jesus’s birth, the people of Israel still had 30 years to wait until the ministry of Jesus began.  Thirty more years before the Good News of the Kingdom of God would be taught, and the poor, the sick, the outcast would be given hope.  In God’s good time, and from God’s chosen places God was and is acting.

And who of faith can say God was not acting? In this under-the-radar act of God we see the profound story of an inconsequential, disposable baby born in scandal becoming the object of faith for the Greatest Empire in the Western world.  Through this birth the oppressor of Israel would come to worship the God of Israel without a sword being lifted.  Something unexpected certainly happened.  And I believe in that truth lies our hope for change.  While we ourselves need to change: we need to be more kind, we need to be more loving, we need to value others more…we can also have confidence that God is working, almost always under the radar, and in that there is hope.  Former Archbishop Rowan Williams is quoted as saying, “The Christian Life is a listening life,” and that we are a people expecting to hear God speak to His people.  This Christmas let us take time to listen and to look in places we don’t expect God.  Let us hope, and expect God to act…let us dare to hope, that just like then God is, in places beyond our comprehension, still injecting hope and salvation into our world.