Fake News

Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John14:6

“Fake news” is sometimes also referred to as “alternative truth” although any similarity between them is non existent. President Trump brought the phrases to the fore as he tries to generate his own version of news and truth. It boils down to this: If President Trump says something, you can trust it as the pure truth. This alarms me because of the verse above.

No one likes bad things to be said about them, even if they are true, and the most powerful man in the free world is no exception. So when the media runs any article that he doesn’t like or agree with, he calls it fake or untrue. It then boils down to this: Who do you believe? If you say something long enough and loud enough, it will be trusted as truth. Donald J Trump knows this, and let’s be honest, this is a man who doesn’t like to be wrong. He made his empire by hard business negotiations with similarly hard businessmen. Can the same rules be used when governing a nation?

Here’s what my problem boils down to. If someone claims to be a ‘born again’ Christian, but links truth to things like the media, instead of a person like Jesus, there is something far wrong. Truth is found in the person of the Son of God, and this most basic of all truths has been missed. So my ability to trust that same someone with anything else is reduced to say the least, and it doesn’t matter who that someone is. Jesus knows all about fake news because He suffered from His own fake news and trial before His unjust crucifixion. So, I think He is well placed to judge what truth and justice are, and it will never come under the fake category. Another thought. If you profess to be a Christian, and use or peddle fake and misleading news to your own ends and benefit, God’s perfect justice will take care of it ultimately and eternally. That’s a lot longer than any 4 or 8 year term of office, and worth a long hard look in the mirror.

Scandals

In my many years on this planet, I have never experienced the media storms coming one after the other, of sex scandals. You can’t have missed them because they are everywhere. The Roman Catholic priests seem to top the list of serial offenders, followed by the nuns. Yes, even the nuns. You might think that a woman who is softer in emotion would be more protective, but it seems that many were in cahoots with some priests. I hasten to add that not all priests and nuns are a threat to children, but we are talking about life in the 1960s through to the 1990s when matters like these were not seen as severe or as serious as they are today. National leaders and Presidents have not avoided this scandal either.

I find the dilemma of life some 50 years ago, compared to now quite remarkable in this important sense. Society recoils in revulsion when we are faced with the abuses of adults and children many years ago, but we are hypocrites. Why do you think that, I hear you ask.

I suggest we have become immune to these wrongs, which is why we react against them when we see the news reports and read the latest newspapers. Hold that thought and feeling, and let your mind swing round to the sex content which is considered as ‘normal’ on TV, together with the quantity of movies which draw box office crowds because of the gratuitous violence and sex scenes portrayed in them. Added to that we have the rising threat of same sex relationships.

So, I see a dichotomy unfolding. On the one hand we are horrified by the reports of sex abuses some 50 years ago, and on the other hand society flocks to see the very movies which show these same scenes as drama. Our consciences are being seared to accept the movie industry, while our courts are rounding up the sex offenders, and rightly so. What a confusing and hypocritical message we are leaving our children and grandchildren? It is no mistake that we are left with this important warning which should be known and understood by church leaders. Especially church leaders!

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honourable. 1 Thessalonians 4:3,4 NIV

Tru-lary. The Solution?

I admit it. It’s my own fault. I watched the debates, all three. Since they were aired in the middle of my night, I recorded them and watched the next day. You would have thought one would have been enough, but no, I had to watch all three. It was like seeing a car crash or a train wreck. I didn’t want to see any more, but I watched anyway. I couldn’t help myself, and I am asking why, now that we are down to a few days before the USA Presidential Election. Mind you ‘Presidential’ is one thing neither of these candidates are, but one of them will become President, but neither has behaved in a ‘Presidential’ manner, and as an outsider with no vested interest, that worries me.

I have, and still do, enjoy a good relationship with our American cousins. As a family we had the pleasure to live and work in various parts of the great nation, staying a year or more at a time, over five separate visits and three different States. I found the country, and its people equally kind hearted, friendly, and sincere. Imagine my shock to have followed this election and see the nasty side, not just of politicians, but of ordinary people, some whom claim to be Christian.

Are these two candidates the best this great nation can muster? Let me be clear, we can’t blame the candidates for being where they are. That is down to the voting that took place person by person, State by State to whittle down many starters to the two now left to finish the race. I think that is what surprised me most. The bad blood, rancour, lies, half truths, arrogance, bullying, infantile tantrums, closed mind tactics by the leaders and their followers who will support them in just about anything they say is what got to me most. I am reminded of the truth of these verses by David in Psalm 36:2-4 (NIV):

“In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.”

Walk Humbly

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 NKJV

It has been impossible to notice that the United States of America is voting for the man who would be president for the next four years. Obama or Romney, they both think they are the man to bring prosperity to this great nation, and both are happy to tell it at every opportunity. By the time you read this, the elections will be over and I/we won’t have to listen to it any more.

My Mum had a saying she used to describe selfish, proud and egotistical people, and it went like this, “..me, myself, and nobody else..”. Wise words, and this is something I am fed up hearing from both presidential candidates. Oh, it’s not just these two, it applies to politicians in the UK, and can be seen in many high level lifestyles here.

We used to joke about men needing to be ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ and then saying, ‘well two out of three isn’t bad’ and it would usually raise a smile. The prophet Micah doesn’t give us the option that two out of three is good enough. Justice, mercy and humility are all needed. I will be glad when the US election is over, and I don’t see and hear the ‘me, myself, and nobody else’ mantra again, or at least not until we have an election in the UK soon. It is worth remembering that there is a very large army of workers behind all political figureheads, from those who will clean up after the mess, to the security man who will be prepared to ‘take a bullet’ for the proud leader. Our nations do not revolve around one man or woman.

Talking about pride, I will leave you with another thought from Solomon, who was a very wise man: Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 NKJV. We like humility in our friends, and we would like our friends to think the same of us, but apparently politicians and humility don’t go together at all. I can’t help but wonder if man’s pride is the root of the failing spiritual condition of both great nations? Just a thought.