Does It Really Matter What Truth Is?

What is truth? Philosophers have asked that question for centuries. Roman governor Pontius Pilate asked Jesus the same question. What is truth?

In recent years the question has changed. Does real truth exist? Is there absolute truth? Is your truth the same as my truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

When you go to the bank and ask for your bank balance, do you want the truth? Do you want your truth or the bank's truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

Imagine that you are in a severe car accident with your family. When you wake up in Recovery, you ask about your spouse and children. Do you want the real truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

Modern philosophy says that what's true for you may not be true for me; what is really meant is that your perception of truth is different from my perception of truth. In this world there is only One Truth. Everything different from that One Truth is someone's perspective on truth. But eventually perspectives will be compared to the One Truth.

That's what is beginning to happen in climate change science (formerly global warming science). Actually, climate change is not science at all; a leading advocate for climate change studies readily admits it.

Recently, Christian British blogger, Kevin McGrane uncovered quotes from Mike Hulme. Mr. Hulme is founding director of Tyndall Centre and Professor of Climate Change at the University of East Anglia and has prepared climate change reports for the British government, the European Commission, and the United Nations.

Hulme explains that climate change science is not "normal" science, but post-normal science. Post-normal science discards conventional methods of scientific discovery, and advances a pre-determined political or social agenda.Hulme acknowledges that post-normal "scientists", himself included, are not searching for truth, they are searching for power.

Or take the recent Arizona Immigration Law. Dozens of people, from politicians to entertainers to clergy, have publicly condemned the law only to later admit that they have not read it. It's hard to believe that they really care about finding the truth. If they do care, how can they criticize something they haven't read?

In the 1981 movie, Absence of Malice, Paul Newman's character debates truth with Sally Field's character. They come to the conclusion that something can be true but not accurate; certain facts are true but they don't tell the whole story. At least twenty years ago we were concerned with accuracy. Today, in many ways, we will trade the truth we know for the lie that we want to believe. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he calls that sin.

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised."

I can trade juicy information about my neighbor; it's not really gossip. Really?

We can spend our way out of debt. Does that even make sense?

I can commit adultery; it won't really hurt anyone else. Does it really matter if that is true?

God is truth. Everything that is true flows from who God is. Everything that is untrue is opposed to God. At the core of everything we call "sin" is a transaction; we trade truth for a lie. Then we act on that lie and not on the truth.

When we act on a lie, disregarding truth, we sin and there will be consequences. When a church acts on a lie, ignoring the truth, it sins and there will be a cost. When a nation acts on a lie, closing its eyes to the truth, it sins and there will be a price to pay. But, does it really matter?

I believe it does matter. We must be people who seek the truth wherever it leads. We must be churches who are obedient to the truth whatever the cost. We must be a nation who believes that there is real truth, values that truth, and acts on the truth.

Do you know the truth? Or does it really matter?

Questions or comments? Write curt@smdcog.org

You can find me on FACEBOOK at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719). Here's a link to my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/) Thanks for reading!

Quorum Sensing, Bioluminescence, and Community

Courier-Times Christian Perspectives for Saturday, August 9, 2008

Quorum sensing, bioluminescence, virulence, autoinducers, and community; big words for a simple mind like mine, but I learned about all of them while watching NOVA on PBS.

It seems that Princeton University’s Bonnie Bassler has pioneered some remarkable science that may one day yield new ways to combat bacterial infections. Along the way, Bonnie and her research team have uncovered another example of how God has designed all of creation to live, work, and play in community.

While studying a harmless bacterium called Vibrio harveyi, Bassler discovered that there was something these little bacterial cells could do when they all worked together, that they could not accomplish while working alone. They could glow!

Individually, their little light would not make any impact at all, but collectively they could create a wonderful blue light. The exciting part is that they don’t try to generate light at all until they sense that there are enough individuals gathered to make their “lighting party” effective. They sense when they have a quorum large enough to effectively shine.

Now, no one believes that Vibrio harveyi held a convention or a business meeting, did research on candlepower and luminescence, and determined exactly how many individual bacteria are needed to efficiently “turn on” the glow switch. Scientists believe these little cells “communicate” using special molecules they produce and send to each other – like instant messages. People of faith see the hand of a creative God at work in establishing community at a grass-roots level.

The same quorum sensing and cooperative group activity happens in other bacteria that actually cause disease. The belief among the scientific community is that if they can disrupt this “grass-roots” communication they can prevent bacterial diseases in humans.

By now you are asking, “What does that have to do with the church?” I’m glad you asked. It confirms that at a very basic level, God designed the universe to work cooperatively in community. God, as revealed in the trinity, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is community; and His creation reflects that essence of who He is.

It also confirms that there are some things that the church can only do effectively if and when it works together in community. What could the church in Henry County do, and only do, when it worked with the rest of the church? How can we let our “light shine” together? How is the enemy of the church effectively blocking communication, preventing us from “turning on the light”?

There’s a lot we can learn from our little friend, Vibrio harveyi. Imagine all that God could do if the church worked together.

One opportunity the church has to come together in worship will be Sunday evening, August 31st, 2008 at the First Baptist Church on South Memorial Drive. I encourage you to show up and do some quorum sensing of your own. Maybe there will even be an after-glow :-)