The Brain Drain: or The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret*

Christians are supposed to love the truth. I mean, that's one of the axioms of our faith, right? Invariably, you'll see this cliché capitalised upon at Christian bookstores everywhere. When Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life," we at least pretend to take it seriously. We always affirm our Lord when He says "The truth shall set you free."

So what are we afraid of, then?

I don't know how many lies I've heard on Christians' lips recently, on issues ranging far and wide, from science to politics and most every subject in between. Granted, I hear lies from all types of people on these subjects, too, so it's not that bad I guess – until I take in the scale and scope of the deceptiveness that modern evangelicals seem to revel in.

There's a bell-curve^~ on preposterousness that while perhaps not set in stone still gives one a general idea as to when healthy scepticism is, in fact, healthy. Perhaps because scepticism is so often employed in the war against faith, this may go a long way in explaining why Christians – often so eager to hold onto their beliefs for purely psychological or sociological reasons – seem to want to burn scepticism along with the witches who wield it as a cursing wand.

I understand that not everyone is very good at critical thinking. This is life. If humanity were better at critical thinking, People magazine would be a cult publication, most pundits for national news networks would be out of a job, and in general we'd see a lot more humility on just about all fronts as people would have the self-discerning faculty to admit when opinions are opinions, facts are facts, and they might even recognise when their convictions – as firm as they may be – are not one-hundred percent conclusive.

And here's the real problem, in a nutshell (as I've alluded to before) – it's not just that Christians are brainless, but that they're heartless, too. Most – if not all – of the outright lies I've seen touted by Christians have been invoked attempting to justify racism, self-righteousness, or the venomous behaviour Christians exhibit towards non-Christians.

And because the lies in question can be so-easily checked by many of the helpful resources available to the public free of charge, if not by common sense, people are getting leerier and leerier of identifying with what our Lord describes as "the way, the truth, and the life." It's not just that we're abjuring the label of "sceptic", but that we're abjuring all scepticism as long as it protects our suppositions. There is a brain-drain going on, and it's not because of evil Communist conspiracies (no matter what your crazy aunt tells you), it's because smart people (or, at any rate, people aspiring to be smart) themselves generally want to avoid the label of "idiot", or better, "backwards, condemning, jerk-off idiot". Folks, this is what "Christian" is beginning to mean.

We can't be afraid of the truth. In fact, our ignorance or repudiation of the truth has in recent times undermined our credibility more than anything else. It is good to have a testimony, but whose testimony will be more credible – the person who is informed and coherent in regards to the things they have witnessed or experienced, or the asp-like psychopath who refuses to listen to reason, knowledge or history and tells people whatever they think is true, regardless of any base in anything besides tradition and experience? More importantly, who are you going to want to associate yourself with – a self-deferential, caring, intelligent individual; or a brass, haughty, close-minded, judgmental jerk?

Let's stop this brain-hæmorrhaging right now, and let's repent. Let's accept the truth. Let's live in love. When we hear things that just sound outrageous, perhaps that's because they are. When we see pull-quotes, maybe we should take a minute and see what type of context it's coming from. And even if a promise or an idea truly looks like the sum of all our fears, maybe it would be better to combat it with self-effacing love than viciousness, propaganda and sword-wielding power-plays.

Let's try to be like Jesus. The rest of the world is dying to see it.

---

* - Thank you Mr. Pratchett.

~ - Blog entry on this topic forthcoming.

Comments

[Victoria]

I think part of the problem is that too many Christians want to just live life day to day on their own without putting any faith or trust in God to get them through that day. Because they are human and naturally have sinfulness within them, they sometimes forget about right judgement and skip to just going on and on acting just like the people they are supposed to be set apart from. we are all human and make mistakes, but to not want to learn and grow from those mistakes is the big problem I think most of us all have. We need to constantly evaluate ourselves instead of focusing on someone else and being snippy about who they are.

[dddienst]

"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. ~ John 18:38

From merriam-webster...
TRUTH
1 aarchaic : fidelity , constancy
b: sincerity in action, character, and utterance.

(1): the state of being the case : fact
(2): the body of real things, events, and facts : actuality
(3)often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality
b: a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true
c: the body of true statements and propositions

3 a: the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality bchiefly British : true 2 c: fidelity to an original or to a standard

4 capitalized Christian Science : god

[Katarnus]

1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew Chapter 5, verses 1-16.

How quick "Christians" are to ignore these statements. So quick are we to judge, harass, protest, legislate, point the finger....We argue over what is right or wrong with the world but we're not doing these things. Are they simple? No. Are they how we should be and what we should be doing to actually follow Jesus in the correct way? Absolutely.

In my short life, I've realized that the only attitude that I have a hope of changing is my own. Can I be meek? Can I pray for my enemies? Those are the challenges we face during our daily battles with ourselves, not the world around us. The battle we fight isn't a large scale assualt, it's hit and run guerilla warfare on a person to person basis and our weapons are Love, Mercy, and Faith, not church signs, legislation and heavy-handed laying down of religious smackdown.

Just wanted to get that off my chest. Those are the things that I wish Christians could get past their false holiness and realize.