Some comments about Truth from other websites.

 

RAY: None of the following articles are my own. I thought I’d share what some other blogs are saying about “Truth”.

What is truth and does it matter? –  (www.chirstianity.co.nz)

A recent Barna Research Group survey on what Americans believe asked the question, “Is there absolute Truth?” Sixty-six percent of adults responded that they believe that “there is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.” Seventy-two percent of those aged 18 to 25 expressed this belief.

In a recent series of more than twenty interviews conducted at random at a large university, people were asked if there was such a thing as absolute truth – truth that is true across all times and cultures for all people. All but one respondent answered along these lines: “Truth is whatever you believe.”, “There is no absolute truth.”, “If there were such a thing as absolute truth, how could we know what it is?”, “People who believe in absolute truth are dangerous.” The lone exception was an evangelical Christian, who said absolute truth was in Jesus Christ.

I suggest that the situation that these surveys reveal is fairly typical of the Western World. As Clive Calver says, in an article ‘Thinking Clearly About Truth’ in Christianity, we “drift on a tide of uncertainty into a sea of unknowing.”

(for the rest of this article follow this link.  http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm)

Why Truth Matters  –  (Os Guiness as quoted by Ravi Zacharius – www.rzim.org)

At first sight, the biblical view of truth is obscene to modern minds. But on a deeper look, the biblical view is profound, timely, and urgent for today, even for those who reject it.

The following is a plenary session delivered by Os Guinness at Lausanne 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa (www.lausanne.org). Used by permission of the author.

In this extraordinary moment in human history, why is it that truth matters? There are times when history and the gospel of Jesus converge and create a great thrust forward in human history. So it was with the “gifts” of the gospel, such as the rise of philanthropy, of the reform movements, or the creation of the universities, or modern science. There are other times when history and the gospel collide and the titanic struggle shapes history in a different but equally decisive way. So it was when the Lordship of Christ triumphed over the might of imperial Rome. But there are still other times when history and the gospel appear to collide but, in fact, the gospel speaks to the deepest dilemmas and the highest aspirations of the age, even to those which oppose it. So it is today with the concept of truth.

At first sight, the biblical view of truth is obscene to modern minds. It’s arrogant, it’s exclusive, it’s intolerant, it’s divisive, it’s judgmental, and it’s reactionary. But on a deeper look, the biblical view is profound, timely, and urgent for today, even for those who reject it. But obviously regardless of what the world thinks, we follow the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. We therefore worship and serve the God of truth, whose Word is truth, and who Himself is true and may be trusted because of his covenant faithfulness.

(for the rest of this article follow this link.  http://www.rzim.org/justthinkingfv/tabid/602/articleid/11044/cbmoduleid/881/default.aspx)

Truth – Not Sides – Is What Matters in Journalism

August 25, 2009 by George Snell (not Brad Snell, not related) Comments

When I was a newspaper reporter, I heard the expression dozens of times a week:

If only more journalists and bloggers were as diligent as Tintin.

“There are two sides to every story.”

I heard it from sources. I heard it from editors (especially from editors). I heard it from fellow reporters. Hell, I probably muttered those words a hundred times myself. Probably as my lame excuse why I was giving equal weight to a contrarian and probably dubious point of view.

Because there are NOT two sides to every story. There never have been. Sometimes there is one side to story. Other times there are three or four and sometimes even dozens sides. The notion that there are two distinct and equally relevant sides to every issue is ridiculous. But that mentality continues to permeate journalism and the web – especially blogging.

It’s one of the reason why journalism is struggling. As mainstream publications cutback on reporting staff and put more pressure on remaining journalists to produce copy – more he said/she said stories are published. Why? Because they are easy to write. Here is how NYU Journalism Professor Jay Rosen of ThinkPress describes the fundamental features of a he said/she said story:
•“There’s a public dispute.
•The dispute makes news.
•No real attempt is made to assess clashing truth claims in the story, even though they are in some sense the reason for the story. (Under the “conflict makes news” test.)
•The means for assessment do exist, so it’s possible to exert a factual check on some of the claims, but for whatever reason the report declines to make use of them.
•The symmetry of two sides making opposite claims puts the reporter in the middle between polarized extremes.”

This two sides to every story – he said/she said dynamic have produced coverage of:
•“Death panels” for the elderly as part of Obama’s healthcare reform package even though no such thing exists
•Holocaust deniers claiming that one of history’s most tragic events never even occurred
•The birthers movement who are claiming Obama isn’t an American citizen and should be removed from office

Now granted some of the coverage on the examples above is simply propoganda – the spreading of lies even when you know they’re lies. But many mainstream publications and blogs have reported on the issues above giving equal voice to the people who promote these fictional point of views. There is no “other” side of whether or not the Holocaust happened. To even give a voice to Holocaust deniers in a serious news article is to do a disservice to readers – and to society.

But this is what happens in a polarized political environment divided between Democrats and Republicans. The idea gets pushed that there are two sides – and only two sides – to every issue (as if every Democrat and Republican thinks exactly the same and that nuance doesn’t exist).

The job of a journalist should be simple: Discover the truth. Explore all the angles if necessary – giving a voice to dissenters with an opinion based on facts and reason. This could be one side, two sides or many sides. But at the end of the day reporters – those working for newspapers and those working for blogs – need to provide readers with what is real.

(Article from George Snell, https://hightalk.net/2009/08/25/truth-not-sides-is-what-matters-in-journalism/)

Some Famous Quotation about Truth
http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/truth/

May 29th, Our Inaugural Show

RAY: This is our First show. We hope you like it. We are going to try out a few different sets in the LUFF residence. And we are going to on occasion invite another guest or two to join us in person or by Skype. We would like to pursue various world view philosophies as they compare to the Christian World View in upcoming shows and we hope that you will enjoy the variety of topics that we have in store for you.

Tonight we touched on a few topics. We would like to hear from you both pro and con regarding your opinions of the discussions that Brad and I have. Please be respectful even if you disagree with something that has been said as we in turn will try to be respectful in the things we say. Opinions will be expressed on this show and sometimes what is said may not be in agreement with what you think should be said. We hope to convey that we care about people on our show, but we may not agree with what some people think. We are all fellow travellers on this earth. It ought to be our goal each one of us to discover what is ultimately true. Come join us and let us know what you think as we collectively seek to discuss our belief systems on Truth is What Matters. We may not do a program every week but we will post each time when the next show is coming up.

Part 1

Part 2

One of the things we discussed was Do It Yourself Religions. As stated in the program I have posted one of the tracts from our sister Bible Door Tracts site.  >>  DIY Religion

It is not what you think that matters, truth is what matters.

RAY: Brad and I were sinking some balls on my billiard table, discussing what to call our new radio/podcast program. During the course of our conversation I said to Brad many people believe things that are not true. Many say that what’s right for you is right for you but whats right for me is right for me. If I think it is right for me to kill you but you think that it’s not right for me to kill you then who is right? “Obviously it is not what we think that matters, truth is what matters”, I told him. Brad replied, “That is the name we have looked for that describes our radio/podcast program.”

Brad and I first met in 2008 during the Canadian Federal Election in the Newmarket / Aurora riding. I was running as the candidate for the Christian Heritage Party at the time and Brad was interested in interviewing me to find out my political beliefs and to answer why Christians would want to establish a separate party and enter into politics. I told Brad it was the ultimate Christian Activism in trying to get our voice heard in the political arena. It was our hope that our voice might somehow shape the election by virtue of getting our message out at election times even if we were not to become elected. (You can review a blog that was set up at that time that gives some of my concerns that I expressed during the 2008 election at http://chp-newmarket-aurora.blogspot.com)

After that election Brad and I became friends. I went on the air at Blog Talk Radio with him and at Out and About Radio which is a local FM radio station in Newmarket and at another radio station which is a subsidiary of the CFRB in Toronto over the next couple of years to discuss my religious beliefs with Brad as the Host of the program. We also invited the leader Rod Taylor of the CHP to speak on the Out and About FM radio program on one occasion.

For the past year (2011-2012) Brad and I have discussed now and then starting an internet program and website to host it in which we might use video methods to produce an online discussion which seeks to contrast the Christian World View with other World Views. In this program we wish to explore the inner workings of the Christian faith. Many have heard messages from Christians related to how you should join them and become a Christian yourself but many want to know why they should become a Christian not just how they should do it. To answer the question “why” is a harder topic. First of all one would want to know why Christianity, why not Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, secular Humanism, Communism, Fascism and many other isms. Why should one chose the Christian World View?

Brad intends to ask the tough questions of Ray and other call in guests on each program. We may even host a debate with someone who wishes to challenge the Christian World View in some of our programs. Ray is known as “Whitefox” in the Atheist internet community as a theist and defender of Christianity at their websites. We invite these folks to listen into our program and to get in touch with us if they wish to participate in one of our shows.

Ray runs another website called http://Bibledoor.com. You may get in touch directly with Ray at bibledoor@rogers.com  Let us know if you would like to join our email list and you would like to give us your ideas about this show please get in touch with us. Let us know how you would rate our program. At some point we will post a rating widget at the site but for the first couple of programs while we are cutting our teeth we hope you will be patient with the quality of the program while we are learning to host it for you.

As a side note: This might interest BRAD. There is another Newscaster named George Snell who has an interesting article about Truth is what matters in the arena of journalism at his blog. While I do not agree with his opinions of the Bible I do agree with his article about the need for truth in Journalism.

http://hightalk.net/2009/08/25/truth-not-sides-is-what-matters-in-journalism/

From the desk of

Ray Luff