Ramon Arias | August 28, 2017
A fool will believe anything; smart people watch their step. Proverbs 14:15 (GNT)Do you remember hearing that children ask the most questions starting at the age of two years old? Don’t believe it; questions never cease throughout our entire life. What is needed is the use of analytical thinking to process information to arrive at either truth or falsehood.
The age we live in gives us access to a world of information; this is an opportunity past generations did not have. We are responsible for verifying everything that we hear, see and read regardless of the source. Even if we admire those expressing revolutionary ideas called “experts” it is of vital importance to verify everything that is important. We are not to overlook all the necessary and vital sources whether from an individual, a group, an institution, or the cultural trends in general. The primary sources of teaching that shape the minds of individuals and societies come from philosophy (love of wisdom), ethics (moral conduct), psychology (the study of the mind), sociology (study of society), biology (study of living organisms), history, law, politics, economics and Theology (science of God). No person that has ever existed, exists or will ever exist escapes from the positive or negative effects of the ideas of their worldview. It is evident that not all interpretations are in agreement; divisions inevitably lead to greater conflicts of interests as seen throughout history.
The quote from Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, “The pen is mightier than the sword” perfectly applies to our times in the era of fast and advanced communication by electronic means. The modern “pen” is used to propagate ideas to accomplish agendas. What we are witnessing in the United States of America is a collaborative plan to destroy it deliberately. The nation has too many internal enemies that have multiplied since her birth, and even if they don’t recognize or accept it, they labor to create a different society that will resemble the failed ones recorded in history, and of course, they won’t admit this either.
When the mainstream media selectively controls the storyline of what people are being exposed to, in an effort to accomplish their agenda, they are being biased. In America, like most other nations, groups ranging from progressives/leftists to those with economic power share the goal of misinforming the public, and controlling the information.
Those who have been indoctrinated for an evolving moral society are numerous and very determined humanists/atheists. They see themselves as intellectuals with the task to erode the nation from her original biblical moral foundation. In the twenty-first century, they have perfected their special formula of intimidation against the opposition by calling them: racist, bigot, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, sexist, and the most recent term, basket of deplorables, and irredeemable. When they see the success of their attacks, as expected, they accelerate the rhetoric savoring what seems to be an unstoppable approach toward total victory.
When people fail to question the integrity of the information received, taking it at face value, they are frequently in the wrong; most times it is too late to reverse the destructive social effects.
In a letter to John Norvell, dated June 11, 1807, Thomas Jefferson said:
The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.
What do you think Jefferson would say to the heap of disinformation in this twenty-first century? The source [worldview] that controls society’s mindset wins, and that is the historical rule. Wins what? The social outcome, whether right or wrong; history doesn’t lie.
Of all the sources influencing our perspective of life and the world, there is one that is the core foundation of truth that all the others must build upon for success, and that is Theology (the science of God). Keep in mind; The Bible reveals the character of God and how he is historically working out the restoration of humanity. The Bible is not without those who misinterpret its content using their abilities to give the interpretation that suits their understanding for their ends. Also, we must keep in mind the Bible is not written in a complex language rendering it incomprehensible, rather, it’s written to be understood by all. The Bible is not a human document that changes with time or trends.
From the dawn of history, people have twisted the Word of God to say different and contradicting things. During the tumultuous times of old Israel, before her collapse, Jeremiah the prophet (2626-627 B.C.), condemned the “lying pen”:
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?” Jeremiah 8:8-9 (ESV)
In the Jewish culture, the scribes were held in high esteem for their ability to convey information. After their seventy years of exile in Babylon, the scribe’s importance grew in Israel as an intellectual class of scholars imparting their teachings, copying and interpreting God’s law. During Jesus’ public life they opposed him. Because they were false interpreters of God’s worldview Jesus condemned them along with the Pharisee religious leaders:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:27-28 (ESV)
Read Matthew chapter 23 and get the full picture of how Jesus severely criticized the Scribes and Pharisees seven consecutive times and warned: “woe to you.” From the onset of his public life, Jesus did not mince words in condemning the misleading teachings that kept Israel’s society in spiritual, intellectual and emotional bondage, keeping them on the verge of collapse, which came in the year A.D. 70.
When things look bad it’s because they are; it is up to us to discern the cause, and that includes the responsibility to check facts. We should not take all we see and hear at face value. Idolizing anyone without vetting them just because they come across as wise is very foolish, divisive and destructive, that is a hefty price to pay under any circumstance.
When we stop questioning all matters with boldness to verify their veracity we do a disservice to ourselves to the present and future generations. We must know the truth of our past if we are going to understand what is taking place in the present and what we can expect in the future. We have a task that must not be ignored or left for others to tell us what we must do. This will require a deep desire to be knowledgeable, understanding and wise. The good news is it can be done, and it is being done; let’s get on board.