Widely Rejected Truth (July 2006, Arkansas)
I woke up a while ago and the phrase “widely accepted truth” would not let me go back to sleep. It’s now 6:30 am and I will be sharing a long idea on this phrase, but I’d encourage you to read all of it, it’s only two pages in Microsoft word!When you hear people talking about “stuff,” it’s not uncommon to throw out the phrase “widely accepted truth” as an argument that those opposing what is widely accepted have the burden of proof. Furthermore, I think it is used condescendingly, implying that if you don’t agree with what’s widely accepted, you are a fool, and if you do agree, then “if you are as intelligent as I am, surely you would see that my conclusion follows such a noble precept.”
This morning, I challenge that sentiment! And myself any time that I have employed it!
Let us break down the phrase, starting first with “accepted.” We are fallen creatures. Should our acceptance of doctrines, -ologies and –osophies, social structures, or especially anything that benefits the “acceptor” at the expense of others, be a clue as to the merit or worthiness of that doctrine etc…? Perhaps because we are fallen creatures, our acceptance could even mean the opposite; what we accept is probably wrong, rather than right.
Now, many people accept God in some way. I’m obviously not saying everything we accept is wrong. But, we do not always “accept” God in the right manner (Cain, Gnostics, basically everyone at some point). It is God’s grace that allows us to “accept” him (I know I’m using the term loosely) and his mercy that allows Him to “accept” us. Perhaps it is His grace that allows us to accept anything in the correct manner?
Widely. If we are fallen (even if we have a good filter for acceptance), is the width of acceptance a sign of merit or worthiness of that doctrine etc…? Sometimes, yes of course. “We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God” is a widely accepted truth. It’s also a Biblical truth, a Biblical quotation even. It is grounded in something more reliable than ourselves. Without even arguing for the Bible’s inerrancy or infallibility, almost everyone in the world would probably attest that the Bible is less errant and fallible than human beings. We must test everything (1 Th 5:21). 2 Tim 3:16, by saying that scripture is useful for correcting and instilling righteousness, leads me to believe that the Bible is the measure to which all widely accepted truths should be held. Again, not arguing Biblical inerrancy. But what else do we know about Christ? Josephus said that Jesus was crucified and inspired a small sect of Jews, or something like that. Hebrews says that Jesus has become a High Priest, not by going in the temple year after year and offering sacrifices, but by the power of an indestructible life! Josephus certainly does not convey the power of Christ; we must exalt the Word of God in some fashion in order to grasp His love.
Finally, truth. Again, if we are fallen, is the assertion of truth a sign of merit or worthiness of that doctrine etc…? Look no farther than Stephen Colbert, who hilariously advances “truthiness” but “doesn’t like facts.” Truth is a commodity in our society, picked out by each individual in a market of countless truths. Asserting truth has almost been brought down to the level of expressing an opinion!
Pilate asked, “What is truth?” A lot of people didn’t realize that until they saw The Passion of the Christ. Hopefully they (I) asked the question in their (my) hearts. Psalm 31:5 calls God the God of truth. In John 14, Jesus calls himself the way, truth, and life, and the Holy Spirit, a spirit of truth. So the trinity is truth. I don’t have a good explanation of that, what it means, how to understand it in my temporal mind. But I do know God values truth. Many proverbs instruct us to have truthful lips. Jesus spoke over and over, “you have heard it said… but I tell you the truth.” "You have heard it said," could that be widely accepted truths? I think so! But Christ corrected their legalistic obedience with the moral “spirit of the law” contained in the Law. In the same way, we need to inject some Christ-like correction into widely accepted truths.
Three widely accepted spiritual truths that can explain everything else in this world: “God does not exist;” “God does not care;” “God does not judge sin.” We better believe the opposite, or there is no hope for the world. I do not believe in the power of the human spirit to overcome all evil. I do not accept the prophecy of progressive millennialism, where we all live in peace in our own little borders and live for hundreds of years because we know how to harvest stem cells in the right way and we can bring our frozen relatives back to life. God’s existence is necessary in that we need the Divine to care and judge. God must care, or for what other reason would he send a savior? If God doesn’t care, why would He ever “make all things new?” What other hope do we have to see no more pain, mourning, or death? And finally, God must judge. Sin leads to death. Sin causes pain, bitterness, rips apart relationships. God must judge it in some way, whether in each person, or in the source, the Tempter. I am not trying to argue for one doctrine of judgment over another, merely that we must put our hope in it. We need to proclaim these three spiritual truths.
There are other widely accepted truths that have had a great, negative effect in the world. In the 19th century, that slavery was acceptable due to the inferiority of the enslaved. In the 20th, that the greatest good was found through neo-liberal economic policies that maximized the wealth of rich nations and individuals at the expense of the poor who it was said could not do anything for themselves. In the 21st, we can decide for ourselves as people who will live a majority of our life in this century. You can see them in the communities in which you serve this summer. Here in Helena, that Sex in any form is good, which robs teenagers of their innocence and sets them on a path that probably does not include further education; that “I must fight for everything,” which makes distrust and skepticism of any help the rule, rather than the exception.
The word 'accept' is opposed by the word 'reject.' I think this is a telling sign. A couple months ago I read a quote (not famous, just an email between pastors) that has stuck with me: “We want to make the claim of the truth on our lives so clear that our people see that it is a matter of obedience or disobedience, not preference.” Substitute “acceptance or rejection” for “obedience or disobedience.” In some ways, widely “accepted” truth grasps the idea that not everything in the world and about God comes down to personal preference. I propose we introduce the term rejected into this phrase. God exists, God cares, and God judges sin are widely REJECTED truths. Slavery is unacceptable before God and the rich should not benefit unjustly from the poor are widely REJECTED truths.
That God would show us truth, expose rejected truths, and give us grace not to be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good…
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