In the Christian tradition, there is a scripture text that asks something that many of us may be finding challenging. In his letter to the community in Ephesus, Paul, the great evangelist of the Greco-Roman world, exhorts the people to always “speak the truth in love.”
Years ago, Stephen Colbert coined the term “truthiness.” It first appeared in a segment called “The Word” on “The Colbert Report,” his satirical news show that debuted in 2005 after his time as a correspondent on “The Daily Show.”
Truthiness is the belief that something is true not based on facts but on the perceptions of particular individuals with loud megaphones. Truthiness does not concern itself with logic or thoughtful examination. Truthiness is anything from the ignorant assertion of falsehoods to the deliberate dissemination of propaganda to sway public opinion. Colbert used this term to incredible effect in his satirical comedy, to the point where the term was selected as “new word of the year” in 2005!
What do we do in the current state of affairs in our nation to “speak the truth in love” if we find ourselves swimming in the truthiness sea? What should our intent be, as Christians or as people of good will in other great faith traditions?
Well, I think the first task is to commit to uncovering the truth as best we are able. In his book “The Road to Wisdom,” Dr. Francis Collins, a geneticist and physician who led the Human Genome Project, reflects on the disinformation promoted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collins, who also served as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2009 to 2021, led the agency’s efforts in vaccine research and development. He expresses concern that we are living in a post-fact world, one in which truth-seeking, in all its complexity, is thwarted.
Here are a few thoughts about that. In a world of constantly competing streams of information, we all have to interrogate the integrity of our information sources, seeking out the facts as best as we can determine them. According to the Pew Research Center, 54% of Americans get some of their news from social media. What if we were cautious about reposting or relying on news that’s unattributed? Or took the time to fact-check a source? I’ve been doing that regularly, and it’s alarming how distorted some of what I’ve seen is. Serious truthiness!
After ensuring I am in the realm of accuracy, the big challenge hits: When we hold an opinion thoughtfully based on facts, can we engage with those we disagree with and speak the truth as we have uncovered it – in love? Not in vicious sound bites or social media diatribes. Not with condescension or unkindness. Not in a way that makes our discussion partner feel diminished or dismissed.
This is not an easy task in our polarized climate. I am a person with deeply held strong convictions. I pray that those convictions arise from my deep belief in the power of the teaching of Jesus and a moral compass guided by the Gospels. But the upset, quick retort is not loving and almost always totally unproductive, and I’m learning to watch for it.
There’s another challenge I’ve been addressing when it comes to speaking the truth. And that is to muscle up the courage to disagree. I’m noticing that my knee-jerk reaction is shutting down. I don’t want to deal with conflict, so I take myself off the hook and stay silent.
But as a Christian, I also have to be willing to risk. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says this regarding speaking up: “Therefore do not be afraid … Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”
We are at a moment, I believe, where speaking up and speaking out is critical. For Paul, speaking the truth in love is an act of spiritual maturity. And that’s something to which I aspire.
Editor’s note: This column was written by the Rev. Trish Sullivan Vanni, Ph.D., pastoral director and priest of the Charis Ecumenical Catholic Community in Eden Prairie.
Interested in contributing a faith-based column to EPLN? Email editor@eplocalnews.org.
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