Facts Are Stubborn Things

But the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and gladly listened to the message. They searched the Scriptures day by day to check up on Paul and Silas’ statements to see if they were really so.                                                                         Acts 17:11 (The Message)

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.                                              John Adams

“If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself”.

Joseph Goebbels

Our pastor yesterday referenced in his sermon the presence of Holocaust deniers as he discussed the role of truth in our life. Of course, we have known of these denialists for many years, but perhaps just knowing that the denialists exist, and that they can continue to spread lies, is too commonplace, too accepted as somehow merely a divergent viewpoint.  As I say to my clients, “Just because you believe something does not make it true”. We have become inured to those who use lies easily and repeatedly to prop up their own image, claims, or beliefs.

Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propaganda minister said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself”. Unfortunately, this evil genius was correct. He knew the human mind and human nature, and he preyed upon it for the advancement of Nazi ideology.

We have the right to our beliefs, certainly, but we also have the responsibility to diligently check on the veracity of the claims we make. Sometimes we can get carried away with the fervor of our beliefs, but we must have the discipline to make the effort for truth. Facts, indeed, are stubborn things, as John Adams once said.

Paul, commended the Bereans for fact checking him. While he certainly had religious fervor, he also asked people to verify his words and sources to find out why he believed what he did.

I worry about the place of truth in our culture. While facts are, indeed, stubborn things and will persist, will they be drowned by those who persistently lie or misuse those facts? It is best that we be like the Bereans who check out why we believe what we believe, and be open and fearless pursuers of truth.  

Prayer: Lord indeed, the truth, your truth, sets us free, Amen