The Death of Truth
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Introduction
The following chart introduces this week’s article.
Lying Statistics1
Data
Percent of adults who admit to telling lies "sometimes" or "often"
12 %
Percent of women who admit to occasionally telling harmless half-truths
80 %
Percent of people who admit to lying on their resumes
31 %
Percent of patients who lie to their doctor
13 %
Percent of patients who "stretched the truth" to their doctor
32 %
Percent of patients who lied about following a doctors treatment plan
40 %
Percent of patients who lied about their diet and exercise regiments
30 %
Percent of people who lie at least once during a 10-minute conversation
60 %
Average number of lies per day by men to their partner, boss, or colleagues 6
Average number of lies per day by women to their partner, boss, or
colleagues
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In Psychology Today, their poll revealed:
(1) The average number of lies told per day was 1.65. This strikes me as surprisingly low. I have
the feeling that many participants were lying about the extent of their lying!
(2) Only 40.1% of the sample reported telling a lie in the past 24 hours.
(3) 22.7% of all lies were told by one percent of the sample, and half of all of the lies were told
5.3% of the sample.2
In 1996, University of Virginia psychologist Bella M. DePaulo published a landmark study on
lying that revealed an ugly truth about humans: Everyone fibs left and right. DePaulo asked
1
http://www.statisticbrain.com/lying-statistics/
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homo-consumericus/201111/how-often-do-people-lie-in-their-dailylives
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participants to keep a daily dairy and jot down who they spoke to, what they said and whether
they were telling the truth or lying, even during the most casual interactions. The results? People
dropped an average of two lies every day. Since the DePaulo study, many of our day-to-day
interactions have moved online through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn and online dating portals.3
Truths is dying if not dead in most circles such as education, science, medicine, psychology,
politics, Wall Street, government, military, and yes, even the Church in general.
Truth has been and continues to be redefined in many of these circles. Even before our twentyfirst century a great Roman leader asked, “What is truth?”4
In today’s society and culture, truth can be pictured like a manikin in the front window of Sax
Fifth Avenue store in New York City, New York. Swanky, chic, glamorous, expensive,
prestigious!
New York still experiences the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. That stripped
down manikin doesn’t know it is anything but a manikin. Dress it up for the various seasons it is
still a simple manikin.
The spiritual manikin is the Word of God. Dressed in relative truth of chic philosophy, it is still
the manikin of truth. Dressed it in empirical truth of science, it is still the manikin of truth.
Dressed in personal or narrative truth of one’s experience, it is still the manikin of truth. Dressed
in public truth5 to learn from the past, the manikin is still truth
The above paragraph highlights various definitions of truth. What you will find intriguing is
such definitions of truth are distortions of the absolute truth (the manikin). Why? Because
people want to have a sense of control and justification for their actions without consequences,
structure, personal responsibility, and discipline.
You poll people today asking them one question, “What or who is truth?” and you will receive as
many answers as perhaps the number of times you ask.






Science is truth.
There is no truth.
God is truth.
Psychology is truth
Education is truth
Medicine is truth
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http://news.discovery.com/tech/do-people-lie-more-online-110304.htm
John 18:38
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Also known as healing truth and/or reconciliatory truth
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They may contain elements of truth but each answer is subject to revision as either new
information is discovered or current information is reexamined and adjusted.
This type of truth is always in flux.
THE DEATH OF TRUTH
Truth was placed on life support after Eve added to God’s certain and sure instruction of truth
which she received from Adam who received it from God.
When she responded to the inquiry of the serpent saying that they were told not to touch it truth
went on life support. It has been in critical condition ever since. Without this moral compass,
Cain murdered his brother Abel.
Jacob lied to his father Isaac loudly protesting that he was Esau. Jacob’s mother was involved in
the deception for God told her the reason for the struggle in her womb between these two boys;
that the oldest would serve the younger. Did she wait on God to orchestration His will? No, she
pushed ahead and twenty years of anger, bitterness, and loss of time eclipsed.
Moses was called to deliver Israel from Egyptian captivity. But instead of waiting on God’s
instruction on how to proceed in accomplishing His will, he too rushed ahead committing first
degree murder and spending the next forty years in isolation and re-education. Moses operated
on relative truth. It seemed right and noble that I intervene for the one I am about to deliver.
This Egyptian was beating him. Things got out of control. He would have eventually died
anyways.
The Israelites murdered truth when they cast the golden calf, worshipped, and praised it, when
they determined Moses was not returning from the mountaintop.
And you yourself can stroll through the museum of death and gaze at the many pictures hanging
on its walls of those who redefined truth based on their experience, other’s counsel, the finite
reasoning of man, and circumstances (fear, worry, anger).
TRUTH IS NOT DEAD BUT NEEDS REVIVING
Rick, you are confusing. Is truth dead or not? Depends on who you ask and how they live their
lives. It is like the old “God is dead” movement. It depended on who you talked to and how
they lived their lives.
Although most Christians would profess their believe in the truth of God’s
Word, but the horrific truth is truth is really dead to them. Their
consciences are wounded, weak, and even seared because they live a life of
autonomy and independence from their Creator and Redeemer. As Uncle
Remus once said, “I dos as it pleases me.”
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Truth is alive because truth is the reflection of Jesus Christ, THE TRUTH. And Jesus Christ is
alive! Ponder these questions.
What other truth provides eternal life?
What other truth offers clear, understandable assurance?
What other truth imparts unmistakable guidance?
What other truth responds to a penitent’s prayer?
What other truth reveals the comfort and presence of God?
What other truth has been vindicated and validated even by the skeptics?
What other truth affords common ground for discussion, debate, and decisions?
What other truth has been more maligned, mocked, scorned but remains?
What other truth has been resisted, rejected and despised?
What other truth can a Christian clothe himself with when facing spiritual battles?
What other truth is the singular describing characteristics for the Christian?6
What other truth would Pilate expect Jesus to use in responding to his question?
HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN & CHURCH REVIVE TRUTH?
Repentance7. It must begin by personal and corporate confession. The corporate
confession is easily seen in the prayer of Nehemiah and other prophets as they confessed
the sins of Israel. Israel was given the oracles of God (truth) but they exchanged it for
lies and a lifestyle of rebellion. America is a microcosm of the church and the church is
the microcosm of the family. We certainly have gone after our own way believing our
way makes sense. True, biblical, brokenness the Lord will welcome and bring the early
stages of revival.
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Speaking, believing, walking in
The use of “r” words was not intentional at all 
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Renouncing all other forms of truth we have placed our trust in. If the truth we
are relying upon is not from an absolute source, then it is fallible, prone to revisions,
inaccurate, and subjective in interpretive nature. You can not confess we have chosen to
believe the lies and return to the source of those lies. Like the new Christians at Ephesus
who renounced their former lifestyle with all of its attachments, this must be part and
parcel of reviving truth.8
Re-education. Truth cannot be relegated to theory. There are lots of smart
people, well educated, people with doctorates but who do not seem to apply what they
know. Knowing truth is not the same as living truth. Truth remains dead if truth is not
integrated into a person’s life. It may be that part of our re-education begins with basic
theology. Because false truth distorts and refashions God into our own imagination, the
substance, Personage, characteristics, and attributes of God are foreign. As the author of
Hebrews writes he felt it necessary to return to the rudimentary elements of truth even
though by now they should have been enjoy the deep things of God at a very personal
level.
Reevaluation. This is one of the final essentials to reviving truth. Other sources of
truth confuse our motivations. If science is our source of truth we will confusion the
purpose of suffering with the desire for health like the recent tragedy of Brittany
Maynard. Biblical truth reminds us that as we live a godly life we will experience
hardships, trials, and suffering. Science offers an elusive cure. Psychology offers
genetics, environment, or heredity. Medicine writes a prescription. Although temporary
relief may be experienced, lasting peace, joy, and contentment are only found in the One
who proclaimed He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Mrs. Markowic was a converted orthodox Russian. She and her husband were members of
my first church. Her husband died. I was asked to conduct the funeral service. At the close,
as people filed by to pay their last respects, she stood near the casket. She clung to her
husband’s dead body. It made no difference.
The Church’s and Christian touching truth will not bring it to life. Truth is revived when we
act upon it in faith and obedience; not merely speak of it and offer a mental assent.
“Stand for the truth, speak the truth, live the truth, love and truth, and guard the truth.”9
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Acts 19:18-20
RK Thomas
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