I am a Christian physician-scientist. How can I help promote truth in this post-truth era? An important text for me is John 18:37… “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” So many churches are not in the side of truth. Truth in science, in medicine, in journalism, in history, in law, in justice and in following Jesus. Praying every day. Can I be helpful through Biologos? Does Dr. Collins have a plan? An educational program to help people objectively learn to discern the truth? Can I help?
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Great that you have the will to promote truth. That is not always easy and may come with a price to pay.
I may be a bit cynical about the capability of humans to be able to see, want or accept the truth but there are multiple reasons why ‘alternate truths’ may be more attractive or persuasive than the real truth, even among people who think they are believers and followers of Jesus (on the side of Truth). Many err honestly, believing they promote and protect truth although what they think is ‘truth’ is actually a misconception.
We are not robots that make logical conclusions based on hard facts. We are emotional, social creatures wired to live rather than seek the real truth. We accept what we hear from the people we trust without asking justification and instinctively reject claims that threat the stability of our worldview. We see and welcome pieces of information that seem to support our worldview but skip or downplay those pieces that do not fit well to our theories.
I have been told that novel interpretations need to be told wisely. Information that somehow threatens, or is against the worldview of the receiver needs to be supported with many facts and need to be told in a way that the person can listen.
It should be told with simple words so that the receiver can focus on the matter and not to trying to understand strange words or an outpouring of too many words.
It is wise to recognize humbly that also our own understanding and worldview includes pieces that may be false or twisted. The promotion of truth includes our own strive towards understanding better what is truth, not just telling to others what we believe is truth.
Search truth, pray wisdom and humility, and never expect that others will accept the real truth easily. God bless your journey.
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Unfortunately that is as much a case of faith , trust and belief as Faith in God.
There is a “view” that comes with Science about the existence of “right and Wrong” Differences of opinion are only encouraged until a concensus has been reached as to which view is the right one. From then on, deviation is discouraged until, or unless the alternative becomes so overwhelming to become the" “correct” view
Faith and religion are not so rigid. The “personal” view is encouraged (usually)
I am surprised that you would include journalism in you ideals. Journalists have their own agenda which includes “spinning” the facts to fit their view or sensationalism.
“History is written by the victors” is a sad truth
“The law is an Ass” is another sad truth.
The net result is that we cannot dictate what people must or must not accept and we also need to have a more flexible understanding of “truth” that transcends the Scientific or pragmatic understanding.
Can you help?
It depends on whether you want to “teach” or not.
There are too many Teachers on this forum already.
Richard
Thanks for your thoughtful responses.
Maybe it would be better to teach objective methods in evaluating evidence.
How do we best teach how to discern and to weigh what is and is not reliable evidence in law, history, science, medicine, advertising, journalism, mathematics, etc.,etc.? With our goal: to be people of the truth.
In the post-truth era, we start with the conclusions we are literally led to believe - conclusions that resonate with our biases; and evidence is cherry-picked for us, reinforced on social media, and supported by massive amounts of money. How do we teach the next generation to turn this approach upside-down: to start with reproducible and objective facts, and the to let the facts lead us to whatever conclusion is most likely true? I think that is our job as Christians who are scientists. Or historians, journalists, lawyers, mathematicians, etc.
Thanks for your post. Dr. Collins is not terribly active on Biologos but we recently have a new president and CEO so it will be interesting to see where she leads us. Dr. Collins latest book, however, may be helpful to read as he addresses some of the issues you raised.
Ultimately, I think science does well at sticking to truth when the science is done well. Science values accuracy and objectivity, without regard to sex, creed, or racial differences. Of course, there is then the ethical aspect that faith speaks to which science cannot address. This intersection makes organizations like Biologos important.
Thank you Phil.
Just to be sure, you aren’t saying the accuracy and objectivity in science occurs without regard to sex? Sex affects many things, objectively, in biology.
And for Richard: quite often, history is written by those who have lost, or will lose. Dozens of examples come immediately to mind from secular history; and it is more often true than not in the Biblical histories and prophets. So I wouldn’t be dismissive of accurate history. I know what you have written is a common sophomoric saying these days, but I actually don’t think it is true. We still need to be people of the truth, and the Bible provides lots of examples.
I’m also not certain that Moses would have agreed that the law (or justice) is an Ass. Or that God would.
Just my perspective; and I’m sorry to disagree.
But thank you for your thoughts!
Do not apologise for something that is not wrong.
It was more like a caution that an assertion, as with journalism and any profession there are good and bad examples. The problem is more with assertiveness than with specific areas of knowledge or perspective. This idea of Truth being specific and constant is one i have been contesting for a long time. It is something encouraged in science but less so in religion (although there are those who claim certitude and precision in religion)
As I see it, we do well to consider perspective and personal understanding before making assertions or “ruling” on what might be right or wrong
But that is my view (of course)
Richard
Ah now see Richard
Here is one of your more excellent posts that i am inspired by.
Despite our scientific differences, i agree with this one and thank you for it😃
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