ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Available for over a year

Good morning. Oxford Dictionaries have declared ‘post-truth’ as their 2016 international word of the year. Post-truth is an adjective relating to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than emotional appeals. ‘What is truth?’ asked Pontius Pilate, rhetorically, when, at his trial, Jesus said his purpose was to testify to the truth. Pilate clearly believed, 2000 years ago, he was already living in a post-truth society. To say that truth is identical with objective facts is only part of the answer to Pilate’s question. Truth undoubtedly concerns facts about the past. But truth is not confined to the past. Truth is also a promise for the future. What is true is ultimately what will always be. These things will pass away, but truth names those things that will never pass away. What does it all amount to? What’s the point of it all? Where’s it all going? This goes beyond objective facts into dreams, longings, ultimate imaginings. But there’s another sense of truth. You get an idea of it when you ask yourself what kind of a person Pontius Pilate was, and whether you could trust him. What do you really think of a powerful man who, confronted with the question, What is truth, just shrugs his shoulders? This brings us to a kind of truth that’s not just about the past or the future. It’s something very present. Truth in the present is essentially about trust. When I wonder if someone’s speaking the truth, the issue’s not about statements I can fact-check or promises to which I can hold them accountable. It’s about saying, can I trust you? Post-truth, in this sense, is really a euphemism for post-trust. So, for me, truth is three-sided. It’s about the past: we could call that faith. It’s about the future: we could call that hope. It’s about the present: we could call that love. St Paul said of these three virtues that the greatest of them is love. Why? Perhaps because in the past and future senses of truth we can surround ourselves with people who think the way we do, whether politically or religiously. Truth in the present is a lot harder. Love means an ability to learn from, be thankful for, even cherish those with whom we profoundly disagree, by whom we’ve been hurt, and with whom we get very angry. If we love only those that love us, what good is that? If we listen only to those with whom we agree, what wisdom is there? Finding a way to work with those who don’t trust us is the great challenge of a post-truth culture. But it’s the truth that sets us free.