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I was fascinated to read about a young marketing graduate who set up an online English language and cultural course which has gained more than 12 million viewers. ‘English with Lucy’ offers such videos as: “Easily Speak Like a Native!”, “How to Swear In English” and “How To Annoy British Girls In 3 Simple Steps.” Not a verb conjugation in sight. The channel’s popularity points to a form of learning which is shaped by questions from followers from all around the world. It offers a particular kind of authenticity, imparting knowledge which is highly-tailored to consumer demand and firmly sets itself against more traditional courses. In a globalised and digital age, it strikes me that this is yet another signal that old institutions are not as trusted as they once were – whether they be educational, political or religious. From the shock waves of Brexit and President Trump’s election to the current upheavals in French and European politics, it’s clear that all that represents the status quo has taken a knock. And we have entered a new global village of egalitarian truth-telling, which transfers the onus onto individuals to shop around for their ideal of authority and authenticity. Yesterday on this programme, the Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales unveiled plans for a new Wikitribune. Backed up by a team of paid journalists, the site will aim to combat fake news by offering ‘factual and neutral’ news. As a Christian, I’m thrown back to reconsider the question Pilate put to Jesus: What is Truth? But perhaps, the new world order is less about truth and more about discernment. How do we know who to trust? Frankly, Jesus didn’t show a lot of confidence in traditional or institutional leaders who, on occasions, he denounced in pretty strong language. But his discernment led him to respond with patience to those who came to him with important questions – including an elderly statesman called Nicodemus who came for a chat under the cover of night to ask his advice about how to change his life for the better and start again. From English courses to news sources, we are faced with more choice than ever before. I believe that’s a good thing as long as we have the right tools of discernment. It’s only by looking more deeply into an issue that we might discover something transformational. And if human history is anything to go by, it’s quite conceivable that we will eventually find ourselves rediscovering some of the things we thought we had left behind.