The Death of Truth

Truth died—not in a shootout at the OK Corral with its archenemy the Lie!  Truth died—not in a major battle with Hitler’s propaganda machine or the Communist Manifesto.  Truth died from the wounds of a friend.  Not by opposition, but by redefinition.

Post-modern communication theorists, friendly with the concept of truth, posited that the meaning of a message did not depend on the intention of the source.  Rather, they said, meaning depended on the interpretation of the receiver.  Not what a person said, but what people thought they heard, was the real truth.

The theory seemed sound.  After all, we communicate not just with words, but with gestures, facial expression, and tone of voice.  Messages could be, and often were, misunderstood.

However, once the misunderstanding became the message—truth died. Where literary interpretation had once been the desire to identify the intended message in the mind of an author, it now became a search for whatever interpretation a reader could discover which agreed with his or her own worldview.

In a post-modern world, it does not matter what a person says or does.  All that matters is what others think they intended to say or do.  Offensive language does not need to be uttered, it only has to be perceived.  Since every message has multiple receivers there is never just one truth.  And with many competing truths, there remains no real truth.  One person’s fake news becomes another person’s believable headline.  Truth has died!

The good news?  Truth can be revived.  Truth can rise from the grave.  Jesus said of His Father, “thy word is truth” (John 17:17).  We can understand and believe the very words spoken by God. Our interpretation can take second-place to discerning what He has said.  God’s meaning is not in our minds, but in the mind of God.

Don’t allow post-modern communication theory to assassinate Truth.  There are still voices in our world which speak intentional messages with intelligence, good character and no manipulation.  Listen to them.  Seek an understanding of what they are saying.  Agree with them, or disagree with them—but don’t bury the truth of what they are saying in the graveyard of your own perceptions.  Allow speakers and writers to possess and communicate their own messages.  Receive those communications without twisting their meaning to fit your own preconceptions. 

Truth can live again and knowing Truth can set us free (John 8:32).