The American Dialect Society creates a word that best reflects the uniqueness of each year. TRUTHINESS is the winner for 2005 – defined as:
"the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than facts." (USA Today, 1-7-06)
Amazingly, this word, truthiness, describes the conflict within our culture regarding how truth is perceived.
We may sadly chuckle saying, "How ridiculous." Yet the life-philosophy of the word "truthiness" now permeates much of our society. What do we do with Jesus' words "I am the Truth"? (John 14:6 NIV) When did the Truth of God's Word get placed in the "values" category instead of the "truth" category? How did science and theology go separate ways? When did society place the Bible outside the realm of objectivity?
Putting Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection into the category of truth is difficult for many in today's world. So society separates faith and belief from fact, science and history so as to make "truth" more palatable.
Michael Adams, a professor at North Carolina State University specializing in lexicology said
"truthiness means truthy not facty. . . the national argument right now is, one, who's got truth and, two, who's got the facts. (USA Today, 1-7-06)
Dare we believe that the facts and truth reside together in the person of Jesus?
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". (John 14:6 NIV)
Sharing the journey with you,
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