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Five Radical Principles On Becoming An Influencer

Radical Truth #2 – Becoming A Truth Teller

Jesus said, ‘…my kingdom is from another place.’

‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate. 

Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth …’

‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate.

John 18:36-38; NIV – Second Testament

What is truth?

This particular part of the Christian scripture has always been a mystery. Yet, in the context of the narrative, it is easy to gloss right over it.

I think it’s meant to stop us in our tracks.

What is truth?

In my lifetime I can’t remember a more poignant and prompt question, especially here in the States.

Depending on where, when, and whom one is speaking with, the “truth” has several meanings.

Let’s look at another Jesus, of the Latino variety.

Jesus Quintana: ‘…I see you rolled your way into the semis.  Dios mio (oh my god), man. Liam and me? We’re gonna fuck you up.’

The Dude: ‘Yeah, well, you know. That’s just, like, uh, your opinion, man.’

The Big Lebowski, Gramercy Pictures, 1998

Truth, opinion, beliefs, and bias.

One of the unfortunate limitations to the English language is its use of the same word in many different contexts. This can lead to confusion.

Now, most of us have the literary capacity to know the difference. We can use the same term “love” for an animal. We can also describe feelings for a relative. Yet, we still have an understanding there is a difference between the two. We never question if ice cream has the same value as a human being. We know that another human being has more value.

Our literal interpretation gives way to our understanding of hyperbole. Anyone stating the above declarations within earshot instantly reveals a truth. They find value or worth in the object or person mentioned.

But truth can and does become convoluted more often than not. Note the next examples.

Parsing truth to the above statements SHOULD be an easy task. In a later article, we will focus on developing critical thinking skills. These skills are needed to find the validity of all the statements made above and many others. But at this juncture there is only one issue that needs to be addressed.

What is truth?

There was a time when many US citizens commonly lived on the assumption of several truths.

At any given time none of these statements were always believed by 100% of the US population. But there were a majority of people that generally held these propositions.

Over the years, we’ve seen a fracturing of our society. This fracturing was either caused by several circumstances or was there all along. The latter suggests that were “hidden” like the proverbial Japanese soldier found deep in the jungle years after the war.

New media gave them a voice and a small group of people were suddenly more visible.

In many ways citizens all over the world have been given more power with the proliferation of technology. With internet and cellphone development a world of information has been literally at the fingertips.

But like every technological advancement there are things that we have given up or lost by adopting the technology.

We will explore some of those gains and losses in a future article. For now, let’s try to answer the question at hand because the answer is often sought for through technology.

What is truth?

We need to know the truth if we are to become game changers. We also need to have the confidence to know where we can find it.

For our purposes here truth is the propensity to say things based on fact. It is the inclination to do things based on reality.

For Aristotle truth was simply. “To say what it is and that it is. Or, to say what is not and that it is not.” In other words, it is not enough to just say something is true or it is not true. We need to prove that it is real or that is not real by reason and fact.

But whose reality do we depend on? Jesus’? Pilate’? Jesus Q’? or The Dude’?

Truth is not just a collection of notions and perceptions that are accompanied with strong emotions or feelings.

“This is true because I feel that it is true.”

Rather, truth consists of notions and perceptions that are converted into convictions and declarations. This occurs by PROVING them to be true with facts and reality.

“The earth is not flat because there is a profound amount of evidence that prove it otherwise.”

The question posed by Pilate, “What is truth?” is not a rhetorical throw-away. It’s more than a speed bump in a narrative. It’s a full on stop. It is written in such a way to cause the reader to sit up and take notice.

The Jewish Psalms are peppered throughout with the word, Selah (English translation). Scholars think that it is a literary or musical word that means pause or to rest. The idea is that the reader should stop, take note, and chew (meditate) on whatever has been just said.

A Selah after Pilate’s question would have been perfect.

The narrative surrounding the drama with Pilate plays a significant role in the Christian tradition, i.e., Jesus is truth. But we’ve missed its richer and much deeper meaning if we just let it go at that.

The Christian tradition stresses that Jesus is standing there in front of Pilate, looking him in the eye, and yet Pilate still asks;

What is truth?

It is a question that STILL begs to be answered.

The narrative suggests that Pilate missed it. He was faced with the “truth” and simply didn’t recognize it.

I think the implication is far greater than that.

Why? Because I know that at times like Pilate we all fall short of recognizing truth. We fail at it on a daily basis. We have also seen institutions, even those founded in the one called The Truth, fail.

Cognitive scientist and author, Daniel Dennett, is rather blunt in his assessment about world religions.

“The one thing that I think is really dangerous, in many religions, is that it gives people a gold-plated excuse to stop thinking. They stop thinking [and] say I don’t have to think about that because my religion says this is right, this is wrong. It’s as clear as that …black and white [and] I don’t have to think about this anymore. It’s just a matter of faith.”

Daniel Dennett, PBS, Sep 1, 2008

In the interview, Dennett goes on to explain that having faith is not the issue. The problem arises when one can’t explain it in rational and convincing ways. This should be done without solely relying on an absolute stance or black and white definition. Saying ‘we are right and you are wrong’ (summation, my words) is insufficient.

Truth is not one revelation of a person, place, or thing. Truth is a living, breathing, daily revelation and is one of many.

What is truth?

Let that question always and forever be on our lips.

To become game changers, we must radically commit to seeking and telling the truth. We start with ourselves and then extend it to others. Being a truth teller means that we are determined to leave past practices that have failed us. These practices were used to mask not only ourselves but also the institutions to which we affiliate and represent. It means that we hold ourselves accountable to truthfulness and transparency. We dedicate everything we say or do to being grounded in facts and reality.