Pursuing Veritas

We live in a world where “a lie makes it around the world before the truth can get out of bed.” It’s all too common to see headlines and stories reported on social media and in the media, only to later learn that the sensationalized story is more complex, or that key context was missing from an initial report, or that the headline was just downright misleading. It’s not a novel insight to claim that attention-grabbing, overly rhetorical clickbait doesn’t tell the whole picture.

My question here is simply this: what can we do as followers of Jesus to make sense of this kind of misinformation in our world?

My short and wholly insufficient answer is, “I don’t know.” But I do have some thoughts that have been percolating as I do my best to balance twin goals of being informed and staying sane.

Fundamentally, Christians should exhibit a spirit of patience when it comes to news. In short, we should, “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (James 1:19-20). This means that we need to do our due diligence with the news we consume. Don’t just read the headlines. Don’t just listen to the first five seconds of the video and then fly off the handle and go on a rant. Do some work to understand the truth of what is going on. If you’re only hearing one side of the story, understand that you’re only hearing one side of the story, and measure your reaction accordingly.

Relatedly, we should stay away from hot takes. Immediate reactions are easy and often even expected in our social media-saturated world. Everyone is expected to have an opinion on everything, to show support for some cause or a person or idea or organization. But the truth is that you don’t have to have an opinion right away. You can take time to think and process and learn and grow and come to terms with what is being said or done. You don’t have to have a hot take right away. And you don’t have to agree with or disagree with, or even listen to people who are full of hot takes. You can unfollow those people and work to eliminate them from where you get your news.

Further, Christians should do their best to recognize complexity. Most of what happens in the world tends to be slightly more complex than headlines or news reports or social media posts make it out to be. The prophets consistently speak of the necessity of justice for all, regardless of their wealth or position or standing. Torah makes clear the requirement to hear both sides of a conflict before coming to a final judgment. This reminds us that we should not condemn people in the court of public opinion or based on the reports of one specific side of the story. Instead, we should advocate for justice and truth by recognizing that the world is a complicated place where different people have different experiences and distinct perspectives on what actually happens.

Finally, Christians should advocate for the truth—however unpopular or embarrassing it might be. As Christians, we agree with Augustine that, “Wherever truth is found, it belongs to the Maker.” That means that each of us should prioritize telling and supporting the truth, regardless of how it makes us look. One of my favorite stories of this kind of commitment to truth involves John Adams. After the Boston Massacre, where British redcoats opened fire on colonists, someone needed to represent the soldiers in court—a deeply unpopular job. But because Adams was committed to the rule of law and the pursuit of truth, he took the job and did his best. Not because it was popular, but because it was the right thing to do. As Christians, we need to take this kind of stand for the truth. Worldview affirmation or political conformity should not be our barometers for what is newsworthy or worth affirming; the truth is.

To be entirely frank on this point, I’ve often heard preachers rail on news media for not issuing a retraction or apology (or not issuing one fast enough); but rarely have I heard a preacher retract or apologize for their own mistaken perspective. As people who claim to stand for truth, that needs to change.

Christians are not called to jump on a bandwagon or support a political party or build our social media followings through hot takes or confirm truth only when it’s convenient for the way that we view the world. We’re called to work out our salvations with fear and trembling. We’re called to take every thought captive. We’re called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We’re called to embrace goodness, truth, and beauty because we follow a good, true, and beautiful savior. These are the things that we are called to embrace in a world filled with news and misinformation.