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[[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/de/doku.php/jn_de_2016_06_20|Deutsche Version]] [[Start|| Wiki Start]]
[[topics_collection_viii|| Topics Collection viii ]]
======Truth Discussion ...======
Monday, June 20, 2016. We have a new truth discussion in the western world. It
has come up in different countries, but it is active. In the UK we discuss the
Brexit, and the arguments are twisted and stretched by both sides. In the US we
are moving towards a presidential election - and the presentations about the
candidates are full of statements which are not truthful. In Germany, the media
coverage of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) is far from reporting the whole
truth, but mainly picking on particular controversial points, leaving out 99% of
the facts. You could go on to France, to Italy, to Poland ...
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**The Problem ...**
Let us name the problem. Writing about facts is not facts. It is interpretation,
and it is opinion. So if we look into what is published today, most is driven by
either desire to reach the attention of people, of as many as possible. Or it is
driven by fear, if the wrong side gets a good word or even if the arguments
are reported accurately, they might gain an advantage.
What contributes to the problem: facts are left out. Statements are twisted. All with
the goal to present some group or individual in a bad light. But we need to be
fair: sometimes it is difficult to be truthful. When you have a strong opinion,
it is a challenge to admit that the other side might have some good points in
their arguments. Often, either politicians or journalists fear that the people
are not going into details of arguments anyway, they try to condense the arguments
into some brief and short statements - which by shortness are a reduction of the
truth and they cannot adequately cover the breadth of the facts and the diversity
of the true situation.
It is time for a renewed set of basic principles for the free press. It is time for
a renewed balance in the public area. It is time to make progress with the truth,
with the facts, with having them reported and accessible. Media are struggling
in the era of the internet, where direct access to a lot of information is possible.
We are now able to listen ourselves to people, we do no longer need to believe
the lies of others about what a person has said. The power of the media companies
is changing. The more we need a better truthfulness in the publications of
those who are paid by public money. We need full truth in the public-service broadcasting, without the continuous task to destroy those they are reporting about.
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**The truth discussion with Jesus ...**
The truth discussion is old. It ranges back to the old Greek philosophers. It has
been active in the time of Jesus. He got into this discussion when talking about his
own role and mission. Who was he? He claimed to be the son of God, and got into
a heavy discussion about the ability to hear the truth. In the gospel of John,
it is written:
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8, 45)
The truth can be clear and without doubt in many cases. What you have done, where
you have been, what you took. All that is easy to be truthful with. Here, the origin
and role of Jesus is easy - it is not difficult to interpret. It might be difficult
to check, difficult to believe, difficult to come to sound conclusions when you are
still searching and trying to understand. There are other cases where the truth is
more difficult to check, when it comes to words and statements and what they mean
or could mean. When we want to learn about truth and life, Jesus is the point to
go to and to ask. Take a chance!
(Roland Potthast)
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