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--- jn_en_2018_09_17 [2018/09/17 20:55] – created potthast
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 ====== Truth ... ======
-Monday, Sept 17, 2018.
+Monday, Sept 17, 2018. We live in a time where truth is an important topic. It is, indeed, a very
+old topic. Even 2000 years ago we hear the words of Pilate in the New Testament "What is truth?", when
+he talks to Jesus himself (John 18, 38). Today, with the newly developed capabilities of the internet "fake news"
+are a well-known challenge. But it is an old challenge: who controls the media controls the public
+opinion. Many leaders and men of power have known this for a long time ...
 {{2018:2018_09_17.jpg }}
-**   ... **
+**  What is truth? ... **
+Today, we live in a time where the fight for truth, the fight for facts, is heavy. Many newspapers
+are involved, many TV stations, government agencies and government press representatives. The battle is
+faught by many, by lobbyists, by journalists, by scientists ...
+Before you get involved too deeply, let us sort the quest. Let us discuss the basics. Let us look
+at the limits and targets which we might have. What is our own contribution and state within the middle
+of the battle?
+First, there are facts. But facts alone need interpretation. If there is a cow on the road, what does
+that mean? Is it the first cow ever on the road? Is there always a cow on the road? How many cows are
+usually on the road, on which road? Is the cow white or black or spotted? What does the black cow
+stand for? Why is a white cow dangerous?
+A fact is never a fact alone. We interpret facts, and any news statement on a fact will always be an
+interpretation. If it is a public TV station, what is the statement about? What is the target?
+You cannot state a fact without a target!
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-**  ...**
+** Facts and Fake-News ...**
+It is a core part of politics to use facts to underpin an opinion. Any statement is a political statement.
+There are no facts which would not be political. Of course, everyone claims to stick to the facts only.
+Yet, there are no facts without interpretation!
+But knowing that facts need interpretation, it would be a lie to say that there would not be facts! Of
+course there are facts. There is a cow on the road. It is not a horse. It is not a cat. It is a cow. It
+is on the road now, not yesterday, not tomorrow. There are, indeed, facts!
+It is very difficult, to report facts. What level of detail do you want to go into to be precise? Do
+you want to describe the cow exactly? That is, if driven to its extreme, quite a nonsense and no one will
+ever be willing to listen to you. So you need to shorten your statements. You need to find a good
+way to communicate. It is not a lie to be brief and come to the point. But it can be a lie, if you
+leave out important facts which change the meaning!
+We live in a time where truth becomes important yet again. There is the truth which Jesus carried - he
+called himself the truth. There is much more to discover here, much deeper insight into what is true and
+good and reliable! Have a look into the Gospel of John!
 (Roland Potthast)
 [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/topics_collection_ix|... further texts]]