Commentary: Truth and the free press
By Stephen G. Brown, The Layman, January 4, 2010
There are names and words that give us warm thoughts and feelings, raising our emotions just by their sound. As Christians, we are first and foremost moved by the name of Jesus. His name is the name above all names! For me personally, my wife’s name, Bernadette, is music to my ears. When we hear “touchdown” we celebrate if it is the right team scoring. But there is another word most of us rejoice in and that word is “truth.” Truth will be the focus of this commentary along with the importance of communicating the truth in an environment of freedom.
Many great movies and books reflect courtroom dramas where the central theme is truth. Even Hollywood knows we become excited about the quest for and identification of the truth. Following the discovery of truth, we seek justice, another Biblical word the sound of which evokes emotion. There is no better story than when a small bit of evidence exposes the hidden truth that results in a disadvantaged person being justly and rightfully treated.
The source of all truth
However, we live in what the Bible describes as a generation of “itchy ears” where the truth is actively suppressed.
Certainly we are in a culture that has a hard time recognizing truth and denies the reality of absolute truth. Relativism is rampant in the church where the twisting of Scripture results in many so-called truths from the same words. Plainly said, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and the source of all truth. His desire for us to know the truth is undeniable. When He stood before Pontius Pilate, He told Pilate the reason He was born and why He came into the world was “to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). Pilate then said his famous three words: “What is truth?” Pilate could not see that the source of all truth in the universe was standing right in front of him.
Jesus places “testifying to the truth” in parallel with “saving us from our sins.” Jesus told us “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). It all makes sense – if we believe as truth His claims to be our savior, we will be set free from our sins.
Not only does Jesus want us to fully accept Him as “truth,” He wants us to strive for having lives that are full of truth and grace. We are to deal with one another in truth. “The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful” (Proverbs 12:22). With all Christians, we at the Presbyterian Lay Committee have a solemn duty to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). We are also called to “have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). There are times when our calling to expose the darkness is viewed by some as contrary to the calling to speak the truth in love. This most often occurs when a person or group of people is espousing a belief that is contrary to the revealed nature or will of God evidenced in the Scriptures. When an individual or group within the church is teaching “another gospel,” continuing in manners of life that are clearly forbidden for Christians, and approving of those who engage in such practice, pointing to the truth is characterized as a personal attack. Such took place in 1995 when PCUSA denominational leaders attempted to have The Layman publicly censured by the delegates to the General Assembly. The vote was 517-20 against censuring The Layman. The lopsided vote is indicative of people’s strong desire to be truthfully informed.
A free press under attack
That brings me to the subject of a free press. Recently we have seen disturbing news reports about the executive branch of our government claiming that a particular TV network is not really a news organization, but the mouthpiece of the opposing political party. The most watched cable news network, Fox News, provides conservatives and liberals alike an analysis of the news that is not offered elsewhere. Whether you agree with them or not, the truth exposed by this particular network adds to the information available to the public. A free press is a rock in the foundation of our democratic republic. Without a free press we are not a free society. The suppression of any news organization is an attack on the right to dissent. There is nothing wrong with dissent with civility – it preserves our basic freedoms. Without a free press and without the freedom to dissent we are a country run by totalitarian rule.
There was some good news in the Fox story. Other major news media admirably stood up to the administration, saying if Fox could not participate in the interview, they would not participate. It was pleasing to see the media supporting a level playing field for everyone.
The Bible exposes the reality that there are always those who desire to suppress the truth. But let us remember that it is the truth that sets us free. Let us work to preserve the freedom of the press within our own denomination and let us seek to preserve the freedom of the press in our society. Even when we do not personally “like” what is said, let us defend the right of those who seek to speak the truth – holding fast to the mandate that in speaking the truth, we do so in love.
Stephen G. Brown is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Haines City, Fla. He is chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee.