Is our culture losing touch with reality? The folks who pick the official “word of the year” think so.
The Christian satire website, Babylon Bee, has had a lot of great
headlines. One of my favorites so far: “Progressive Evangelical Leaders
Meet to Affirm Doctrine of ‘Sola Feels.’” Adherents to this imaginary
creed believe that “things that make us feel bad…are wrong. The things
that give us all the happy feels…are true, right, and good.” Now of
course, the scary part about satire is how closely it often mirrors
reality.
On a related note, Oxford Dictionaries has released its 2016 word of
the year: “Post-truth,” which they define as “relating to or denoting
circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping
public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”
I can hardly think of a better description of where we are right now
as a culture. In fact, for those of us who’ve spent years calling out
what Pope Benedict called “the dictatorship of relativism,” it’s
tempting to say, “welcome to the party, guys!”
But the concept of “post-truth” is a bit different from garden
variety relativism. It doesn’t discount the existence of truth. Rather, a
post-truth society is one in which truth takes a back seat to
emotion—where feelings effectively replace facts. And that’s exactly
what we’ve seen over the course of this year’s election.
For example, the melt-down among what many are calling the
“snowflakes” on college campuses over President-elect Trump is the most
obvious example. Despite exit polls showing that a huge percentage of
eligible millennial voters stayed home on Election Day, many of these
students just can’t handle the outcome. Their schools are sending
letters of condolences, canceling exams, even offering hot chocolate and
hugs from administrators. Faced with a reality that contradicts what
they feel should have happened, many just can’t cope.
A
post-truth culture also leads us to equate disagreement with hatred.
Loving me means agreeing with me. And as many conservative speakers
who’ve been chased from university campuses by angry students can tell
you, when feelings are equated with a person’s identity and even
reality, contradicting those feelings is the same as attacking the
person.
The post-truth culture can also lead us to ignore reality altogether.
I’ve made it clear on BreakPoint that I find some of our next
president’s past words, especially about racial minorities and women,
troubling, to say the least. But in this post-truth, post-fact,
post-reality environment, many have hijacked legitimate concerns in
order to play the victim. Just look at the panicked reaction from gay
and lesbian activists, who are behaving as if Donald Trump plans to
persecute their community.
But there are no facts to support this hysteria. If anything, our next president has been far friendlier to the LGBT agenda than I’m comfortable with, even calling the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling
“settled law.” Trump hasn’t committed to protecting the bakers,
florists, photographers, and others who’ve been hounded for not
participating in same-sex weddings. But all these facts don’t matter
when so many feel that the president-elect threatens their way of life.
And of course, post-truth culture dominates Facebook and Twitter
feeds. Just look at the epidemic of fake news that marred this election.
Even Christians too often fall for completely fabricated headlines and
hoaxes, largely because they validate our feelings.
So where does all this leave us? Well, the Bible has plenty to say on
the subject of truth. In fact, we follow the One Who is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life, Who came into the world to testify to the truth, a
truth which—He told His disciples—would set them free. Truth must govern
our emotions, not the other way around.
The 2016 word of the year doesn’t bode well for our culture. We must insist on prioritizing facts before emotions.
The “doctrine” of “sola feels” is supposed to be a joke. So let’s make sure it stays that way.
Further Reading and Information
Post-Truth, the Word of the Year: Feelings Have Replaced Facts
As John reiterates, though our culture is attempting to downgrade
truth and exalt feelings, we are called to live a life that reflects
Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life.
Resources
Progressive Evangelical Leaders Meet To Affirm Doctrine Of ‘Sola Feels’
Babylon Bee | October 26, 2016
‘Post-truth’ named 2016 word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries
Amy B Wang | Washington Post | November 16, 2016
Check Before You Post
John Stonestreet | The Point | November 11, 2016
Facebook fake-news writer: ‘I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me’
Caitlin Dewey | Washington Post | November 17, 2016
Available at the online bookstore
Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air
Francis J. Beckwith, Gregory Koukl | Baker Books | October 1998
True Truth: Defending Absolute Truth in a Relativistic World
Art Lindsley | InterVarsity Press | May 2004