THE LIGHT OF TRUTH By Paul H. Carr, PhD, What is truth? That was the question Pilate asked Jesus. In his sermon Doing the Truth, theologian Paul Tillich said “the Greek word for truth means making manifest the hidden. Truth is hidden and must be discovered.” Scientific research uncovers new truths. “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether you believe in it or not,” according to Neil deGrasse Tyson “Truth is the confirmation of appearance to reality,” according to mathematician-philosopher A.N. Whitehead. “Reality, when you stop believing it, doesn’t go away,” according to bio-theologian Lucas Mix. Fake News flies faster. Twitter falsehoods spread 6 times faster than truth, according to a MIT study. “The more perspectives we learn to see from, the more truth we have access to” (philosopher F. Nietzsche).” Let us become Lights of Truth!

1. THE LIGHT OF TRUTH
PPaul H. Carr, PhD

2. Jesus, (in John 18:37)
“The reason I was born and came into the world is to
testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens
to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.
“Truth is the confirmation of
appearance to reality.”
Alfred N. Whitehead, Mathematician, Process Philosopher.
“Reality: When you stop believing
in it, it does not go away.”
Lucas Mix, Order of Ordained Scientists.

3. “Those that do truth come to the light, that their deeds may be made
manifest…” John 3:17-21.
Text of Paul Tillich’s sermon DOING THE TRUTH
The Greek word for truth means making manifest the
hidden. Truth is hidden and must be discovered. It dwells
in the depth below the surface. The surface of our
existence changes, moving continuously like the waves in
the ocean, and it is therefore elusive.
The depth is eternal and therefore certain.

4. The sun illuminates the truth.
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that
the sun has risen: not only because I see it,
but because by it I see everything else.”
C. S. Lewis

5. Beauty is also the illumination of truth.

6. Light illumens the truth in
different ways

7. PLATO’S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
What we perceive as reality is only the shadow of the true forms.
Using reason, ascend to the sunlight to become en-lightened

8. Using reason, we discovered the eternal truth of the laws of science
that enabled us to escape from being chained to our Earth:
(1) Newton’s laws of gravity and motion.
(2) Einstein’s law E = mc2 The transformation of the mass of chemical
propellants into the energy of motion.
These two laws enabled us to escape the gravitational pull of the earth
to land on the moon in 1969.

9. The Hindu Blind men examining the elephant illustrates limited worldviews.
If they combine their limited worldviews, they could discover the true form of the elephant.
Democracy depends on free press for a dialogue between limited
worldviews to approach the truth.

10. GILBERT — Fake news is a phrase you have probably heard a lot lately. But what is fake news? Nicole Miller, director of the Gilbert Public
Library, is holding a course to teach you how to analyze information and ascertain for yourself.

11. ”The more perspectives we learn to see from,
the more truth we have access to.”
Nietzche, 1844 – 1900, existential philosopher.
A refereed scholarly publication, reviewed by an editor
and at least one referee is closer to the TRUTH than a
Facebook posting from a friend.
NEVER TRUST A SINGLE SOURCE

12. Two-thirds of Americans get their news from social
media, which are not as accurate as traditional media.
Traditional media hire editors and professional
journalists who describe both sides.
Academic journal articles are selected by an editor after
being reviewed by at least one professional referee.
More accurate traditional media have trouble surviving,
as social media get about 90% of advertising money.
Cambridge Analytics, before the 2016 election, got
personal data from Facebook for targeted political
advertising.

13. Economic
Interests
Cartoon from the Union of Concerned Scientists Calendar

15. TRUTH IS OFTEN
INCONVENIENT
It his hard to discover
truth about climate
change in our media.
“It is difficult to get a
man to understand
something, when his
salary depends on his
not understanding it.”
Upton Sinclair

16. THE FAKE NEWS CRISIS
Bots and propagandists are just part of the problem,
the bigger issue is our human nature.
By Katy Steinmetz, TIME, pgs 28-31, August 20, 2018
We’re susceptible to believing dubious claims,
and play a role in spreading them.
TELL A LIE ENOUGH TIMES AND PEOPLE WILL
BELIEVE IT.

17. FAKE NEWS FLIES FASTER
MIT Study: Twitter falsehoods spread 6 times faster than truth.
The researchers at the MIT Sloan School of Management also
determined that sensational false claims were more likely to elicit
feelings of surprise and distress.
But taking a break can help us avoid knee-jerk reactions, so that we
don’t blindly add garbage to the vast flotillas already clogging up the
web.
“What makes the false or hyper partisan claims do really well is
they’re a bit outlandish,” says MIT cognitive scientist Prof. Rand.
“The same thing that makes them successful in spreading online is
the same thing that would make you realize it wasn’t true after
stopping to reflect. ”

18. SOCIAL CREATURES.
In 2016, a Pew poll reported 23% of
Americans said they had shared a made-up
news story. While many did so unknowingly,
14% said they were aware it was false at the
time.
Experts suggest that our deep desire for
social feedback, which may come in the form
of retweets or likes on social media, can
trump any hesitation we might have about
sharing inaccurate information.

19. “Truth will ultimately prevail where
pains are taken to bring it to light.”
When George
Washington’s father
asked him “Who cut
down my cherry
tree?”
Young George
answered, “I can not
tell a lie!”

20. What’s worse than lying to others?
Lying to yourself.
It is easier for us see others lying to themselves than to confront the fact
that we lie to ourselves. This is also called self-justification or rationalization.
We do this to avoid the pain of cognitive dissonance.
(From Brandeis U Magazine Winter 2018/2019 pgs 12-13.)
Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well
enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. (Matthew 7:5)
The truth that liberates us from opinions and prejudices is divine “agape” love.

21. ”The more perspectives we learn to see from, the
more truth we have access to.”
Nietzche, 1844 – 1900, existential philosopher.
FIGHT FALSEHOODS FROM FLYING FASTER
NEVER TRUST A SINGLE SOURCE
Discerning TRUTH in our media with its FAKE
NEWS
Whenever we repeat sensational, emotional
FAKE NEWS, we become part of the problem.
DISCOVER YOUR TRUE, LOVABLE SELF

22. “Those that do truth come to the light…” John 3:17-21.
Text of Paul Tillich’s sermon DOING THE TRUTH
Truth is hidden and must be discovered.
It dwells in the depth below the surface.
The depth is eternal and therefore certain.
Pg 114 Paul Tillich’s book “Shaking of the Foundations”

23. May We Be
LIGHTS OF ETERNAL TRUTH
In the world, but not of the world.