TRUTH OR FACT?

I know it has been a while since my last post. Since then I moved and changed jobs. I accepted a position at a great justice-focused organization, HOPE CommUnity Center (www.hcc-offm.org), which I am sure I will be sharing more about in future posts.

But today's theme is another. Its has to do with confusion around how we use the term “truth” or “true.” In certain juridical or contractual settings it is common to invoke the oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Some versions add as a final phrase, “so help me God.” Usually in this setting, what is being declared is a commitment to express what one understands to be an accurate accounting of some observed event or set of facts. Not living up to this commitment would involve failing to account for all that one knows about the event or intentionally mis-representing what one observed. In other words, it would involve giving false testimony, telling a lie.

The same understanding is employed when we say, for example, that a particular story is a true story. The suggestion is that the events or details involved literally took place, that they represent a factually accurate accounting of the incident. The contrast would be a fictional story, a story that is about imaginary events or people; events or people that are not real.

Where the rub appears for me is when the use of language I have just summarized leads us to the equating fact with truth. As I have expressed in earlier posts (see, for example, "A Strange Mix"), there are many things in the Bible that I do not believe represent literal facts. The creation story is one. The first chapter of Genesis describes a flat earth with a bowl-shaped dome over it, with moon and sun traveling across the dome. As a person of the 21^st Century, it is impossible for me to understand this account as representing accurate factual material. Similarly there are aspects of the so-called “history” of the People of Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures that from the perspective of modern historical research would appear not to be based in a factually accurate accounting. Similarly, between the Gospels we find contradictions in the account of Jesus' life, suggesting that not all accounts are fully factually accurate.

Now, the fundamentalism within which I grew up could not admit to any such judgments concerning scripture. Contradictions had to be explained away. Thus the biblical survey courses at Moody Bible Institute were titled “Bible Synthesis.” Claiming the over-all authorship of God, God's self, passages were pulled from different authors and places in scripture to seam together a single and allegedly internally consistent narrative. Needing to counter “modernist” claims concerning evolution, it was affirmed that the Genesis creation is a literal factual accounting of how the world came into being just a little over 5,000 years ago. The idea within fundamentalism is that if we could have been witnesses as the world was being created, we would have seen before our very eyes the appearances of the various aspects of the earth and universe as God called them out. We would have witnessed literally God taking up clay and shaping a man, as well as surgically removing Adam's rib and forming woman. And within the milieu of this biblical fundamentalism, to claim otherwise would be regarded as undermining the truth of the Bible. Similar glosses would be made to address other "difficulties" in the biblical narrative. Truth, according to this view, is to be understood in the sense of the “true story” referenced above, as contrasted to falsehood or fiction.

               "There are parts of the Bible I believe to be 

                              factually inaccurate."

However, over the years I have come to the conclusion that there is another way of understanding this and it has to do with what we mean when we use the word “truth.” A helpful distinction, I believe, is to separate our understanding of “truth” from “fact”. There are parts of the Bible that I believe to be factually inaccurate. Some sections, like the creation story, were in my way of thinking never intended to be thought of as fact (in the literal, scientific way we imagine today). This does not mean however that these biblical passages are lacking in truth.

My view is that for something to be true does not require that it be grounded in fact or that it be a factually accurate description. At times I have used the story of Pinocchio as an example. I suspect there are few of us who would claim that the story of the wooden puppet who became a living boy and whose nose grew every time he told a lie is an historical or factual accounting of events. Nevertheless, the story being fictitious does not remove it's truth, does it? Is not the truth of this story something about the importance of being honest and the downside of being dishonest? Similarly, concluding that portions of the biblical accounting of Israel's history or of Jesus' life are not historically grounded or factually accurate does not remove their truth value. Rather, we must ask ourselves: what was the author wanting us to understand, learn or grow in as we hear his narrative? Is it God's greatness or faithfulness in the life of the Hebrew people? Is it a story to help us understand the profound significance Jesus had in the life of the early Christian community? These are the truths in these accounts which stand independent of the facticity of the account itself.

So when I hear someone talking about what is true or what is required for something to be true, I find it helpful to keep this distinction in mind. For me, factual accuracy is one thing. Truth is something else. And the validity of the latter does not depend on meeting the criteria of the former.

THE HUMAN CAPACITY FOR AMAZING GREATNESS: WHAT IF . . .

Our niece, Paola, came to spend time with us over the holidays and one of the things we did together was to visit the Kennedy Space Center. This was the third time Isaura and I had been there, a tourist attraction that in our estimation wins easily over Disney.

At Kennedy one journeys through the history of space exploration that, less than a century ago, was only imagined in the figures and stories of comic books. Kennedy's new 90,000 square foot Shuttle exploration area boasts the latest in interactive learning technology. At the center of the display is the Atlantis orbital spaceship viewable from a variety of angles and from two different levels. The size of a “portly” jumbo jet, the shuttle's gigantic open cargo bay and expansive tile-covered underside leave an impression of hugeness and grandeur, diminished only when one views the solid rocket boosters and external tank required to lift it into orbit.

Another part of the space center that I always find incredibly impressive is the Apollo Center, 

Isaura and Paola at the "base" of the
Saturn V Rocket

with its display of the mighty Saturn V Rocket that launched humankind on their journey to the moon. Standing, it is the height of a 36-story building and weighs 6.2 million pounds. Generating over 7 million pounds of thrust, this rocket was able to launch 130 tons of space capsule, moon landing craft, other equipment, and astronauts into earth orbit, a piece of machinery truly of “Star Wars proportions.”

As we drove up to the Kennedy Visitor Center, it was with anticipation of being awe-struck again and being able to introduce our niece to the grandeur of it all. And, the thought that came to mind for me was: What if we, the human community, were to put all of our energy and resources into this human capacity for amazing greatness? What could our world be like?

Of course I am aware of the critiques and concerns about the space program and of the fact that this enterprise can be and is used for purposes not so noble – like extending our ability for spying and for taking warring power into outer space. The Star Wars movies certainly show this side of human capability. But what if . . . what if . . .

According to a recent U.S. News & World Report article, in the last decade plus the United States has spent over $4 Trillion dollars on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the cost continues to rise!¹  By comparison, only 5% of this amount ($209 Billion) was spent on the 30 years of the space shuttle program, which began in 1981 and ended in 2011. Emphasizing the positive efforts in the space program focused on research related to health, nutrition, extending our understanding of the human body and gaining greater knowledge of the cosmic neighborhood of our solar system and beyond, imagine what we could do by doubling or tripling the amount of money spent on this program. And what about much less technologically costly and difficult efforts right here on planet earth, like ridding the world of diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, eliminating hunger, ensuring education for all, and creating a world economic system that guarantees a modicum of equality ensuring that every single adult and child would have the resources needed for a descent, healthy, and dignified life. I am sure that other goals could be added to these and, given the creative and inventive capacity of humankind illustrated in the exhibits at the Kennedy Space Center, that these could all be achieved at probably less than the cost of 10 years of modern war.

“I realized up there that our planet is not infinite. It's fragile. That may not be obvious to a lot of folks, and it's tough that people are fighting each other here on Earth instead of trying to get together and live on this planet. We look pretty vulnerable in the darkness of space.”  Alan Shephard - the first American in Space, Commander of the Apollo 14 mission, and the fifth person to walk on the moon.

But even if the cost were eventually higher, wouldn't our world be a incomparably better place if we focused our energy, thought, creativity and resources on constructive, positive efforts rather than wasting so much in efforts that amplify our capacity to kill, maim and destroy?

May we, in this New Year that is before us, join hands in creating the energy needed to launch and support efforts that highlight, encourage, and strengthen the human capacity for amazing greatness.

1  http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/03/28/the-total-iraq-and-afghanistan-pricetag-over-4-trillion

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving Day followed by “Black Friday.” And now so-called “Brown Thursday” encroaching on Thanksgiving Day as well.

On Friday last week, with most media attention given to the crowds racing to get the hot deals at the stores, someone posted the following question on Facebook: “Have you taken time to be thankful for what you already had yesterday?”

One Black Friday shopping enthusiast admitted that she had no use for the item she had just purchased, but she bought it “because, who could pass up such a great deal?!?”

And, are we really thankful, or has the driving attraction to the day we commonly call “Turkey Day” become gorging ourselves with an excess of fats and sugars? According to an article in the New York Times, the average American consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day, more than double the maximum recommended diet for the average person and this, while 1 in 8 people in the world suffer from chronic undernourishment.¹

“Brown Thursday” has been marketed to our vocabulary the last two years. Not satisfied with the income from Black Friday, one of the largest single shopping days in the entire year, retailers are now opening on Thursday. As a result, not only are people rushing away from family gatherings in order to be the first in line for the sales, but employees are now required to skip or re-arrange their Thanksgiving Day schedules in order to stock the shelves and attend to the crowds of shoppers.

We have become, it seems to me, a society defined by greed. The greed of businesses that create market pressure to transform every cultural and religious celebration into a buying spree, and the greed of all of us to have more and more stuff – whether we need it, or use it, or not.

"Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom." Nelson Mandela 

I am reminded of an experience that spoke powerfully to me of society ordered to a different set of values. It took place a few days before Christmas, near my wife's hometown in Brazil. Taking an afternoon walk along a dusty, gravel road just outside of town, we happened to meet an elderly woman who remembered my wife from years earlier. She was delighted to see us and invited us to walk the short path up to her home for a visit, which we did. It was a very simple wood frame house. Just inside the front door was a small table with a bench on each side of it, bordered on the otherside by a rickety-looking old stove. There appeared to be two other rooms, separated from the main room by unpainted walls made of wood planks.

Dona Camila (we'll call her) asked us if we would accept a cup of coffee – a normal part of Brazilian hospitality. Her husband, Sr. Eduardo, was also at the table and we all sat visiting for a bit. As we sipped the sweet Brazilian demitasse, Dona Camila asked if we would accept a piece of panetone, a special kind of fruitbread specially reserved for the Christmas season. The next thing that happened is what caught my attention and is the reason this experience has stayed stayed so clear in my memory.

Dona Camila had her husband get up on a chair and reach to the very top of a tall cupboard where the panetone was stored. As he carefully brought it down and as she opened it and cut slices for each of us, it dawned on me that this was probably their panetone reserved for Christmas day, the only one they could afford. And here they were sharing it with us, these out of town guests who just happened to be walking by that day; meaning that Christmas dinner, possibly with other family there too, would be shy on this special treat.

But their gift was offered out of such apparent unconditional generosity and joy. Even remembering now, it brings tears to my eyes! Such graciousness. No hoarding or greed. Evidently no hesitancy about “what will we have for ourselves for Christmas?” Just open, selfless giving. Oh – and before we ate – they invited us to pause and give thanks!

One of the questions I have sought to reflect on and pursue in this blog is the challenge of envisioning and building a society focused on human values of the common good and community. It seems to me that our current society that places the highest value on material possession and gain is not only headed in the wrong direction, but is reaching the point where it is beginning to collapse in on itself. Around the world, the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us is growing at an alarming rate. On the other hand we are seeing an increasing number of people movements – not only in other places but here in the United States as well – that are challenging this escalating discrepancy and inequality. The choice is ours. Do we choose to allow every corner of our lives to become nothing more than an response to marketing pressures and the pursuit of more and more, or is there a greater value in a society and culture of generosity, of attention to one another's needs, and of building real community? My desire is to think about and to act and live in ways that take us in this latter direction. This drive arises for me out of some of the deepest, most meaningful experiences in my life . . . like that day with Dona Camila and Sr. Eduardo. And I give thanks!

1 According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm 2013-12-01