When we presented the new communications theme— “Liberating Truth”—, one of our Board members asked whether our emphasis was that we wanted to be liberating truth or whether we wished to present a truth that liberates. Perhaps both can be part of our reflection, because modern society has subordinated truth to its own inclinations and conditions. We live in times of post-truth, which Danny Webster explained, “is this idea that, maybe truth is not so important anymore”, I can have my version, you can have yours. The Oxford English Dictionary, defines it as an adjective “relating to circumstances in which people respond more to feeling and beliefs than to facts.” In this sense, Christians have a duty to liberate truth from its pond of relativism and subjectivism;  we should reclaim the value of truth in society. And the best way to do this is to ground ourselves in the ultimate truth that liberates.

We are called to be “Ambassadors for Truth”, which is to pick the “long road of obedience” and not a quick-fix populist solution. This means building relationships and trust. But we are also called to be “wise as serpents”, namely by working on our own media literacy.

Regardless of what we believe, we tend to be fish that swim in the waters of our times. Fish don’t usually question whether water is the only environment they can thrive in, fish just swim. In the same way, as Christians, we can swim in a post-factual world without realising what this is doing to our beliefs and way of life.

A short stride from ideology to idolatry?

There are many ideas and strong ideologies around us. Yet ideology is quite a modern word. It is one of the many gifted to us with the French Revolution, and meant initially to be just a “science of ideas”(i).

Collins Dictionary defines “ideology” as a “body of ideas that reflects the beliefs and interests of a nation, political system”, and Oxford Dictionary defines political ideology as “any wide-ranging system of beliefs, ways of thought, and categories that provide the foundation of programmes and social action”. These definitions seem to be describing something pretty harmless. Yet Tim Keller points out ideology “can also have a negative connotation closer to its cousin word, idolatry. An idolatry, like an idol, is a limited, partial account of reality that is raised to the level of the final word on things.”(ii) Japanese theologian, Kosuke Koyama was nagged persistently by this question: “Why is idolatry so destructive?” He could not see Japan in isolation from his experience in what he calls the “demonic war years, 1930-1945”, where the “idolatry of the emperor worship brought the nation to utter destruction and inflicted enormous suffering upon her neighbours in Asia and beyond.”(iii)

Ideologies may try and detach us from reality

Political theorist Hannah Arendt pointed out that “an ideology is quite literally what its name indicates: it is the logic of an idea… Ideologies pretend to know the mysteries of the whole historical process—the secrets of the past, the intricacies of the present, the uncertainties of the future—because of the logic inherent in their respective ideas.”(iv) Yet ultimately, Arendt observes how “ideological thinking becomes independent from all experience”—ideologies detach us from reality.

Jesus, the reality and the truth that sets free

As Christians, we believe in an ultimate reality, created by God. And we believe truth is a person—Jesus Christ. An ideology can never claim the wonderful and all-powerful personhood we see in Jesus Christ. And this makes all the difference, because you can’t trust an idea, it is a person and their ideas that one trusts. Trust is actually a word that appears in almost every book of the Bible, and Proverbs 3:5 defines trust as confidence or security. An ideology cannot give us full confidence or security.

Arendt points out that an ideology is unmasked when the rubber hits the road—when its fiction is debunked. And this is where, as Christians, we can pray for ideologies to fall short, and for those enslaved to idolatrous ideas to be set free— that they may know the Truth, the one that truly sets free (John 8.23).

Navigating a post-factual world that has become reactive, polarised and ideological is not easy. We cling to the reality and truth that has come onto us, Emmanuel. And remember that what Jesus announced holds true today:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…” (Isaiah 61.1-2a)

Written by Dr. Emily Lange, at the EEA Bonn Office, with a special thanks to the PIRON Office (contributions by Ama Achiaa Owusu-Afriyie, photo courtesy of Judith Gebbe)

References: Collins and Oxford Dictionaries (consult. Aug. 2023); (1) W. Carlsnaes, The Concept of Ideology and Political Analysis; (ii) T. Keller, Counterfeit Gods, Chapter: “The Power and the Glory”; (iii) K. Koyama, Three Mile An Hour God, Preface. (iv) H. Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism.