A new book by Garrison Keillor imagines a virus, contained in the cheese, that makes everyone in Lake Wobegon tell the truth. Following the mold of previous stories about Lake Wobegon, it promises to be hilarious, heartbreaking, and touching. But it also raises a broader question about our apparent willingness to make truth a casualty of life.
“Respect for the truth is the foundation of morality,” Diogenes Allen, a philosopher, theologian, and teacher said. The words invite our reflection:
1) respect for the truth undergirds a moral life. It aligns belief and action. It asks something of us and promises more.
2) respect for the truth calls us to an attitude of inquiry, curiosity and commitment. It invites us to aspire together for the good and for better understanding. It includes the willingness to change our mind. Respect for the truth can help us avoid positional thinking and the slippery slopes of rationalization.
3) the truth is not merely a collection of individual facts which we know or believe to be true. Jesus presumed the coherence of truth when he made his claim “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Similarly, when he said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free,” clearly referring to his own ministry, he wasn’t saying that nothing else is true. Acceptance of his claim doesn’t take away the responsibility for honesty or integrity. Such responsibility is expressed all through the Bible, from the commandment against bearing false witness to warnings against liars in New Testament letters. In fact, Jesus’ identification of himself with the truth stands in contrast to the description of Satan as “the father of all lies,” words that suggest there is also coherence to evil.
4) morality is not merely a collection of rules or norms. It has coherence and a foundation. It is our respect for the truth that makes us trustworthy. While lying may not appear as the most damaging injury, a lack of respect for others is at the heart of all other moral failures. Trust is basic to relationships and morality requires honesty at its heart.
In a political season, we may get used to lies or simply accept them as a part of life as it now is. But they are profoundly destructive to our life together. Respect for the truth is something we should expect and demand. The cost of being easy with the truth is greater than we often realize.
