Truth and Error
C.S. Lewis once said that a person recognizes a crooked road because they know what a straight road looks like. He also said in Mere Christianity that a sober man can tell the difference between soberness and drunkeness while a drunk man cannot. So how do we tell what error is unless truth is known? And how is it that some people can claim there is no objective truth and yet still cry foul against some of the crimes in society? How do we know what wrong is unless we have some sense of right?
Many years ago I was taught that evil is never created, but rather it is always a distortion of what is good. Evil does not have within itself the capacity to create, only to twist and mar. If that is true, and I believe that it is, then it would seem that evil has some good in it which is probably what makes certain aspects of it attractive. But while evil may have some good in it, goodness has no evil in it - just as error may have some truth in it, but truth has no error in it. But it's also interesting that the opposite of truth is error, while the opposite of error could be more error.
When presenting the Gospel it is so important to present the truth as well as we are able because the Gospel we tell and live is the Gospel that people will follow and if it is a Gospel of error, then it can easily become corrupted. Thank God that we do not have to rely upon our own strength and power, but it's the power of the Holy Spirit within us that helps us in this presentation of the Gospel - may we always be careful that we don't "go it alone" when sharing and defending our faith, but that we approach those opportunities in prayer, humbleness, gentleness, respect, patience and most of all love.
Shawn
Many years ago I was taught that evil is never created, but rather it is always a distortion of what is good. Evil does not have within itself the capacity to create, only to twist and mar. If that is true, and I believe that it is, then it would seem that evil has some good in it which is probably what makes certain aspects of it attractive. But while evil may have some good in it, goodness has no evil in it - just as error may have some truth in it, but truth has no error in it. But it's also interesting that the opposite of truth is error, while the opposite of error could be more error.
When presenting the Gospel it is so important to present the truth as well as we are able because the Gospel we tell and live is the Gospel that people will follow and if it is a Gospel of error, then it can easily become corrupted. Thank God that we do not have to rely upon our own strength and power, but it's the power of the Holy Spirit within us that helps us in this presentation of the Gospel - may we always be careful that we don't "go it alone" when sharing and defending our faith, but that we approach those opportunities in prayer, humbleness, gentleness, respect, patience and most of all love.
Shawn
posted by Shawn White | 6/13/2006 06:59:00 AM
4 Comments:
Interesting thoughts, much like class. I agree, the love factor is often overlooked by a lot of people. We aren't told we will be known by our ability to tell others what to do, or how they can be saved, but by our LOVE. I LOVE that!
Hey, thanks for adding me to your "other blogs" list. I feel special!
Great post, Shawn! I completely agree with what you said. The scariest thing about evil is that it twists and mars the truth and deceives people. Satan's been doing that since the Garden of Eden.
Sorry to hear about your back problems. Hope you're feeling lots better now.
thanks for the feedback guys.
yep - back is feeling better, thanks to everyone for the prayers. :)
laura - the idea that an apologetic is just spoken and purely intellectual misses the point. i hope that has been clear in my class, otherwise i've done a poor job in presenting it. an effective apologetic isn't necessarily about how smart a person is, it's also how much they can empathize with the person they are talking to. it's important for an apologetic to be seen as well as heard. it's amazing to read Paul as he talks to Timothy and see that Paul talks about Timothy's grandmother and mother as having a huge influence in becoming who he is, and not so much in the message given.
the character of the messenger is just as important as they message they bring.
Shawn
Yeah, Shawn, I really get what you're saying here and in class. I think it is easier for someone to believe what I say if they believe I really care about them and love them as I love myself.
I remind myself that everyone is just like me, with hopes and dreams and lost without Jesus. That helps with the perspective about friends and how much we care about them.
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