Who Cares About the Truth?

From the book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist:

He said, “I don’t believe the Bible. But if it’s true, then I’ll be in big trouble.”

We sometimes ask our students,  “What’s the greatest problem in America today? Is it ignorance or is it apathy?” One time a student answered, “I don’t know, and I don’t care!”

That sums up the problem in America today. Many of us are ignorant and apathetic about truth… Many people are ignorant and apathetic about truth in morality and religion. Are the people who have adopted the “whatever” theme of the culture right, or does truth in morality and religion really matter?

It really matters. How do we know? First, even though people may CLAIM that truth in morality doesn’t matter, they don’t really believe that when someone treats them immorally. For example, they might claim that lying isn’t wrong, but just watch how morally outraged they get when you lie to them.

…Just think about how much better the economy would be if everyone told the truth. There would be no scandals or scams…of course the economy is important, but it’s directly affected by morality. Morality under girds virtually everything we do. It not only affects us financially, but, in certain circumstances, it also affects us socially, psychologically, spiritually, and even physically.

A second reason truth in morality matters is because success in life is often dependent on the moral choices a person makes. These include choices regarding sex, marriage, children, drugs, money, business dealings, and so on. Some choices bring prosperity, others bring ruin.

What about truth in religion? That truth can impact us even more profoundly than truth in morality. If the Bible is true, then my friend (quoted at the top) has chosen an unpleasant eternal destiny. In fact, if the Bible is true, then everyone’s eternal destiny can be read from its pages. On the other hand, if the Bible is not true, then many Christians are unwittingly wasting a lot of time, money, and in some cases, even their lives by preaching Christianity in hostile territories. Either way, truth in religion matters.

The bottom line is this: regardless of what the real truth is concerning religion and morality, our lives are greatly affected by it today and perhaps even in eternity. Those who cavalierly say, “So what? Who cares about truth in morality and religion?” are ignoring reality and are blindly skating on thin ice. We owe it to ourselves and others to find the real TRUTH.