Christian ministry in this Post-Truth society
by Jonny Chun/ Executive Secreatry of Tentmakers Internatiinal We Christians workers sometimes fall into confusion when we work with the people who live by the standard of Post-Truth Concept because we Christians have believed, lived, and pursued the truth for a long time. But unexpectedly, a very unusual culture called “Post-Truth” came into our society. And it began to destroy people’s hearts and sound values as well as our biblical teachings.
What is post-truth? Post-truth is defined as “relating to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” A few years ago, Davos Forum also dealt with “Post-truth as an agenda of the World Economic Forum. The forum saw “misinformation caused by post-truth” as a global risk.
What is the problem with post-truth? In this post-truth society, factually misleading stories are everywhere. The “factually misleading narratives” may be lies and tall tales; false, fake, or distorted news stories; or populist or conspiracy us-versus-them narratives with cherry-picking or strong framing of facts to support the narratives.
When facts are replaced by false, fake news or lies, people lose their authority as the basis for discussion, debate, and decision. At the same time, people easily tell lies and doubt one another. In this post-factual democracy, respect for and acknowledgment of the real in many ways has disappeared. This is the world where we live and work today and we Christian workers should serve and correct people telling the truth in this hostile environment.
How can we Christian workers communicate with and persuade the people who live in this culture of Post-truth? We can’t give a clear-cut solution to the problem. But I believe Christian qualities such as integrity, honesty, and consistency can be the keys and strategies when we meet and communicate with people around us. I believe only Christians can transform this misleading, distorted value and society.
John Maxwell said, “Integrity is not a given factor in everyone's life. It is a result of one’s faith, self-discipline, inner trust, and decision to be honest.” For successful Christian ministries, we Christian workers are to be equipped with more qualities to serve in this unusual and distorted world.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9-NIV) | |