From .............. Jewish Voice Prophetic Magazine

January 1995

page 7

Guest Comment: WHAT IS TRUTH?

by Donald S. McAlvany

WHAT IS TRUTH? This is the question which Pontius Pilate asked Jesus almost two thousand years ago. Today, truth is a very scarce commodity. People do not wish to hear the truthÑthey would rather hear that which makes them feel good, that which they want to believe, that which allows them to relax in their comfort zone. Today, the vast majority of people have great difficulty discerning the true from the false, good from evil, morality from immorality. We live in a day when governments, politicians, monetary authorities and the media consistently lie to people and the people are indifferent to these lies, even if they are vaguely aware that they are being deceived.

Webster defines truth as:

"That which is in agreement with reality; the eternal principle of right or the natural law of order; fidelity; constancy; agreement with a standard or rule; accuracy."

In an era when moral and spiritual values are in a sharp decline, when the financial system is headed for a crackup, when a health crisis such as the AIDS epidemic is exploding on the scene, and when freedom is under attack everywhere, it is essential that those who wish to survive discern the true from the false in the areas of finance, politics, moral, spiritual and even health matters, and in the battle for freedom which is raging all over the world.

Winston Churchill once said:

"Most people, sometime in their lives, stumble across the truth. Most jump up, brush themselves off, and hurry on about their business as if nothing had happened."

To most people, the world is a jumbled mass of conflicting and confusing ideologies without rhyme or reasonÑor purpose! That is true on the surface and who, today, looks beyond the surface, at what is really happening?

Very few indeed! The few who have had the integrity, tenacity, and intestinal fortitude to dedicate themselves to a relentless search for truth and understanding have found it an immensely rewarding and satisfying pursuit.

Truth is seldom, if ever, found in one place. As the prophet of old put it, the whole truth is found "here a little and there a little," (Isaiah 28:10). Like gold, truth is a very rare and precious possession. It is often hard to recognize because it is not always obvious and is in many instances in total conflict with the accepted norms, standards, beliefs, or official pronouncements of the day.

The great auto pioneer, Henry Ford I, put it very succinctly when he wrote:

"The truth frequently seems unreasonable; the truth frequently is depressing; the truth sometimes seems to be evil; but it has the eternal advantage. It is the truth and what is built thereon neither brings nor yields to confusion."

We know that politicians and governments consistently lie to their people. Machiavelli said that "it is the purpose of governments to lie to the people the great majority of the time," and Hitler said, "tell a lie, tell it often enough and the people will believe it."

Examples of governments and politicians lying are legion. In 1971, then Secretary of the Treasury, John Connally, was asked by the press if America was contemplating a devaluation of its dollar. His reply was, "absolutely not, such an idea was ridiculous," and that "the US. dollar was the strongest currency in the world." Twenty-four hours later, America devalued its dollar in the largest devaluation since the Great Depression.

The President of the United States, Bill Clinton, tells us that American defenses have never been stronger and that the U.S. economy is on a strong path to recovery and great prosperity. The truth is, America's defenses vis-a-vis the Russians have never been weaker, nor have we been more vulnerable, and our economy has suffered from more personal and corporate bankruptcies in the past five years than any time since the Great Depression. And the greatest unilateral disarmament advocate ever to serve as President of the U.S. is helping to widen the huge gap of Russian military superiority over America.

That our press lies, manipulates and distorts the truth should be obvious to any thinking person.

John Swinton, editor of The New York Times, said at a dinner of the American Press Association in 1914:

"There is no such thing as an independent press in America... Not a man among you dares to utter his honest opinion.... You know beforehand that it would never appear in print. It is the duty of New York journalists to lie, to revile, to toady at the feet of Mammon [ED. NOTE: e.g., big money, the very rich], and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread (his salary). We are the tools and the vassals of the rich behind the scenes. We are marionettes. These men pull the strings and we dance. Our time, our talents, our lives, and our capacities are all the property of these men Ñ we are intellectual prostitutes."

Remember that quote the next time you watch CBS, NBC, ABC or CNN news. [Emphasis added.]

A lie cannot stand on its own. It must, by its very nature, be propped up by another lie. They in turn must be supported by additional lies. Such a practice very quickly develops into a jumbled mass of deceit and chicanery in which truth becomes increasingly blurred with the passage of time.

Truth, on the other hand, stands on its own: strong immovable and permanent. The more closely you scrutinize truth, the more perfect and simple and pure it becomes Ñ and the more penetrating and illuminating the light it casts on affairs around it.

We live in the "day of the lie," in the day of the secular humanist, when traditional values of right vs. wrong, freedom vs. slavery, morality vs. immorality, truth vs. false hood, have been reversed and redefined in secular humanist terms so that the Russian is moral and good. Bill Clinton and his "comrades" are moderates. AIDS is a medical, and not a moral problem, and the abortion of 38 million babies is defined as free choice, instead of murder. Pro-Life demonstrators are jailed for praying in front of an abortion clinic while the doctors dismembering the babies inside are protected by the government.

The great majority can no longer discern good from evil nor the true from the false Ñ everything has become a blur of gray.

There is, however, a minority (a remnant, if you will) of right thinking, discerning people in every nation who continue to seek the truth and who are willing to defend it and take a stand against evil. This is why the alternate media (best exemplified by the proliferation of radio talk shows and newsletters) has emerged in recent years Ñ to attempt to preserve truth in a sea of darkness, confusion and false hood. But the oldest and most reliable source of the truth is still the Bible. It has withstood the attacks and tests of the ages. And when confusion and falsehood reign supreme, as they do today, wisdom, discernment, and truth can still be found in history's most widely read and best selling book.

What is truth? Jesus said. "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6).

Excerpted from ....... The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor

PO. Box 84904

Phoenix, Arizona 86071

November 1994

-END QUOTE-