Believing in the Truth and Finding Real Peace
Living in peace is a gift of the Christian life. We seek the peace of God we had in Eden, which we lost at the beginning, when we fell from Paradise.
In today’s world, we have many potential threats to our peace. These threats have to do with frustrations over the pandemic restrictions (negatively affecting our spiritual, mental, and physical health); the socio-political divisions between people and groups – for which we are blamed; and the economic free fall which disturbs our sense of recovery, and causes us anxiety over the costs needing to be paid.
We used to believe that people should be judged on the content of their character, as Martin Luther King Jr. asserted. What seemed clear, for all people and all races, was that we needed to be faithful and diligent in raising our families; we needed to be charitable to everyone in our communities; and we needed to work well within our vocations, and care for the poor and disenfranchised – giving everyone opportunity.
These seem like good Christian values. Yet in the last 7 years, or so, these values have been questioned. Specifically disputed are the ideas of: right and wrong; that all people can be brothers and sisters in the family of God (regardless of race, gender, poverty, or position); that the world is full of sin and suffering; and that people need to carry their crosses and enter through the narrow gate.
Part of the reason for all the confusion and animosity is that people are caught up in their own pseudo-realities. When we surf the news, we see this – lies, coverups, conspiracy theories. The further we stray from Christ and His Church, the further from the truth we go.
We Christians can get very upset when we are maligned and falsely accused, but we are not permitted to respond with hatred. It only leads to further hatred and can spill out as violence – verbal or physical.
These false conceptions of our world can lead to intense social calamities, culture clash, and cancel culture. They can cause increasing tragedy and evil. Many nations can drive themselves to the brink of civilizational collapse if they keep chipping away at their foundational beliefs. Are we heading that way?
Our history is being re-interpreted and re-written. References to the Bible and Christian morals are no longer relevant. We are seeing the changing meaning of certain words, and the censoring of other words which we are no longer permitted to speak.
When Christians try to point out harmful trends, we are accused of false consciousness and bias (even unconscious bias). Can we defend ourselves? Are we losing the ability to recognize lies and resist them? Many of us, no doubt, have not noticed the false philosophy flooding our world. Many of us see that things are changing, but are content to think that things are more or less “normal.”
Though both sides of the political spectrum are susceptible to extremism and lunacy, it is the woke worldview of the establishment that is becoming more pervasive and controlling, whether at school or work. A soft totalitarianism seems to be rising in the form of academic, corporate, media, and state authority.
We can reach peace, no matter the lies and persecutions, if we are willing to abide in Christ, and follow Him.
In the coming weeks, we will be reading these words of Christ:
You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” …Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. …So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. – St. John 8:32, 34, 36.
“I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” – St. John 16:33
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – St. John 14:6
Finally, here is a quote from the book we are studying - Live Not By Lies, by Rod Dreher:
We cannot hope to resist the coming soft totalitarianism if we do not have our spiritual lives in order. This is the message of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the great anti-communist dissident, Nobel laureate, and Orthodox Christian. He believed the core of the crisis that created and sustained communism was not political but spiritual.
…On the eve of his forced exile, Solzhenitsyn published a final message to the Soviet people, titled, “Live Not by Lies!” In the essay, Solzhenitsyn challenged the claim that the totalitarian system was so powerful that the ordinary man and woman cannot change it.
Nonsense, he said. The foundation of totalitarianism is an ideology made of lies. The system depends for its existence on a people’s fear of challenging the lies. Said the writer, “Our way must be: Never knowingly support lies!” You may not have the strength to stand up in public and say what you really believe, but you can at least refuse to affirm what you do not believe. You may not be able to overthrow totalitarianism, but you can find within yourself and your community the means to live in the dignity of truth. – Page xiv.