Truth, idols, and the 9th and 1st commandments

"While truth is based on facts, it involves more than facts and does not end with them... This is why pure rationalism and scientism cannot lead us to truth; such approaches cannot tell us how to interpret, arrange, and discern the meaning of what we see, touch, feel, taste, and hear. Nor can they ensure that we will be ethical in the process. Pursuing truth requires more than knowing where the facts lead. It requires the honesty to actually follow them, regardless of who they implicate." (pg. 74, my italics)

I first read All That's Good by Hannah Anderson last fall, and I'm rereading it with a group of women from church. We are now on Chapter 4, which is one of the best chapters of the book in my opinion, because Hannah addresses an area that I am deeply concerned about.

I was in a situation many years ago where the truth did not lead to transparency but a cover up of the facts and a minimization of sin. Even though I was not the target, I was badly burned and felt betrayed. This experience has made me extra sensitive to any hint of cover-up and wagon-circling at the expense of the truth. It would seem obvious that as Christians, we should not lie. We should not cover up the sins of institutions or powerful people even though they may be implicated. Integrity and ethics should matter.

But if we ignore truth and the virtues of integrity and honesty, we will be drawn to something else. Hannah writes, "we will find consensus through shared emotional or subjective reality. We will retreat into tribes that validate our own experience and form communities around those biases and tendencies. And when this tribal or party identity is threatened, we will respond, not from  carefully considered decisions made for the common good, but from a place of insecurity." (pg. 70, my italics)

And haven't we seen this?

We express outrage about the Roman Catholic child abuse scandals, Larry Nassar, and Jerry Sandusky, yet how many are willing to address the child abuse cover-ups in Evangelical or reformed circles? Don't believe me?  Read what happened to Rachael Denhollander and her response to continued pushback. How often do we throw the book at a politician on the opposite political aisle and yet self-justify the comparable behavior of someone in our camp? Our history and heroes, past and present, become untouchable and God forbid that anyone critique them or expose any fallibility. This is also incredibly ironic coming from Christians who believe every person is a sinner in need of a Savior, and for the reformed who affirm the doctrine of total depravity.

Just recently, it struck me that self-justifying cover-ups can be traced back to the 9th commandment. Bearing false witness is not only lying to defame but to protect as well. But this degree of loyalty that results in sin and searing of conscience has to be explained by something else - a violation of the 1st commandment.

This past Sunday evening, a brother preached on idolatry in relation to the 9th Q&A in the Baptist catechism. He pointed out the obvious idols of wood or stone, like those in the backyard Buddhist temple down the road from our church. But the ones that seduce us enlightened 21st century Americans are more subtle. Those idols may be people or ideologies, but they promise us something. They give us identity and a sense of purpose, and we want what they offer so much that we will excuse them and even defend them to the point of bearing false witness for them.

We can also unconsciously or even deliberately tailor our interaction with the world and other believers such that these biases and the idols behind them remain untouched. I can ensure that I will only receive input that is preaching to the choir, so my ethics and integrity are never challenged. This creates a mutual admiration and log preservation society that I can hide behind while being quick to shout about the specks in the eyes of others. So unity becomes less and less about Christ and more about the biases we share.

This is one of my nightmares for my local church. The first is that we will deny the gospel and embrace heresy. But a close second is that a situation will arise which will cause us to lose our integrity through compromise and cover up. I try to remember to pray daily for my pastor/elders that God would keep us from these specific dangers.

And when we talk about mortifying sin (and we're studying this in Sunday school), isn't pursuing honesty and integrity an aspect of this? Being willing to recognize our idols, resist them, and tear them down (figuratively) is the pursuit of practical holiness by mortifying the sin of partiality (Deut. 10:16, 16:9; James 2) A healthy community should be one where we should expect to be challenged in love but where we are strengthened in the truth that enables to keep ourselves from idols.

"And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." 1 John 5:20-21