Today is the day I introduce something I’ve been thinking about for quite a long time, and have been working on throughout the year. Today, I’m launching this blog “The Heresy of Truth” here on WordPress, and also a related Facebook page (linked below – click and follow!)

To get started, I suggest you take some time to read the About page. There, you can learn more regarding my personal history, the beliefs I was taught, and how they have evolved over time. There are a few thoughts I offer in that piece that are as yet unexplored in other posts, so there may be some head-scratchers in there for you – I ask your patience as I start to work through those thoughts in future posts.

If you have been following my personal page on Facebook for the past few years, first – you are a saint for putting up with me, and second, you’re already familiar with the types of posts I prefer. And you know I break the cardinal rule of a lot of online conversational forums: No Politics. No Religion.

That’s not going to be the case here – I am Going There.

My goal is to present news and opinion that is as close to the source as possible, information that has been gathered, analyzed and organized according to journalistic and/or scientific standards.

Some might say – but who can we trust? The media isn’t unbiased. Scientists can be wrong. And these things are true, yet in many cases, what remains true of each is that they have recognized standards that they continue to follow. Way too much that is offered in social media as news or evidence or valid information comes from blogs (yes, I know you’re reading this on a blog) and organizations that were specifically created to deceive and mislead regarding their provenance and authority. I’ll give you an example:

The ACLU

The ACLJ

What do you know about these two things? Think about it for a bit before you continue reading.

I’ll point out the first thing I always notice when I see these acronyms in proximity: they look nearly the same.

Look again. That J is half a U, isn’t it? The rest is identical.

The ACLU has 100 years of proven, dedicated service to the poor and oppressed in society.

Is it at all possible that the founders of the ACLJ chose their name in a deliberate attempt to gain immediate prestige in the viewer’s mind, simply by association?

I have no actual proof that it’s true, but given that the ACLJ’s goals are largely opposite to those of the ACLU, I think it is certainly possible. Do you see it this way as well?

But…

Here’s the additional step I want you to take with me in this example, and this is an example of how I intend to proceed with this blog: I need to keep in mind that this opinion of the motives of the ACLJ does not rise to the level of fact. Only ACLJ founder Jay Sekulow really knows what he had in mind when he formed the organization. So, while I might really, really, really want to believe that this guess is the truth, I can not state that it is true unless and until a credible source can confirm my opinion as actual fact.

My issue with many people today is that they decry long-standing mainstream media and science sources as “fake” despite those organization’s applied standards of journalism and scientific methods, while at the same time promoting blogs and social media accounts of people and groups that apply their opinions and agendas to unsourced, unverified information and calling it “real”.

The heresy of truth here is that information does not rise to the level of fact until it is tested and verified, and in the best cases, by several persons or groups working independently. We cannot allow ourselves to accept what is simply said (or in recent years, tweeted) as evidence of fact. And that is exactly what a lot of people are doing these days, especially many who claim faith in One who said he was the Truth. They live in upside-down world, a place where the opposite of fact is true, led by manipulative power brokers who are eager to exploit this level of ignorance and apathy.

I want to talk about this wide disconnect between what people say they believe and what they say with their mouth in person and with their fingers online.

And it is for that reason that I created The Heresy of Truth.

Welcome to the New Year

Welcome to this New Thing