Truth2Freedom's BlogThe mindset in postmodernism is that objective truth does not exist. But in post-truth, the person believes that objective truth exists, but they subordinate truth to their preferences, or their comfort. In other words, one doesn’t care that truth exists or what the truth is if it doesn’t line up with one’s preferences. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" - George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. Faith in Jesus Christ is our response to God's elective purpose in our life. These two truths--God's initiative and man's response--co-exist throughout the Bible. The gospel is "the message of truth" because truth is its predominant characteristic. Salvation was conceived by the God of truth (Ps. 31:5); purchased by the Son, who is the truth (John 14:6); and is applied by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). To know it is to know the truth that sets men free (John 8:32). Believers are people of the truth (John 18:37), who worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), and who obey the Word of truth (John 17:17). People have rejected, neglected, redefined, and opposed God’s truth for centuries. Some cynically deny that truth even exists or that it can be known by men (John 18:38). Others foolishly think that denying truth will somehow make it go away. Truth determines the validity of one's belief. Believing a lie doesn't make it true. Conversely, failing to believe the truth doesn't make it a lie. The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him. His resurrection proved the truth of His claims and constitutes the objective basis of our faith (Rom. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:3). Truth is our protection and strength (Eph. 6:14). Throughout history, people have tried everything imaginable to gain favor with God. Most turn to religion, but religion apart from Christ is merely a satanic counterfeit of the truth. At the heart of every false religion is the notion that man can come to God by any means he chooses--by meditating, doing good deeds, and so on. But Scripture says, "There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). That name is Jesus Christ, and we come to Him by confessing and repenting of our sin, trusting in His atoning death on the cross, and affirming His bodily resurrection from the grave (cf. Rom. 10:9-10). There is no other way to God. False religious leaders and teachers talk much about God’s love, but not His wrath and holiness; much about how deprived of good things people are, but not about their depravity; much about God’s universal fatherhood toward everyone, but not much about his unique fatherhood toward all who believe in His Son; much about what God wants to give to us, but nothing about the necessity of obedience to Him; much about health and happiness, but nothing about holiness and sacrifice. Their message is full of gaps, the greatest of which leaves out a biblical worldview of the saving gospel and replaces it with the worldview of postmodernism with its dominant ethical system of relativism. The Bible describes mankind in the end times: “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). Spiritual answers cannot be deduced by human reason alone (1 Cor. 2:14). It’s not that spiritual truth is irrational or illogical, but that human wisdom is defective, because it’s tainted by man’s sinfulness, and unable to perceive the things of God. That is why the Bible is so important. It gives us the answers we can’t find on our own. It is God’s Word to mankind. Scripture is divinely revealed truth that fills the vacuum of spiritual ignorance in all of us. Post-truth is the word of the year for 2016 and also the philosophy of the day, According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. In a “post-truth” world, people make choices based on emotion and experience rather than objective fact. So in a post-truth world, truth is irrelevant. What exactly is a post-truth culture? It’s a culture where truth is no longer an objective reality. It has become subjective. It’s what’s true for me—my beliefs, my opinions, determine my truth. So in our post-truth culture, man determines truth. Man makes himself the ultimate authority. This starting point, which rejects God’s Word and the idea of moral absolutes, makes truth subjective. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Christianity is grounded in objective truth. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Objective truth exists because we have God’s Word. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Thy word is truth” (John 17:17), and Paul and James describe the Bible as “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15; James 1:18). The Psalmist says, “The entirety of your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). Jesus Himself said, “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). When Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6), He wasn’t expressing His personal belief or opinion. He was speaking the truth, a fundamental reality that doesn’t change from person to person. It doesn’t matter if our culture thinks all roads lead to God. The truth of the matter is “no one comes to the Father but by [Jesus].” This blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." - George Orwell
Beautiful poem, and what a strong message within those three lines. Elephants are majestic creatures but sadly some of us just look to them for our own personal gain. Love the image you shared, so well shot. The reflection certainly is symbolic of the two worlds elephants live.
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Thanks Mabel I had fun with the art and giving the elephants front and center today.
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Nice one .
Sad that human is such selfish animal that it don’t mind taking ivory of elephants and show fake love .
@dixita011 from
Cafenined words
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It’s heartbreaking…man’s greed and the elephant’s plight.
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If there was no demand for ivory from so-called developed nations the elephants would be safe….just a random thought with morning coffee.
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It seems like the demand died off but greed never lies fallow for too long.
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The combination of the image and words made me feel sad – how we have the capacity to destroy creatures that pre-date ‘civilisation’ itself…certainly makes you wonder quite what it means to be civilised…but always we must protect the young..
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protect and teach the young and maybe there is a shred then of hope.
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I adore elephants. What a beautiful photo that is. If only they could be left to live in peace, those who are left. Greed does terrible things to people (and to wildlife).
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This is absolutely gorgeous writing Leslie ❤ ❤
Beautifully penned. Hugs and Kisses 🙂
Lots of love,
Sanaa
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I, too, find this poem stunning and motivating. I can squeeze it into an idea of citizenship, I think. “Walking in line” and “joining the herd” are double in meaning–which line will it be? to save the herd or make a fortune? Let the sun rise over the humane resolve. I wish the citizen link was clearer for our prompt, though.
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sorry if my haiku didnt seem to fit the prompt. I was thinking of the world that I work with (children) and trying to stay away from political statements.
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the first line hits hard…i can see those glistening greedy eyes…wow…
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Exceptional Moonie! _m
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It definitely is sad that man is the elephant’s chief predator. Man needs to be a better citizen of the world than that!
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yes he does
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Beautiful and evocative!
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Sadly there is too much of humanity that sees the world as a holiday resort to have fun at the expense of the rest of its inhabitants instead of co-existing to maintain the beautiful world it once was. It is one thing to kill to survive quite another to kill for pleasure and profit and ignore the consequences. How important it is to continue to fly the banner weak though we are as poets.
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Beautiful picture and lovely haiku, one of my favorite styles of poetry. You express the essence of the photograph in your words.
Gail’s 2016 April A to Z Challenge
Theme: The Fun in Writing
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I love elephants too. How sad that ignorance and greed puts them at such risk.
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Beautiful haiku!
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Oh and I agree that it’s definitely a sad world for the elephant at the moment. Thank you for saying such beautiful words on their behalf.
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We humans tend to see what we want to see. It’s hard to change our preconceived notions…
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This is beautiful. And really, how sad that we kill these majestic creatures in the name of jewelry or decoration.
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Thanks Jen for your visit great to meet you through A to Z
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So much said in so few words! And the beautiful image…is that your creation too??
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Any poaching of these beautiful animals is a crime.
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Reblogged this on An Array Of Blogs.
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My thought on reading these wonderful verses was that elephants with their intricate family lives and complex relationships and their amazing fitting into the natural world are better “citizens” than most humans…
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