Craving Fervent Truth: What's Missing from the Podium, Pulpit and Pundits

Well Intentioned Fallacies

I received an email today with a small photo of Navy Seal Team 6, all geared up.  It was a pretty cool photo, although a bit to ostentatious, if you ask me.  As it turns out, these are some of the most life-like, one-foot-tall action figures I've seen.  See the shiny plastic arm of the guy on the right.  You can even see the large stitching by zooming in on this image.  Not to mention the gargantuan texture of the wall behind them. 

The email text says something like this:

"A couple of things to notice: 50 caliber sniper on the right. Knee, knuckle and forearm protection. Various plastic/wire ties. Absolute identity denial to protect their families. Free choice of footwear. Fourth from the right has three artillery simulators and CS gas grenades on his belly. He's the 'shock and awe' guy. Group Photo of Seal Team Six, and you can imagine the look on Bin Laden's face when these guys came through the door."

Snopes confirmed it's a hoax

.  That's a shame. 

Now, many of us, including myself, have been taken in by hoaxes like this before, whether by clever photo angles, doctored images, or crafty stories.  What really struck me me as I thought about it is how prevalent things like this are.  I don't understand the motivation of people to contrive such fantastic stories.  Maybe a well-intentioned but ill-informed soul cobbled together bits of different stories, misheard the truth, or just didn't understand the material that was presented. 

The Truth of the Matter

Regardless of the sources, these fabricated messages would not be passed around on emails and blogs
if people did not crave the hope, patriotism, bravery and confidence that stories

like this convey.  

In other words, people really want to support these causes, want to feel patriotic about their nation, and want to take comfort in phoenix-from-the-ashes stories.  On one blog, one lady even mused over the Seal with the "bionic arm."  Some emails like this are passed around for years, which in the information age is an eternity.  It blows my mind that politicians, pundits and preachers don't see what it is that the general public hungers for: real hope, patriotism, encouragement, stark truth, and passionate life. 

The arguments are all the same.  "We can't speak too strongly about our convictions because we could drive people away."  Or, "we don't want to be divisive."  Or, "you are just going to alienate people."  Sure, that happens when the mud-slinging and ad hominem attacks start.  It also happens when the public is fed a steady diet of soft mush and then are suddenly jerked into reality.  But emails like this one and many others show (at least anecdotally) that people sincerely crave the brave exclamation of values and principles. 

What people don't want are dispassionate speeches and sermons, empty rhetoric, or shallow anecdotes.  They must be presented with fervor and truth to be palatable, even if absolute.  The problem is that there are enough feverishly vocal people out there that are vehemently opposed to these values that it grinds upon those with virtue and patriotism.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to mix political philosophy in with church doctrine.  I don't want anybody to say I support flying the proverbial Stars and Stripes behind the pulpit.  The church is not the place for politics, its the place for principles.  I'm just saying that we see the same symptoms from those behind podiums as we do from those behind pulpits that come from a lack of fervor.  The press has it's own set of problems, not the least of which is recognizing the public demand for real images and stories of hope and patriotism, like the fake Seal Team Six. 

The Other Side of the Coin

The other lesson I see from instances like this is an ever-prevalent message about the human condition.  We seek out commonality.  We want to support the things well already believe.  As a result, we have a less critical eye for messages that are congruous with our values.  We can also be more willing to believe those messages that may appear a bit off if they were read through the lens of honesty.  

This behavior is incremental.  We believe something that is a little off base and then our values change a little.  Then the next fabrication comes along in support of our values and we move a little further away from balance.  At the same time, someone who started out with an opposing belief moves further in the opposite direction.  Pretty soon, by virtue of incrementally believing those ideas and stories that support our presuppositions, we become enemies.  That is where America is today.  

So the greatest lesson is this, "prove all things, hold fast to that which is good."  1 Thessalonians 5:21