About
The Belt of Truth
A site dedicated to truth and its proclamation
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist
(Paul to the Church at Ephesus, NIV Chapter 6, verse 14)
It is comparatively easy to recognise evil lies. Combating such may literally be placing one’s head on a block. Lies dressed up as relativistic morality and compassion are harder to refute and while one’s life may not be in danger, one’s liberty to speak the truth may be – and if truth speech is exercised then personal physical liberty may also be at stake.
We live in a world where speaking truth about an injustice or an evil act may in itself be seen as being evil, whereas the reality of the injustice or the evil act is, once again, relegated to comfortable denial.
Freedom to speak truth is critical in the defence against internal decay of our Western civilisation but we now know that this liberty is under threat.
Charles Malik, 1958-59 president of the UN General Assembly and contributor to the 1948 United Nations “Universal Declaration on Human Rights” highlighted the need for clarity:
“There is truth, and there is falsehood. There is good, and there is evil. There is happiness, and there is misery. There is that which ennobles, and there is that which demeans. There is that which puts you in harmony with yourself, with others, with the universe, and with God, and there is that which alienates you from yourself, from the world, and from God. These things are different and separate and totally distinguishable from one another. Truth is not he same as falsehood, happiness is not the same as misery.
The greatest error in modern times is the confusion between these orders. Nothing is anything firm in itself— this is the great heresy of the modern world. But there is no power on earth or in heaven that can make falsehood truth, evil good, misery happiness, slavery freedom. And yet what do philosophers tell you in the great centers of learning? They insist that everything depends on what you mean. The mind becomes so blurred and blunted in its judgments that it fails to see the real, given distinction between things.”
(from C.S. Lewis for the Third Millennium by Peter Kreeft, 1994 Ignatius Press, San Francisco)
Why this site? Why would an extremely busy general medical practitioner in Western Australia do this? Simply because speaking the truth in public – and getting others to join in – is something I’ve done for almost two decades and I find the need to combat untruth in the public square and in our parliaments to be increasingly necessary. The advent of anti-vilification legislation with the emphasis on how speaking the truth made someone feel rather than whether or not it was true has put our freedom to speak truth at risk. “It is not a defence to tell the truth,” said the lawyer in the VCAT case against the two Dannys in Victoria, “it is how you made my client feel.”
Hard to believe? Yes. Scary. But true – see Bill Muehlenberg’s review of Janet Folger’s book The Criminalization of Christianity at http://www.newsweekly.com.au/articles/2005sep10_b1.html
See also the article by Margaret Somerville 26 Jan 2008 re need for open discussion and freedom of expression in the public square with respect to moral issues
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/abortion_giving_new_life_to_the_debate/
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QUOTATIONS:
James Russell Lowell:
Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side.
Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet ‘tis truth alone is strong;
Truth forever on the scaffold.
Wrong forever on the throne.
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow
Keeping watch above his own.
Manning Clark:
What interested me was, assuming mankind had killed God, what did Australians put in His place? Did they bestow on each other the love and tenderness they had previously lavished on the ‘Mighty Disposer’? Or have we become bored survivors on Bondi Beach, citizens of the kingdom of nothingness, who booze and surf while waiting for the barbarians.
CSLewis:
In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.
The Abolition of Man
The practical result of (such) education… must be the destruction of the society which accepts it.
The Abolition of Man
Stepping outside (the moral values), they have stepped into the void. Nor are their subjects necessarily unhappy men. They are not men at all: they are artefacts. Man’s final conquest has proved to be the abolition of man.
The Abolition of Man
‘I mean this,’ said Dimble in answer to the question she had not asked. ‘If you dip into any college, or school, or parish, or family – anything you like – at a given point in its history, you always find that there was a time before that point when there was more elbow room and contrasts weren’t quite so sharp; and there’s going to be a time after that point when there is less room for indecision and choices are even more momentous. Good is always getting better and bad is always getting worse: the possibilities of even apparent neutrality are always diminishing. The whole thing is sorting itself out all the time, coming to a point, getting sharper and harder.’
That Hideous Strength
GKChesterton:
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions
Martin Luther:
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.
David, King of Israel:
LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart Psalm 15:1,2
God to Jeremiah the prophet:
“When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the LORD its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.’” Jeremiah 7:27-29
The Angel to Daniel:
“…but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.” Gabriel Daniel 10:21
Jesus:
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” Pilate asked. John 18:37,38
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32
“I am the way and the truth and the life. John 14:6
Jesus was very direct in proclamation of the truth concerning the deceitful lifestyle of the religious rulers:
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.”
One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.”
Luke 11:40-46.
Ravi Zacharias:
The much-heralded belief of the post-modern West is that scepticism on ultimate matters is the law by which we must live. Truth as a category in relation to meta-physical issues no longer exists. All is relative. This surrender of truth is the hallmark of our culture’s greatest crisis and makes the culture war so deadly… Deliver Us From Evil.
For the Christian this is where the battle must be fought, for no world-view suffers more from the loss of truth than the Christian one. Strangely, as has been noted, other religions are culturally protected; no one had dare make light of an eastern religious belief. Deliver Us From Evil.
Charles Colson:
This is the great issue today in the public square: Is the law rooted in truth? Is it transcendent, immutable, and morally binding? Or is it, as liberal interpreters argue, simply whatever courts say it is? Do we discover the law, or do we create it? (from Breakpoint MLK Day)
Paul the Apostle:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Romans 1v18-20 NIV italics mine).
Jim Dobbin, Labour MP in UK, warning that the proposed Hate Crimes Bill would make it impossible to teach or preach Christian moral doctrine on sexuality and marriage without incurring criminal penalties:
Sexual activity and lifestyle are matters of choice and impinge on the public sphere. As such, they are subject to evaluation and criticism and the freedom to discuss them should be preserved.
Martin Luther:
Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other.
Dorothy Sayers:
In the world it is called Tolerance,
but in hell it is called Despair,
the sin that believes in nothing,
cares for nothing,
seeks to know nothing,
interferes with nothing,
enjoys nothing,
hates nothing,
finds purpose in nothing,
lives for nothing,
and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.
Neuhaus The Naked Public Square 1984:
Liberal democracies need the foundation of public virtue, which in turn is based on the moral and religious values of its citizens. Societies… which seek to marginalise faith do so to their own detriment.
Winston Churchill:
Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he
will pick himself up and continue on.
John the Apostle:
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1-4
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PAPERS
The debate over human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Willetton-Canning Vale Branch Meeting Liberal Party. 9 October 2006.
http://www.chooselifeaustralia.org.au/index.cfm?objectID=2B7B73D9-65BF-EBC1-20F0C2DE1EFF33BE
Universal Truth Submission to Federal Liberal MPs Sept 2006.
http://www.chooselifeaustralia.org.au/index.cfm?objectID=64355503-65BF-EBC1-2401FC63AE3A90C0
Sex – the Illusion and the Reality
http://www.chooselifeaustralia.org.au/index.cfm?objectID=BC3A71F4-65BF-EBC1-2F6B9BA50AF07731
COMBINED CHURCHES STATEMENT ON ABORTION
We, the undersigned, want to take this opportunity of reminding the people of Western Australia of what termination of pregnancy really is. We want to tell you the truth!
1. The conceptus is a human organism with a human chromosomal pattern and specific identifying characteristics – it is in reality an unborn child.
2. The unborn does have and must have rights. This is recognised by legislation in some states and other parts of the world, in that the unborn has rights in cases of assault or accident to the mother.
3. Abortion is the killing of a human being. It is the termination of a unique life.
4. The consequences of terminating a pregnancy have been minimised by abortion proponents.
5. The medical risk to the woman having an abortion is probably low, but includes cervical damage leading to subsequent miscarriage. There are studies showing a long-term association with breast cancer which cannot at this stage be dismissed.
6. There are consequences to the mental well-being of the mother. Agony can be felt decades into the future. It is not always possible to continue to deny the reality that a child has been killed.
7. There are consequences in relationships with the current partner and future partners of those involved in an abortion.
8. There are consequences to our spirit, unless we are totally successful in denying the spiritual component of our being.
9. The vast majority of women who make a decision to go through with an unwanted pregnancy have no doubt that they have made the right choice for themselves as well as the baby.
We acknowledge the complexity and agony that women face in unwanted pregnancy.
The purpose of this statement is to inform and not to condemn.
We also wish to affirm our compassion and offer our support to women with unwanted pregnancy and to those who may be distressed because of previous abortion.
Rev Peter Abetz, Reformed Churches
Pastor Philip Baker, Rhema Family Church
Dr Graeme Carroll, Chairman, Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship
Rev David Christian, President, Lutheran Church
Mr Barry Hadlow, Elder, Bedford Gospel Chapel
Most Rev Barry J Hickey, Catholic Archbishop of Perth
Pastor Warren Ison, General Supervisor, Church of the Four Square Gospel
Rev John Kerr, Superintendent, Church of the Nazarene
Lt Col Garth McKenzie, Divisional Commander, The Salvation Army
Rev Tom Morrison, President, Churches of Christ
Mr Peter Plumb, Moderator, Westminster Presbyterian Church
Dr Michael Shanahan, President, Catholic Doctors Assoc
Mr Ray Shaw, President, Baptist Churches
Pastor John Warwick, Superintendent, Assemblies of God
Pastor Geoffrey Woodward, Chairman, Christian Outreach Centres
contact person: Dr Lachlan Dunjey, Past President, Baptist Churches. Feb 1998
(letter to The West Australian Feb 1998)
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SIGNIFICANT BOOKS:
The Abolition of Man CSLewis
The Criminalization of Christianity Janet Folger 2005 Multnomah.
The Texture of Truth Douglas Vickers, 2007, Reformation Heritage Books.
Deliver Us From Evil Ravi Zacharias, 1996, Word Publishing.
C.S.Lewis for the Third Millennium Peter Kreeft, 1994, Ignatius Press.
The Victory of Reason Rodney Stark, 2005, Random House.
The Christian in Today’s Culture Charles Colson & Nancy Pearson 2001, Tyndale.
Human Dignity in the Biotech Century Charles Colson & Nigel Cameron 2004 IVP
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LINKS:
The Truth Project http://www.thetruthproject.org/
Medicine With Morality http://www.medicinewithmorality.org.au/
Choose Life Australia http://www.chooselifeaustralia.org.au/
Australian Christian Lobby http://www.acl.org.au/
Bill Muehlenberg http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/
CBC http://www.thecbc.org/
MercatorNet http://www.mercatornet.com/
BioEdge http://www.bioedge.org/
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