Introduction
In the era of ‘fake news’ how do we recognise the true voice to follow? How do we discern the times when we are being deceived?
Context
The scandal about emissions from diesel cars gets worse. The government is trying to prevent the publication of their plans to respond to the crisis, but we now know that successive governments hid the problem for years, and people were duped into buying diesel cars, which emit dangerous amounts of nitrous oxides – rather than petrol ones which are cleaner, but burn more fuel.
People who enthusiastically voted for Donald Trump on the promise of:
- a wall to keep out Mexicans,
- the end of Obamacare,
- a withdrawal from overseas conflicts, and
- laws to keep out people from Muslim countries
have found after 100 days that he hasn’t delivered on his promises.
People were duped to vote for Brexit by false promises.
France has rejected the traditional political parties in the presidential election. If we can’t trust them, political extremism might win.
And in our election, the claim is of Theresa May simply repeating slogans.
At least Jeremy Corbyn, for all his faults, doesn’t return the insults (1 Peter 2.23 says of Jesus: ‘When he was abused, he did not return abuse’).
In our elections, we wonder whom we can trust.
- Who will tell the truth?
- Who will disguise their intentions?
Reflection
We read the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season because it documents the way in which the Christian Church grew through the faithful witness of the apostles to their realisation that Jesus was risen from the dead, thus vindicating all his claims. Today’s reading from Acts 2 could almost be a political tract about the lifestyle of the community, based on common belief, trust, sharing and fellowship. For the first three centuries, before Christianity became an official religion anywhere, the Church grew by similar means of peaceful trust and truth-telling. Have our politicians deserted this way and resorted to behaving like the ‘thieves and bandits’ condemned in the gospel by Jesus? Can we discern ‘What is truth?’ as Pontius Pilate asked? Can we believe the news media, including what we receive via Facebook, Twitter and the rest?
Prayer
Lord, may we know you as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
May we listen to your voice.
Give us the patience to wait on your word,
the guidance not of a stranger,
but of the Good Shepherd, our Saviour and our Friend.
Amen.
Questions
- Share the dilemma of knowing who and what to believe in today’s political stories.
- Share inside stories from people in education, in business, in transport, in the NHS, etc. – i.e. from people whose personal experience is different from the story put out by politicians.
Action
This is the time to attend hustings, to call the political parties to account and to listen to debate. What will you ask?
Young people
Would you vote? Discuss the merits and pitfalls of voting and listening to what the candidates say.
Tom Ambrose is a member of the ministry team in the Parish of the Ascension, Cambridge, which includes the CofE/URC LEP at St Luke’s Church.
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