Blogs, Opinions, and Truth

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver (Proverbs 25:11).

Probably one of the most significant downfalls in the blogosphere is the preponderance of uncritical, unqualified remarks. It is certainly the nature of blogs to invite comment, and that is good. It may also NOT be good. Anyone can weigh in on a subject--no matter how astute or ignorant--and still remain anonymous. That's simply part of the attraction of blogs, isn't it? It is also part of the distraction. It would be hoped that with all the talking going on, we would improve in our ability to reason things out in a way that is, . . . well, . . . reasonable! "Everyone has a right to his own opinion," so many are fond of quoting, because it opens the game to all comers, and levels the playing field. But there is an offsetting word we need to hear, viz., ". . . but that doesn't mean that every opinion is equally right." There must be a standard against which all opinions are measured, otherwise no one's opinion carries any weight. I like the way Douglas Groothuis puts it: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but everyone is not entitled to their own truth. Truth is but one. (See his book Truth Decay) This makes sense. I don't know everything. I KNOW that I don't know everything. Therefore, I turn to others who most likely DO know more than I and find in them helpful knowledge. I may offer my opinion, but it will not hold weight compared to those who are more learned on a subject than am I. That should be common sense. Should be! Alas, this may be but a rare thing! Still, in this information age, we do well to seek out, not just more facts (of which there is a dizzying surplus) but the right arranging of them. That is all I am calling for, the use of good sense, common sense, humility, and truth. 

The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves that he has no brain of his own. CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

I knew a man some 30 years ago with whom I was traveling to a youth meeting. He was a businessman in his fifties and had done some preaching on the side. Being a ministry student myself, I asked him how he went about studying for messages? Who did he like to read? He said that he used only the Bible, that he didn't believe in reading other men's works. He added, "I just rely on the Holy Spirit." Now reliance on the Holy Spirit cannot be overestimated; it is too little understood today. However, as I had learned something of Spurgeon's opinion on this subject, I shared that with this gentleman. It seemed most appropriate at the time, kind of like, well, . . . "apples of gold in pictures of silver." Thankfully, he responded well. Why? First, because the Holy Spirit opened his heart to hear it. (See? We need the Spirit!) And secondly, it manifestly made sense. It was close to a truism, like saying, "Water quenches thirst." Hard to deny. Isn't it odd, that the man who relies so exclusively on the Spirit for his own preparation will so easily dismiss the Spirit's influence in other men? That is what Spurgeon had said, and it made a world of sense then. 

It still makes a world of sense. May God help us to find our standard in Jesus Christ and within the bounds of his Church, which Scripture terms, "a pillar and buttress of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). I defer my opinion to Him who has none, for He IS the Truth. Would that all mankind would do likewise.