Seeking & Speaking Truth

We live in an age of uniqueness and, as Bishop Harry Jackson and I were discussing yesterday, an age of upheaval.  There seem to be areas where God's shaking and His judgment are being expressed. We can pursue God's truth for our own lives and seek to walk in holiness.  We find this series of verses in Proverbs 14:
14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.
15 The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.
16 A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident.

We are called to be wise and recognize that the Bible is that source of wisdom for us.  I believe that we are to be thoughtful believers, reasoning from the Scriptures, and allowing God's Word and His Spirit to direct us as we deal with difficult decisions and issues that we face individually and as a society.  We are called to prayerfully seek truth and engage in critical thinking so that we can demonstrate the character of Christ.

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We are called as believers in Christ to earnestly seek and speak the truth.  2nd John says:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.
5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.
6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

I didn't know until late last week that James Dobson, who has probably done more for the Christian family and strong moral values based on the Scriptures than most high-profile Christian leaders, had recorded an ad for former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in the U.S. Senate race.  In it, he vouches for Moore's character and laments what he and his wife, Kayla, have endured over the past few weeks, in light of the allegations of sexual misconduct, which he continues to deny.  I read it in a Washington Post piece by former Bush 43 speechwriter Michael Gerson, who took Dobson and some supposed evangelical patriarchy to task for daring to support Moore, whom he apparently sees as a man of of questionable character.

Obviously, if allegations were made against me, I would like to have people speaking up on my behalf.  Like someone of the magnitude of Dobson, like my pastor, as Roy Moore's pastor has done; like a number of nationally-known Christian leaders; like co-workers, women who have interacted with the judge.  Alan Keyes, who spoke up for Moore days after the 10 Commandments monument was removed from the Alabama Judicial Building, at a rally that also featured Dr. Dobson, was in Alabama recently to show his support of the judge.

What if it were you?  What if you were facing allegations?  Constitutional law professor Jenna Ellis, who has been a guest on The Meeting House, posed this concept in a piece at The Federalist website:

What all of this noise fails to consider is the actual heart of the issue—the truth. No one is asking, Is it true? If it is true, of course Moore should step down. But what if it’s false? What makes McConnell able to adequately assess the credibility of the allegations? How can anyone assess the credibility of these allegations that quickly?

It seems the trial by media is only concerned with whether we previously liked Moore politically. If we do, we react with immediate defense; if we don’t, we react with immediate damnation. Both forget to ask what is actually true. My question for McConnell, Gardner, and anyone else quick to determine guilt: What if this was you?

She goes on:

But the court of public opinion isn’t concerned about the truth, due process, or any kind of process. Over the past weeks since Hollywood exploded with the Harvey Weinstein stories, it seems everyone who is disliked politically or socially can be an easy target for allegations of sexual misconduct.

There may be truth to some or many of the allegations and if a claim is proven, it should be dealt with accordingly. Fact-finding, evidence gathering, testimony, the ability to cross-examine witnesses, fair and reasonable assessment of credibility are all part and parcel of due process. But a bare claim itself (even multiple claims) should be insufficient to convict a person outright, even in the court of public opinion. There should still be a presumption of innocence and a demand for veracity and proof.

So, this gets back to the prayer request I have been putting before my audience since the Moore allegations broke: pray for truth to prevail.  I also would add that if the allegations are false, if the judge is being falsely accused, that God would be his defender.

Critical thinking is important here...as Quin Hillyer has pointed out on my show, there should be no rush to judgment here.  Marvin Olasky of WORLD also offers a call to thoughtful analysis:

The Roy Moore situation is difficult because, even as the number of accusers mounts, we have no photographic evidence of misconduct as with Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, or diary evidence as with Bob Packwood—and the Moore incidents happened many years ago. Some of the teenagers he dated or tried to date, while serving as an assistant district attorney, thought he was creepy. The claims of sexual assault are in a different category.

Some WORLD readers may carefully examine all the evidence and conclude that Moore is getting a raw deal. Some may want to vote for Moore and let the Senate Ethics Committee decide what to do with him. Others may believe Moore’s sexual probity in recent years outweighs what he may have done when young—and who among us has nothing to confess and repent of?

The reason our Moore quandary is hard: We do a disservice to God’s holiness when we minimize sin. We do a disservice to God’s mercy when we maximize it. We do a disservice to evangelism when we say or believe winning an election is more important than telling the truth about God’s glory and our sinfulness.

But, it does seem that the allegations have come to a screeching halt.  As you consider the validity of the allegations, one might say that the Washington Post article that broke the story was well-researched and corroborated, but it essentially seems to comes down to separate allegations unconnected to one another, tied together to create a narrative.  The original 14-year-old accuser, and she alone, is really the only source of this information about the incident in which she claims to be involved, that took place 38 years ago.  Even a Reuters story I read the other day said that it was unable to certify the Post's report on its own.  When you have a accuser that is disseminating her story in the media just days before an important election that could shift the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, it does raise some eyebrows.  The timing of an "open letter," sent by one accuser not to Moore but to AL.com, as well as another accuser going on the Megan Kelly Today show, coincide with positive polling data for Moore.

Moore has surged ahead in three polls released this week. According to the FiveThirtyEight website, "...three new polls out this week — from Change Research, Emerson College and JMC Analytics — have Moore leading Democrat Doug Jones by 5 to 6 percentage points."  The factors contributing to Moore's regaining of the lead: time since the release of the allegations and the, as it says, "quasi-endorsement from President Trump."

The Change Research poll has some interesting information. According to Medium.com, the survey shows that more Republicans are planning to turn out on December 12 and vote for Moore.  And, the number of Republicans who believe the allegations is declining.  Among those who voted for Moore in the primary, now only 2% believe the allegations; among those who voted for Strange, it's a 33-to-32% split, slightly in favor of those who believe the allegations.  Other GOP voters: 40% say they do not believe what has been alleged.  Almost all Democratic voters believe the allegations.

Where are we now?

Well, you certainly do not want to minimize the seriousness of the charges or the overall gravity with which we should handle matters of sexual assault.  Hopefully, the voters of Alabama are weighing the evidence and evaluating Moore's reputation against the credibility of the accusers, most of which simply say that Moore, as a local attorney in his 30's, was interested in dating girls in their teens, a concept that many may find troubling or at least unusual.  (But, as it's been pointed out, in 1970's Gadsden, Alabama, that might not have been as unacceptable as some might think today.)

We also have to admit that there is a legitimate problem with sexual harassment, and it's telling that in entertainment culture which has communicated a message of sexual permissiveness, what has been sown is now being reaped in the form of participants in offensive behavior now being accused and revealed.

A Barna Group survey just released has attempted to define what sexual harassment actually is, and there are a wide range of physical and verbal behaviors which were cited. All in all, the survey summary says, "Given the range of behaviors selected by Americans, it’s increasingly clear—to some, for the first time—how insidious the problem of sexual harassment is. In fact, three in 10 American adults (29%) tell Barna they have been sexually harassed. Women in this group report experiencing it almost three times more than men (42% vs 16%)." Younger people tend to report more instances.

Almost a third of victims, though, never come forward because of "fear of not being believed."

Roxanne Stone, editor in chief for the Barna Group states, "As men and women increasingly share spaces and workplaces...we are now beginning to grapple with the intensely sexual ideas that have been allowed to define gender relationships, not to mention the extremely complex power dynamics at play in a society where men still hold the majority of top-level leadership positions."

She continues: “Leaders in every level of society—from entertainment, to the marketplace, to politics, to churches—must honestly wrestle with this challenging issue and what it means for their institutions. Pastors and spiritual leaders, especially, must be ready to talk with their members: to hear the stories of the victims, to offer counseling services, to speak from the pulpit on the respect and humanization that gender equality really requires. Churches, with a message of brotherly and sisterly love, have an opportunity to be leaders in this disorienting conversation.”

So, this is a challenge that the Church can embrace, and area in which it can provide direction.  But, I am cautious when you have people that publicly take the church to task in secular arenas. Is it productive for the Washington Post or New York Times to be places to criticize other Christians?

I don't believe that voting for Roy Moore is an endorsement for sexual immorality.  It should not be construed that way; I would hope that people of faith are examining, prayerfully, the information and then voting as God leads.  When I see a Christian criticizing other believers in the secular press or on social media over this situation, I have to ask, "What happened to "innocent until proven guilty?'"  Why so quick to believe the accusers?  Remember the words of 2nd Corinthians 13: "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established."

It's not helpful to air dirty laundry for the church in secular arenas.  Peter Heck, writing at The Resurgent, points out that the #ChurchToo movement, a variation on the #MeToo hashtag, actually "slanders" the bride of Christ.  Heck writes:

The problem with #ChurchToo is that it doesn’t seem to appropriately target the criminals – it targets the church as though the institution itself is a haven for sexual immorality. This is both ironic, given that the church is often criticized in our culture for condemning sexual immorality, and incorrect.

He adds:

Believers should be leery about participating in any modern hashtag “awareness” movement that brings contempt or distrust upon the truth that is preached in churches. By all means, call out the sin in our midst, pray for it to be exposed and confronted. Specific cases of sexual abuse or misconduct in the pastorate should never be swept under the rug, ignored, or overlooked, nor should the pain and shame felt by victims of such abuse be disregarded. God is obviously not glorified by doing so.

So, we continue to pray, continue to pursue truth, to seek to be a bold witness to our culture. We may come to different conclusions in the issue of Roy Moore, but we are called to extend grace to one another.  And, we can all agree that we should hold to a Biblically-centered perspective about the sinfulness of perverting God's viewpoint on sexuality and pursue a posture of holiness.