Sunday, July 19, 2015

What is Truth? Wanted More Pontius Pilates.

Someone suggested that the first encounter with Jesus makes you confused. That Jesus undercuts your absolutes. Jesus makes you doubt yourself.  The author pointed to Nicodemus who comes to Jesus seeking to get a handle on all this stuff. Nicodemus starts with the polite conversation, but Jesus confronts him with "You must be born again."  Nicodemus is blown away!  "How the hell is that possible?"  The first conversation with Jesus makes Nicodemus confused and outraged.

When you come to the end of Jesus ministry and Jesus is at Pontius Pilate's court (John 18:38), Pilate's encounter makes him ask the question, "What is truth?"  Pilate's encounter with Jesus and his political experiences makes him unsure of what is true and what is false.

I was watching Sen. Ted Cruz answer questions before the 2000 delegates to the Iowa Christian Convention.  Senator Cruz said that it was his intention on this campaign to speak only "the truth". He would not shy away from offending people, if they were unable to handle "the truth".

In fact, it seems to me that is one of the marks of the many candidates who are currently running for President. They all claim to know "the truth". They are absolutely convinced that they are right. When Senator Cruz said that he was going to speak "the truth" on this campaign, I knew immediately that what I wanted was more Pontius Pilates.  I think we need more politicians who are not sure they know the truth but are willing to seek it by listening, by talking with others, by exploring all the possibilities, and by being willing to say this is how I see things and there are others who see it differently and we can both enjoy the rights and privileges of this country.

What I think we need is more Pontius Pilates, more politicians who admit that they do not know what the "truth" is and who can live in that kind of ambiguity.


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