The death of truth?
In Joseph Ratzinger's book Salt of the Earth (Ignatius Press, 1997), the author confronts the most unsettling question for this time: Is it arrogant for us to claim knowledge of truth, given our limitations? There's often a certain intellectual humility that makes us hesitate to claim we can know it all.
Ratzinger's own answer —drawn from experience, reason, and revelation— was that truth must not only be preserved but demanded, even at the cost of comfort or popularity. Our contemporary culture is saturated with relativism. Truth has become "your truth" or "my truth," rather than the truth.
The warning goes that once truth is no longer the compass, society devolves into chaos, governed not by justice but by the arbitrary will of individuals or powerful collectives. Without truth, there is no objective standard. Right and wrong become products of culture, majority rule, or emotional persuasion.
On the ground there's the beginning of moral disintegration because morality becomes a game of opinions without truth. If there's no objective moral law, anything becomes permissible with the right justification or social pressure. Ratzinger claims that without truth soon there emerges immorality under the guise of compassion or freedom.
Once truth becomes subjective, governance devolves into manipulation. Those in power create realities —shifting definitions of rights, life, justice, even gender, so wrote Ratzinger before the start of the Millenium. Moreover, something like Relativism isn't neutral because it's ultimatelty also toxic to the well-being of a person.
Without truth, even something like spirituality, let alone religion becomes a lifestyle accessory, and faith in anything or anyone becomes emotion-based, not revelation-rooted. Truly many spiritual seekers today float between systems, choosing what “feels good,” rather than what is revealed to them.
Are you troubled about the lies all about, then start by confronting lies within oneself. Speak the truth in your family, workplace, and online. Ratzinger's end conclusion is that we all should hold fast to the truth with courage and humility for we aren't just bearers of light, but also protectors of the soul of civilization.
Ratzinger's own answer —drawn from experience, reason, and revelation— was that truth must not only be preserved but demanded, even at the cost of comfort or popularity. Our contemporary culture is saturated with relativism. Truth has become "your truth" or "my truth," rather than the truth.
The warning goes that once truth is no longer the compass, society devolves into chaos, governed not by justice but by the arbitrary will of individuals or powerful collectives. Without truth, there is no objective standard. Right and wrong become products of culture, majority rule, or emotional persuasion.
On the ground there's the beginning of moral disintegration because morality becomes a game of opinions without truth. If there's no objective moral law, anything becomes permissible with the right justification or social pressure. Ratzinger claims that without truth soon there emerges immorality under the guise of compassion or freedom.
Once truth becomes subjective, governance devolves into manipulation. Those in power create realities —shifting definitions of rights, life, justice, even gender, so wrote Ratzinger before the start of the Millenium. Moreover, something like Relativism isn't neutral because it's ultimatelty also toxic to the well-being of a person.
Without truth, even something like spirituality, let alone religion becomes a lifestyle accessory, and faith in anything or anyone becomes emotion-based, not revelation-rooted. Truly many spiritual seekers today float between systems, choosing what “feels good,” rather than what is revealed to them.
Are you troubled about the lies all about, then start by confronting lies within oneself. Speak the truth in your family, workplace, and online. Ratzinger's end conclusion is that we all should hold fast to the truth with courage and humility for we aren't just bearers of light, but also protectors of the soul of civilization.
