Truth has long been regarded as a core value in Christian life. Indeed, it is a value Jesus claims as central to his own identity (John 14:6). We find ourselves in a time, however, when not only the culture at large, but people of faith are confused and doubting:
- What is truth?
- Can we even know what is true?
- Does it even matter?
- Is lying always wrong?
- Can’t I have my truth and you have yours?
- Can we be in relationship with one another if we don’t hold the same truths?
These are not specifically Christian questions, but they should have special urgency for Christians. How can we claim to hold certain beliefs as true, if we don’t know what “true” means? How can we claim Jesus as “Truth” if we don’t have an understanding of the word itself?
Reclaiming Truth is a network of Christian preachers who share the conviction that a commitment to truth is fundamental in living the Christian life. We can’t call ourselves Christian without it. Our work is not to debate particular truths of Christianity. Indeed, we come from a variety of different Christian traditions that interpret Christian doctrine in a variety of ways. Rather, our work is to reclaim that the notion of truth itself matters. We hold that, as part of Christian practice, all are called:
- To seek truth
- We must always be trying to the best of our ability to figure out what is real, recognizing that reality is vast and can never be totally comprehended by the human mind. There will always be more to learn and there will always be additional facts, but there is no such thing as “alternative facts.”
- We want to fashion judgments that serve the good in the world, acknowledging that not all opinions are created equal.
- To speak truthfully
- We want to make sure that what comes out of our lips is aligned with what we’ve grasped of the real, while acknowledging that in charity not every thought that comes to our mind needs to be said aloud.
- To be true
- We seek to build lasting friendship and family relationships that can stand the test of time and disagreement.
- We form significant relationships with those who have no one to care for them or attend to their needs.
As a network, we commit to do what we can do as preachers to speak about the value of truth from our pulpits, in our online presence, and any other means of communication available to us. We have built this website to offer resources to preachers who want to talk about the value of truth in their own communities. Whether you come from a tradition that preaches sermon series or from a lectionary, you have come to the right place. We are compiling here an ever-growing sample of sermons, exegetical papers, and snippets that explore the practices of seeking truth, speaking truthfully, and being true.
We invite preachers to speak about these topics regularly within their congregations throughout the year. We name each October, however, as the one month each calendar year when we will harness our common efforts to speak about the value of truth in pulpits across the country. We provide several sample sermon series (for both lectionary and non-lectionary based traditions) to help you prepare to speak about truth during this month as well as short print resources for your bulletin or social media presence.