I used the hashtag, “#truthwins,” for the first time and then went back and edited my previous social media posts to include the hashtag. After that, I followed the hashtag myself and found other people using the same one, and it’s interesting to see what “truth” some of them refer to as winning.
There are some who promote what they believe are winning truths in politics or various causes. And there are those who attempt to speak truth to debunk conspiracy theories, while others use their version of truth to further prove them.
Then of course there are individuals who use #truthwins to promote various forms of faith or belief systems.
I admit it. That last group of people includes me.
But while people who use this hashtag may have disparate views on truth, the one thing we have in common is a view that truth wins. We’re convinced that what we have to say is in fact true, and it will end up being the winner over falsehood.
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I had the good pleasure of knowing Dr. Robert B. Kamm, former President of Oklahoma State University. He was the president of the school when I first attended OSU after graduating from High School. Many years later I actually met him through my wife’s working relationship with Dr. Kamm’s wife, Maxine.
We had many good discussions, and he enthusiastically agreed to write the foreword for my first book—my work of annotating and updating the language of John Bunyan’s famous allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress (published by Bridge Logos in 1998 as The Pilgrim’s Progress in Modern English).
After that, Dr. Kamm finished his own book, and I had the privilege of being one of the editorial reviewers for his manuscript. His book was published in 2001 as The Best of Mind and Spirit—Coping with America’s Moral and Spiritual Decline: An Educator’s Vision for Our Beloved Nation in the Years Ahead.
In his book he wrote with great experience and wisdom as he decried opposition to Christian thought and influence in America. He wrote of the importance of Christianity and the biblical principles that were essential in the actual establishment of America and its educational systems.
But in the book he did not campaign for ridding education of all vestiges of religious thought that opposes Christianity. An important premise in his writing is one that he discussed with me personally as he was completing the book.
He held that if school systems and educators would simply stop singling out Christian thought to oppose and undermine, and allow the Bible and classic, historical Christian literature to be returned to public education for academic study—that is, allow it to simply stand toe to toe with the academic study of other beliefs—Christianity would eventually win the discussion.
It’s safe to say that Dr. Kamm never used a hashtag, but if he were alive today and decided to use one, he might just use #truthwins. I think he would agree the hashtag I chose to use is a good one.
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When it comes to supporting truth, it is biblical truth that I promote. And that is the truth I point to with the hashtag. With it I declare that the very foundation of truth is built from what can be learned from the Holy Bible.
And with #truthwins, I openly exalt the name of Jesus, who proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me (John 14:6 NLT).
Many people reject the certainty of Jesus’ proclamation. People ignore it and continue to promote other supposed paths to God in their search for a philosophy or belief system that satisfies them. And by doing that, they are in effect asserting Jesus was a liar.
Multitudes prefer to make up their own versions of truth and reject the one Truth that would lead them to true inner peace and a restored relationship with the Creator. And that’s a real shame.
Years after Jesus spoke those words, the Apostle Paul stood in Athens, Greece—an open marketplace of ideas—to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Athenians were known for covering their bases. They accommodated a multitude of differing beliefs about God—or more correctly, gods. And in their search for truth they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any philosophy or religious viewpoint.
What if they offended the god they had yet to identify? So in addition to all the shrines that existed in Athens to their plethora of named gods, they built an altar that contained the inscription, “To an Unknown God.”
So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. (Acts 17:22-23 NLT)
Paul proceeded to tell them about the identity of the one true God, whom they didn’t know. He told the Athenians what God did for them. He delivered to them the truth about Jesus and His resurrection.
The Athenians then had to choose whom to believe. The Bible tells us some of them believed Paul and were converted, but others rejected the truth he shared with them.
Truth is still being debated and either accepted or rejected today. And while for now the truth we share doesn’t always win the hearts of others, the time indeed is coming when #truthwins.
And here is my final take on that: The truths people champion are often in conflict. But after the final conflict takes place between them, I’m convinced there will be only one Truth left standing. And I know who He is.
L. Edward Hazelbaker Share This Article: