One of our local television stations will introduce their daily coverage of the coronavirus with the phrase “fact not fear”. I applaud the intent.
In a time, for many, when the word truth has become nothing more than personal thoughts or feelings, we need a reminder of what the word actually means.
The Biblical definition of truth is that which corresponds to facts. It is reality, reliability, dependability.
We are often warned to “listen to reliable sources.” What are those sources? How can we know?
In Deuteronomy 18:22, God gives a means of knowing. He warns the Israelites about the danger of false prophets. In this verse, if the message of the prophet does not come true, then you know he is not from God. If the prediction does not happen, then you know the prediction was not true.
Truth is reality, factual, it corresponds with fact.
We need to be careful of predictions and models. It seems so much of our news today comes from predictions and models projecting the future. We need to take those with a “grain of salt” until we see the factual reality. When we see the factual reality, then we can determine the reliability of the predictors and model makers.