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Defenders of Truth
By Jeff Reed
Sixty years ago English author Eric Arthur Blair, known better by his writing pseudonym George Orwell, began writing his famous dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty Four. He wrote this novel as an allegory of the Joseph Stalin led Soviet Union and the totalitarianism that it represented. It was set 35 years in the future in an England, which had become part of the totalitarian state of Oceania. “Big Brother” leads this state and the citizens are closely monitored by two-way television surveillance. They are reminded of this with captions reading “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.” The Thought Police use this two-way technology to identify anyone who may pose a threat to the State and subsequently eliminate them.
The novel portrays various ways in which the State brainwashes the population. History is rewritten to reflect the Party line and remove any signs of opposition. The official slogan of the Party is “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.” This juxtaposition of opposites is reminiscent of Isaiah 5:20 which states: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” The last brainwashing technique is the introduction of “Newspeak.” It is a reconstruction of English to remove certain words that could lead to freedom of thought.
Somewhat prophetically those who are proponents of “politically correct” speech are using many of these brainwashing techniques found in his novel. Those who oppose these attempts of manipulation of language and thought actually use the term “politically correct” as a pejorative. The individuals who support “political correctness” usually do not like this term to describe their intents.
One Orwellian technique that is used by the “politically correct” is to substitute a sinister phrase, group label, or idea with a euphemism. For example the term “civilian casualties” from a war was changed to “collateral damage.” “Collateral damage” was still too harsh a term, so now it is referred to as “collateral effect.” Proponents of murdering unborn children refer to themselves as “pro-choice” instead of the more accurate term “pro-abortion.” People who live an immoral life practicing homosexuality have sanitized it by referring to it as an “alternative lifestyle.” This manipulation of language unfortunately has the effect of desensitizing the public to the true evil that is being obscured.
Another technique is to “call evil good and good evil.” A few years ago I was delivering a sermon about the decay of morality that is present in society. In the course of my lecture I mentioned the sinfulness of homosexuality. Unknown to me and the congregation, the minister and the sexton from the Unitarian Church that we leased the building from were in the adjacent hallway. They overheard my comments and were highly offended. They inaccurately labeled what I said as “hate speech.” To point out a sin that God refers to as an “abomination” and admonish the perpetrators to repent is actually an act of love. By believing and teaching God’s Word, Christians are being labeled as being “hateful” or “intolerant.”
The protagonist of Nineteen Eighty Four, Winston Smith, worked in the Ministry Of Truth. His profession was to revise historical records to match the Party line. The “politically correct” do a similar job today. Accurate history about Jesus can no longer be found in public school textbooks. If He is mentioned, it has been revised to call Him a myth or legend. Opposing viewpoints to the party line are not allowed. Science textbooks are replete with the inaccurate theory of evolution. Intelligent Design, although it is has been proven and tested to be an accurate interpretation of the natural world, is not allowed to be taught. This has the effect of distorting students’ views of reality.
Professor Deryne Strange of the University of Otago in New Zealand conducted an interesting experiment. She asked a group of ten-year olds to talk about memories they had when they were six. They were presented with a group of photos related to events in their past and asked to describe the details of these events. They were also presented with a photo of the child and a relative digitally superimposed into a hot air balloon. Although this event never happened, this doctored photograph influenced 47 percent of the children to create false memories about the balloon ride. They were able to describe the event with surprisingly accurate detail. The children were as confident in these false memories as the real ones. This demonstrates how dangerous “politically correct” revisionism can be on shaping children’s world views.
As Christians we cannot allow ourselves to be “politically correct.” To obscure or inaccurately portray facts is to violate God’s commandment against lying. Jesus referred to Satan as “a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan is the mastermind behind all of this fact twisting. Unfortunately it appears he has become very successful with this.
As defenders of truth we need to do as Paul instructed the Corinthians: “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Cor. 4:1-2).
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