We live in an age of “fake news,” “false narratives,” and “post-truth.” These catchphrases became vogue in the last decade. However, fake news began many decades and in fact many millennia ago—on the day described in Genesis 3.
The false narrative of the enemy to Eve was that, “‘You will surely not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Gen. 3:4-5). The enemy’s deceptive narrative, that Adam and Eve believed and acted upon, led to the ‘Fall of Man’ as God punished humanity for sin. As it is well-documented in the Bible, men and women continue to struggle to know, believe, and act upon truth; with dire consequences.
Another poignant biblical example that demonstrates the danger of believing in fake news was documented in Numbers 13. In this passage, men returned from a forty day expedition to spy God’s promised land of Canaan.
At first the men collectively reported, “‘We came into the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is the fruit. However, the people in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large’” (v 27-28).
After their initial collective report, two divergent subsequent reports emerged: Caleb’s and the other spies. Caleb encouraged the whole congregation listening to “go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (v. 30). The other spies discouraged the people to go by producing a “bad report” stating, “‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are,’” in which the ‘“land . . devours its inhabitants”’ where “‘we seemed to our ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them’” (v. 31-33).
God blessed Caleb who reported the accurate and faith-filled report and the Lord blessed Caleb and Joshua to enter the promised land.
However, the Lord punished all who believed in the fake news of “bad report.” To the spies who produced an exaggerated report doubted God’s faithfulness, the Lord sent a deadly plague that killed them (Num. 15:37). And the Lord also held his people to an account of what they believed. Upon hearing and believing the “bad report”, the “whole congregation,” quaked in doubt and fear and declared, ‘“Would that we died in the land of Egypt! . . .Would it not be better for us to go back [there]?” (Num. 14:2-3). Because the Israelites chose to doubt God versus placing their faith in him, the Lord forbade them to enter the promised land and they lived the rest of their days in the wilderness.
As seen in these scriptures, believing in “bad reports” is deadly. Choosing to not believe in God’s faithfulness, and thus believing in false narratives, has dire consequences. Yet believing and acting on the truth, found in the perfect ‘report’ of the Bible, brings life.
As Christians struggle to combat the onslaught of fake news—from the enemy, the deception in our own hearts, and the media’s false reports—accurate reports that showcase God’s truth and goodness are helpful.
That is why I am writing this blog. My aim is to tell accounts of history and His story in a Caleb-like spirit. Caleb produced an accurate report that compelled its hearers to faith, which is precisely my aim through this blog.
My ‘reports’ or blogs on this site will generally be historical accounts of an event, person or church along with a Gospel application. By nature of my education, background and context, many entries will be around American history— but not exclusively so. To ensure accuracy in my historical accounts, I will employ the methods of an historian: researching a wide array of credible evidence, examining and analyzing that evidence, and making assertions only on the evidence. Also, a knowledgeable and wise editor will read and provide feedback on posts.
Caleb’s report compelled it’s hearers to faith, which is my goal as well. History provides countless examples of God’s faithfulness to his people and to his Church. By bringing those accounts to bear through this blog I hope to further compel you, the reader, to greater levels of faith in walking out your story.
Today there are formidable challenges that seem like giants in the land—the breakdown of the family, racism, the pandemic, hate, abortion, hostility towards Christians, changing sexual ethics in culture, and the suffering of many—yet we are not like grasshoppers to these challenges that seem to devour us. His story, as seen in Scripture and church history, tells of the Lord’s ability to save and strengthen his people and to set them on mission to powerfully advance his kingdom. May the blog entries on this site strengthen your faith to trust his story, as seen in history, for the days ahead.