Now hear this: it’s personal. And, to the degree that it’s personal, it’s not subject to scrutiny or substantiation by anyone else. “The truth” has given way to “My truth.” Facts that are universally and objectively certain are no longer the basis for thinking and believing. The traditional oath administered to a witness in a courtroom is no longer meaningful: “Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” How can a person with “my truth” commit to the truth?

Even more challenging than a modern courtroom is the difficulty of nailing-down new-gen young adults regarding their positions concerning God. Are you tracking with the contemporary faith neighborhood?

A new study by the Pew Research Center reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God. Does that mean that they’ve bought into The Truth?

Ryan Burge – a political scientist and Baptist pastor – has been studying the “nones” and their expansion.

“We have come to believe that lots of people are engaging in what we would describe as ‘aspirational spirituality.’ Put simply, folks want to be perceived as having a deep well of spirituality inside them. They do not want to be perceived as vapid and superficial. So they will say that they are deeply spiritual, but then do nothing to express that feeling. In our minds, it’s a similar phenomenon to the significant number of people who say that they are evangelical but don’t go to church.” 

Pew’s data shed light on the reasons why people become religiously unaffiliated.

“In a 2023 U.S. survey, only about a third of “nones” cited a lack of belief in God or a higher power as a very important reason for their disaffiliation. Nearly the same proportion (30%) pointed to negative experiences with religious people. Even more (47%) said they are nonreligious because they don’t like religious organizations.”

Whatever their reasons and ruminations, the framework for “their truth” is a radical departure from the embrace of orthodoxy based on divine revelation. 

So… who gets to write the sequel to God’s Truth, presuming that their updated version of what’s-what will hold up in the end-of-life courtroom over which the King of Kings will preside?

Paul delivered his warning about our era in his letter to his spiritual son, Timothy:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3).

Does it sound like he’s referencing our world, circa 2025?

Jude – likely a half-brother of Jesus and one of the early church fathers – wrote this caution:

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 3).

Here’s the crucial qualifier: “your truth” fades into irrelevance when positioned alongside “the truth” that is God’s eternal declaration. I’m only safe when I conclude – by willful determination – that His truth is my truth, now and forever, amen.

If asked by a friend, over coffee: “What is your truth?” How would you respond?

Bob Shank

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