What Have We Actually Seen For Ourselves?

In our world of highly sophisticated telecommunications, we do not always need to see something firsthand to know or believe that it has happened. We have seen the stark reality of this many times over the last few months, with mine disasters in Chile and New Zealand, floods and cyclones in Australia, and earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, just to think of a few.

We readily understand that we do not have to be in Dalby or St George to believe that tremendous floods inundated those communities a few weeks ago.  We accept that we do not have to stand on the foreshore at Cardwell or Tully Heads to believe that Cyclone Yasi destroyed homes in North Queensland, or be in Christchurch, New Zealand, to believe that buildings there have fallen down and taken lives following the earthquake that struck that city on 22 February.  Nor do we need to be in Sendai, Japan, this week to know with absolute certainty the devastation that has resulted there over the last few days as a Richter-scale-9 earthquake under the Pacific Ocean sent tonnes of water westwards in the form of a massive tsunami, destroying virtually everything in its path.

In a world in which news travels with remarkable speed around the globe, we are often confronted by disasters within minutes of them happening.  These things are starkly real, as the evidence confronts us hour after hour in television and radio programmes, and through the incredible power of the World Wide Web of the internet.  Whilst various things are presented differently from time to time, the essential story is there for all to see:  indisputable, corroborated by countless eye witnesses and photographed and recorded in such a way as to remove all doubts about the authenticity of the stories being broadcast to the world.

But it is not only truth that is transmitted this way.

Gossip, scandal, rumours, innuendo, and false allegations also travel with lightning speed through the same means of television, radio, internet and telephones… and lives are changed, even destroyed, by the awesome force and momentum of information (or mis-information) that rolls out like a tsunami at times.

As Christians, we are constantly fighting against such things as Satan takes every opportunity to confuse us, to deceive us, to manipulate us into doing things his way instead of God’s way, and ultimately, to hurt us or to destroy us completely.  1 Peter 5:8.

So how do we protect ourselves from his “wiles” – or, literally, his “methods of trickery” – especially when someone is falsely accusing someone else of doing something wrong?  As Christians, we ought to be aware of how easily Satan can influence our thinking and our behaviour.

There are three powerful Biblical principles that we should apply to our daily lives…

Firstly, we need to uphold the Universal Law of Witness, without wavering – that is, we should never accept one person’s word alone against another’s.  Found in the earliest chapters of God’s Word, this fundamental rule of law is still accepted as being at the very core of our British-based Australian legal system.  The Good News Bible reads,

“One witness is not enough to convict someone of a crime; at least two witnesses are necessary to prove that someone is guilty” (Deuteronomy 19:15).

In other words, it is not possible to convict someone on the basis of only one person’s “evidence”.  Deuteronomy 19 continues:

16  If any of you try to harm another by false accusations,  17  both of you are to go to the one place of worship and be judged by the priests and judges who are then in office.  18  The judges will investigate the case thoroughly; and if you have made a false accusation,  19  you are to receive the punishment the accused would have received.  In this way your nation will get rid of this evil.  20  Then everyone else will hear what happened; they will be afraid, and no one will ever again do such an evil thing.  21  In such cases show no mercy; the punishment is to be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.”

This ancient Law of God is reiterated in the New Testament in Matthew 18:15-17.  It is not moral or right to judge or to punish someone on the basis of just one person’s claim against that person, nor is it right to “convict” someone just on mere hearsay.

Secondly, we need to test the evidence and establish the truth in all situations, especially when there is a difference of opinion or someone is accusing another.

Under the Old Law, it was a terrible offence to bring false charges against someone.  In Deuteronomy 19, the King James Version calls it “rising up against a man” (verse 15), “to testify against him that which is wrong” (verse 16).  The judges were to “make diligent inquisition” (verse 18) to determine whether the claims being made were true or false.

The New Testament urges us to “test everything; hold fast what is good” and to “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, ESV).  According to Matthew 15:19, two of the evil things to come out of our hearts are false witness and slander.

Therefore, instead of being drawn in by Satan’s “wiles” or “ruses”, when someone is accusing another, we need to think for ourselves and base our judgment on indisputable evidence, rather than on gossip, slander, false testimony and the like.  We need to be like the judges of the Old Covenant.  We need to inquire diligently as to the truth of the accusations being made.  Rather than believing hearsay, emotions, perceptions and guesses, we need to look for what really has happened – and to look at the empirical evidence available.

Wikipedia defines empirical evidence as “the record of one’s direct observations or experiences”.  As Christians, we are to ask ourselves, What have I seen myself?  What have I heard myself?  What do I know firsthand to be absolutely true?

Sociologyindex.com defines empirical evidence as “evidence that can be observed through the senses, it can be seen, touched, heard, smelled, tasted and, to some extent, measured.”

In other words, if we did not “see it, or touch it, or hear it, or smell it, or taste it, and have [not] measured it” ourselves in person, and there are no independent and reliable witnesses to what is claimed to have happened, then we cannot judge someone based on the accusations of one person, no matter how much we trust that person or believe that they would only tell the truth, nor can we condemn someone on the basis of mere conjecture or speculation.

Remember, each one of us will give an account to the Great Judge Himself in the Last day – the Judge who does not need witnesses but can see all things clearly and without partiality.

Thirdly, we ought never to forget that Satan is “the accuser of our brethren”  – Revelation 12:10.

Only Satan wins when we believe lies about a brother or sister in Christ.  Only Satan wins when relationships are destroyed and churches are torn apart by false accusations and mischievous words.

As God’s Word teaches us, let all things be established in the presence of two or three witnesses (Matthew 18:16).  Indeed, 2 Corinthians 13:1 says every word is to be established “in the mouth of two or three witnesses”.  God wants us to be extremely diligent to assess the information being put in front of us.

• Can we really trust it?
• Is it really the truth, or just another person’s opinion?
• Is it based on facts or on faulty human emotions?
• Does it reflect the truth or is it inconsistent with the truth?
• Is it reality or just someone’s perception of reality?
• Is it the truth or just gossip?
• Who will “win” here?  Satan, the accuser of our brethren, or God, who is not willing that any should perish?
• Does this have the potential to tear someone down, when God wants us to build each other up?
• Am I hearing these things with an open mind, a biased mind, or perhaps even a closed mind?
• If I believe these things, will I be doing so because the evidence is there to support the accusations, or because I am showing partiality towards the accuser?

Under the Old Covenant it was a serious offence to bear false witness against another – and those who were caught were to be punished severely.  And it is no different today.  It is unfair and unjust, even cruel, to condemn someone on the basis of either hearsay or the subjective assessment of one person.  If we cannot establish what really happened “in the mouth of two or three witnesses”, then we are not to put faith in the allegations being made against another person.

We need to ask ourselves, Where is the evidence?  Who saw this happen?  What proof is there of the allegations being made?

Just as our religious faith is based on the Truth of God’s Word, not on the speculations of the human mind or on the idle chatter of those who do not even know the Truth, our daily lives, too, ought to be based on reality and not influenced by gossip or baseless accusations, or the sinful use of an unbridled tongue (1 Timothy 5:13).

As Christians, we need to be of a firm or sound mind about all things (2 Timothy 1:7), and not tossed to and fro, “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, [or] by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:14, ESV).  We are responsible for our own thinking and our own decisions.  We are not to be influenced to think evil about someone when there is no reason to do so and when there is no evidence for the claims being made against him or her.

The alternative is to fall subject or victim to a “herd mentality” – simply drifting along with the mob or the crowd and not thinking things through for ourselves.

Let us break the cycle of negativity.  As Paul taught the Philippians, “whatever things are good, let’s think about those things”, and not dwell on the negative things, the accusations, and the bitterness that flow from an evil heart.

© Bevan Collingwood 2011