WhatFinger


There is only one truth. Jesus said it clearly: “I am the Truth, the Way and the Life.” Thus, the proper phrase, especially for these times, is not “Speak truth to power” but “Truth IS power.”

Speak truth to power, Democrats, The Resistance



Speak truth to power?The phrase “Speak truth to power” has cropped up numerous times this year, mostly from Democrats working with inordinate vigor to unseat President Trump. Overused by individuals and organizations promoting political and humanitarian causes, it has been diluted to the point of being meaningless. Interestingly, the phrase originated from a pacifist Christian sect but has been readily employed by ideologues who condone violent resistance – and that’s the title they have adopted for themselves: The Resistance. From Senator Chuck Schumer to Representative Rashida Tlaib and Deep State operatives, this penetrating, memorable adage is being used and abused. Par for the course for democrats, they have it skewed as, frankly, now do Quakers who first brought the phrase into general usage.
How? Dissenters assume, right or wrongly, that the strength of the status quo relies on erroneous philosophy, misinformation or self-interest if not outright deceit. Having been raised in Friends Meetings and graduated from a Friends school, history of the Quaker application of “Speak truth to power” isn’t a foreign one. The concept is rooted in meeting the needs of the less fortunate that the first Quakers undertook as part of their faith. They were the first to reach out to prisoners locked in filthy, disease-ridden jails in 17th century England; prisons that housed (if you can call it that) any lawbreaker who might be a debtor owing a few pounds or a vicious murderer. They took Jesus’ teachings to heart to care for the widows, orphans and captives, knowing full well that any one of themselves could be incarcerated for their beliefs--and many were, including Founder George Fox and his wife, Margaret Fell. Quakers were different. They didn’t believe that a church-appointed official was necessary to mediate between the believer and God. That was Jesus’ role and they gathered to wait upon the Lord for inspiration and believed that the best witness was an active one, that of service. They also spoke their minds, God’s truth, to magistrates, military officers and aristocracy, what we would call “power,” which put them in danger of losing their own freedom. Those Friends paid close attention to the Bible. They knew Scripture and endeavored to live out Jesus’ Great Commission by being examples of His love, which they translated into a pacifist viewpoint. Things have changed over the past century. There’s been an addition to the “truth” necessary to offer Christian service improving the lives of destitute and oppressed people. Socialism has crept into Friends’ service philosophy where social justice might be seen to be overpowering the Word of God.

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How the phrase is now invoked by liberals has little to do with the lives of Fox and Fell who spoke Jesus’ Truth to the power of the time. They shunned the feudal concept ‘might equals right’ that socialism/communism, Islam and other ideologies currently exemplify. The problem is each religion and ideology has their own truth, and anything that poses a hurdle to their truth is the power that must be deposed. Yet it is representatives of these autocratic creeds who cite the phrase, “Speak truth to power,” indiscriminately confronting anyone who disagrees with their authoritarian vision of the future (which empowers themselves, by the way). Nor can peace ever result from imposing one religious or political system on all. It guarantees dissension. Peace comes about by exercising individual freedom, which means the freedom to choose poorly for oneself, not others. The biblically founded American republic supplies the best solution to individual liberty--before Democrats began ignoring and steadily shredding the Constitution, that is. Returning to the misuse of the phrase that Quakers employed to assist the poor and oppressed, let this be addressed… Where Jesus loved all, no matter their mistakes, He didn’t encourage errant lifestyles but corrected traditionalists and others who strayed from God’s Word. He demonstrated truth because He was, and is, Truth. The point? There is only one truth. Jesus said it clearly: “I am the Truth, the Way and the Life.” Thus, the proper phrase, especially for these times, is not “Speak truth to power” but “Truth IS power.”


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A. Dru Kristenev -- Bio and Archives

Former newspaper publisher, A. Dru Kristenev, grew up in the publishing industry working every angle of a paper, from ad composition and sales, to personnel management, copy writing, and overseeing all editorial content. During her tenure as a news professional, Kristenev traveled internationally as a representative of the paper and, on separate occasions, non-profit organizations. Since 2007, Kristenev has authored five fact-filled political suspense novels, the Baron Series, and two non-fiction books, all available on Amazon. Carrying an M.S. degree and having taught at premier northwest universities, she is the trustee of Scribes’ College of Journalism, which mission is to train a new generation of journalists in biblical standards of reporting. More information about the college and how to support it can be obtained by contacting Kristenev at cw.o@earthlink.net.


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