Truth be told, I’m terrible at reading Christian books. I read and listen to all sorts of things. But I have always struggled to get into Christian books.
I was particularly sceptical when I first researched Lionel Windsor’s Truth Be Told. Exploring truth in a post-truth world requires robust engagement with theology and culture, and seemed to me in great danger of being simplistic. A Christian book about “post-truth” could fall into merely critiquing our culture, without actually helping Christians learn to engage with it.
Truth be told? I was wrong.
Dog Whistles to Culture Warriors
Windsor is acutely aware his readers will disagree with him on various points (8). In our postmodern and post-truth world, words can act as dog whistles[1] and trigger people to action in unhelpful ways. Words such as “misinformation” and “cancel culture” seem to act as identity markers—revealing a person’s view on social issues like gender identity, climate change, medical science, and politics. I find myself wary (and weary) of these words as they can fail to convey complexity, compassion and grace whilst affirming the eternal truth of our holy and loving God. Windsor writes as one conscious of cultural minefields and carefully engages with the issues of our secular world.
Truth Be Told
Lionel Windsor
Truth Be Told
Lionel Windsor
It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is an almost universal ambivalence towards truth these days. Many even reject the idea that universal truths have any valid place at all in our ‘post-truth’ society.
In Truth be Told, Lionel Windsor goes back to the Bible to show how the gospel provides a foundation for both understanding truth and interacting truthfully with our culture. Provocative and timely, this book offers Christians practical help in the task of sharing the truth of the gospel with confidence and conviction.
A Biblical Treatment of Challenging Cultural Issues
Part 1 approaches many important issues with an accessible systematic theology, tackling fake news, digital technology, institutional corruption, relativism, and the cultural shift from post-modernism to post-truth. It concludes by pastorally addressing our propensity to falsehood, reminding us that we are not above it just because we are Christians.
It’s not just the besetting challenge of the postmodern zeitgeist. It’s all of those things but more. The problem is here, on the ground. It’s you and me. Truth is in trouble in our hearts. (66)
Instead of grinding out a token theology chapter to anchor his topical explorations, Windsor dedicates Part 2 of his book to a comprehensive exploration of what Scripture says about truth. This fresh way of tackling the “Bible bit” manages to slice the issue from different angles. He moves through the Old Testament, the Gospel of John, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, and 2 Corinthians, each chapter exploring themes with direct application for Christians living in a broken, complicated, post-truth world.
I think Truth Be Told is worth buying for the 2 Corinthians chapter alone, appropriately titled “Truth amidst pain and tears”. We’re living in a deeply distressing time, in which barely a week passes without another sexual, spiritual or emotional abuse case appearing in our social media feeds. It’s even more appalling that many of these cases happen in Christian institutions. This chapter uses Paul’s experience with the performative super-apostles as a helpful example of what “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) looks like in a difficult situation. For Christians grieving the pain of an abusive pastor, and for institutions repairing the damage wrought by a prominent leader, this chapter will feel all too relevant.
Windsor reminds us that, like the leaders that we see exposed for sexual abuse, bullying and embezzlement, the so-called “super apostles” were “power-hungry spiritual abusers” (126). Paul pleads passionately for the Corinthians to see past the persuasive and glamorous sophistry of the “super apostles” and pursue the truth of the gospel. He’s speaking directly to a group of people dazzled by deception. While we will never know how the church responded to Paul’s heartfelt letter, we can heed his warning in our hearts, lives and churches.
Overall, Windsor’s exploration of culture and truth is accessible for those with less of a humanities background, whilst being satisfying enough for those for whom this is comfortable territory. After laying the conceptual foundations of the truth issues he’s dealing with in Part 1 and a detailed, applied treatment of the theology in Part 2, he turns to our responsibilities as followers of Jesus in Part 3.
Refocussing On Our Integrity as an Act of Truth-Telling
While I have read a lot of treatises from Christians attacking secular thinkers for their immorality or deception, Windsor knows it’s more fruitful for us to work on cultivating a better relationship with God and following his desires for how we should live. That’s the focus of his final section.
Truth Be Told is excellent for those grappling with anxiety about our culture’s loss of objectivity, refocusing our energy towards the real goal of living with integrity as people of truth. This is a welcome move away from handwringing about our generation’s “feelings over facts” tendencies and gives us something we can work on: our trust in God and growth in holiness. In an age of relativity, people will treasure their “truths”, just as we should treasure our own. As Windsor says in his final chapter:
One of the most important things we’ve seen is this, truth is personal … Even more importantly, truth is about a person, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (197)
If you’re frustrated with a culture that seems to have abandoned truth, this book will remind you of the beauty of the truth of the Bible. If we want our culture to change we need to be champions of truth, relying on God’s Spirit to bring us into all truth (Jn 16:13) while we long for the Truth to return (Jn 14:1–6). While we wait, we need to evolve beyond finger-pointing and ask God to help us embody the truths we treasure.
[1] A dog whistle is a term used to describe words that are coded to “activate” people to political responses such as rage against race, gender or other controversial ideas.
