Truth, Trust & Risk
Truth, what is it, and can it be known? Those are questions Man has debated from time immemorial. The Bible in Genesis 3:1, the very first appearance of Satan, records the dark angel questioning truth, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And by this the Bible reveals that not only is truth questioned, but God’s truth.
To Christians, they are one and the same. One man in recorded history claimed to literally be the Truth. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life . . .” And we also have the world, or acknowledged proxy for the world of the day, immediately questioning Jesus’ truth claim. In John 18:37-38 we see this exchange: “Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Are You a king, then?’ Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’”
The purpose of this beginning is to introduce the ideas that truth exists and though its nature is universal, the recognition of it may be a matter of opinion. What one thinks about what is true can be seen as ones’ worldview. Worldview describes a given set of assumptions about our life and the world around us, the framework commonly called a paradigm.
Two points to be made. First, as has been debated for millennia, either Christianity is True or it is not. Truth is generally accepted to be the opposite of falsehood. Either Christianity is true and alternate views are false, or Christianity is false and alternate views are true. And second, as Thomas Kuhn famously observed, in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, points of view, or paradigms, shift.
Now it is interesting to this author that Christians propose that one can chose to believe, in fact, must each and individually chose to believe, the Faith. The description of the transformation from unbeliever to belief is as being born again. In John 3:3 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And according to Os Guinness in Fool’s Talk, Kuhn likened a paradigm shift to the “language and experience of Christian conversion, a complete change of heart and mind.”
Returning to the True/False dichotomy, in reference to believers or those of unbelief, respectfully, one group of many millions of people is living with a false worldview. What are the ramifications of this situation? In particular, what are the considerations for Family Leaders? In Fool’s Talk, Os Guinness writes, “Business, for example, requires trust, which in turn requires truth, which is only the beginning of the reason why lies, deception and corruption are so damaging to the business world. The same is true for the entire enterprise of science, whether were are talking of trust in an ordered universe or trust in the assured results of scientific experiment through peer review. And quite obviously, it is truth that is foundational to journalism, and without it the whole world of newspapers and television slumps into a glorified gossip machine and rumor mill.” Though published in 2015, the wisdom of Guinness could not be more relevant today.
Truth means Trust. Trust is the essential ingredient in every human interaction, whether personal, familial, romantic, religious, commercial or political. What is the consequence of placing trust in something that is not true? The consequence of misplaced trust is Risk. It follows that Trust and Risk have an inverse relationship, the greater the Trust the less the Risk and the smaller the Trust the greater the Risk. As Os Guinness records, philosopher Ziyad Marar puts it this way, “If I am to give you credit, I need to find you credible, while avoiding the risk of seeming credulous in giving credence to your discreditable account. From religious credos to street cred, from professional credentials to political credibility we trade in a currency that differs from all other animals.” Guinness concludes, “We are in fact homo credens, the animal the believes, and believes – we may add – that trusting crucially requires truth if it is to be warranted, and not to be seen as either groundless or foolish.”
Trust the System
Belief that is either groundless of foolish . . . How many Family Leaders and their advisors habitually trust the system and fail to consider the numerous vital verticals necessary to the success of our way of life that have violated our collective trust and critically amplified risk? Let’s look at just three examples from each of the commercial and cultural realms:
Currency – According to U.S. Government statistics, since 1913 the U.S. dollar has lost 98% of its purchasing power. To buy something costing $100 in 1913 would require $2,634 today. A fiat currency like the dollar is backed solely by the ‘full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.’ This depreciation in dollar value came during ‘the American Century’ a time of relative national economic and financial strength, relative trust in the faith and credit of the United States. An argument can be made that ‘faith’ in the U.S. Government among global holders of the dollar has declined precipitously, though it would be subjective. Is it fair to ask the future value of the U.S. dollar? Since those responsible for its health have already lost 98% of its purchasing power during a period of national strength and faith in our system, what happens during future periods of comparative weakness?
Debt – While global faith in America may be subjective, our national ‘credit’ can be seen as an objective measure of the ratio of national income to debt: in 1929 national debt was $17 billion, a ratio of 16% of national income; in 2020, national debt is nominally approaching $27,000 billion, a ratio of 136% of national income. These figures do not account for unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare, and the very real prospect of the bail out of insolvent States, pension funds, student loans and other ‘obligations of the Federal Government’ which push the national debt past $225,000 billion and ten times income.
Custodian, Agent & Fiduciary – Components of wealth can be held as direct ownership of operating companies and real assets but most families of means also allocate significant percentages to fund investments, securities and cash. Two problems. First, these are intangible assets in digital form subject to all of the data security risks of computer information. It seems no network is secure, as the White House, U.S. Treasury, Department of Defense and every corporation worth the trouble has been hacked. Those fortunate enough to evade external threats must then navigate the legion of criminals within their ‘trusted’ network. Whether banker, broker, fund manager or trader, every segment of the financial services sector has been shown to be untrustworthy. Commercial banks have paid more than $320 billion in fines since 2008; brokerage houses pay billions more in fines highlighted by Goldman Sachs recent $5 billion penalty for corrupt practices; former NADSAQ Chairman and fund manager Bernard Madoff famously orchestrated a $65 billion fraud and the trading exchanges for LIBOR, FOREX, COMEX, gold, silver and nearly every other asset class have been convicted of price fixing, front running and corruption.
Beyond the commercial world, what can we trust in our Culture?
Government – Can we trust our government to serve our interests? According to Pew Research, trust in our government is in precipitous decline. The 77% of the American public that placed their trust in our Federal government in 1964 rests at the historic low of only 17% today. The reasons vary across the political spectrum with many on the left feeling the government fails to deliver economic security, while those on the right think the government fails to be a ‘force for good’ for citizens. Seen from both sides, Government is doing too little, perhaps foreshadowing our future.
Media – Can we trust our media to truthfully inform us? According to Gallup, 60% of Americans distrust the media, an all time high, with only 9% trusting ‘a great deal of the time.’ After recent campaigns focused on the non-existent “Russia Collusion” story, unfounded Impeachment imbroglio and stunningly inaccurate election polling and reporting, many feel the media is biased and serving masters other than the American people.
Spouse – Can we even trust our spouse? If it can be believed, research by Andrew Greeley published in 1964 concluded that ’70% of all Americans engage in some kind of affair sometime during their married life.’ A more recent 2018 report by the Institute of Family Studies documents that 31% of men and 18% of women admit to marital infidelity, the ratios raising to near 40% for unmarried couples.
Does anyone else get the feeling that we need to be able to trust critical aspects of life a whole lot more? How can we ever justify increased trust? If trust depends upon truth, can we more successfully and consistently discern truth?
“What is Truth?’ Some believe there is a true worldview and way of life. Recall the True/False dichotomy that the conscious adherence to the False is the conscious rejection of the True. We call it ‘denying the undeniable.’ Truth engenders trust, and trust mitigates risk. Isn’t that what everyone wants?
Scotus
Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1964
Os Guinness, Fools Talk, 2015
Ziyad Marar, Deception, 2008
Pew Research, Public Trust in Government, 2019
Gallup, Americans Remain Distrustful of Mass Media, 2020
Andrew Greeley, Marital Infidelity, Society, 1994
Wendy Wang, Demographics of Infidelity, Institute of Family Studies, 2018
photo credit: Chamberlain & Hitler Handshake, Munich, 1938