4/6/2010 8:41:16 AM

My problem with “The Truth Project” is that it does precisely what I warn against. It mixes legitimate doctrines of the church with a lot of positions that are based on partisan politics, faulty science, deceptive logic, or just plain sloppy research, and elevates them to the status of doctrine by placing them side-by-side under the banner of “Truth”. 

I wish I had time or space to list the many specific examples I could cite. But here’s a general test one could use to separate what is unchangeable doctrine and what is mere opinion: take the positions proclaimed by “The Truth Project” and imagine carrying them back and forth through time to see how well they stand up. Some of the arguments on irreducible complexity wouldn’t have even existed before the advent of the intelligent design movement in the mid 1990s, and were already convincingly disproven before the series was filmed. Political and economic positions on issues such as “redistribution of wealth” align well with the Republican politics of present-day middle and upper-class evangelicals, but would have been offensive to many evangelicals of the early 20th century, especially those from the lower class who flocked to socialism as the political movement best agreeing with the practices of the early church (Acts 4). Other positions on the fundamental nature of God and man would hold true in any generation. Yet in “The Truth Project”, all these positions are presented as if they had equal status as unquestionable and unchanging doctrines to which all true believers must conform.

In my opinion, the widespread acceptance of “The Truth Project” by many evangelicals is because it does just what I suggested in my article: it serves as “like-minded teaching” that confirms “already arrived-upon conclusions”. The problem is that by drawing a line in the sand and admitting no ambiguity, it shuts down dialogue. It’s a great way to perpetuate a comprehensive belief system, and a horrible way to correct one that may be faulty.

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