Propaganda Wars – Rhetoric

by Terry Wane Benton

Interestingly, the rhetoric used in truth vs. propaganda often turns to prejudicial phrases. Elijah was called a "troubler" in Israel by the wicked king. Who really was the troubler? Was it not those who grew to accept immorality and idolatry? But Ahab used the word "troubler" to close minds against God's messenger. I have noticed through the years that members of the church get drawn into such useless rhetoric. When false teaching is being spread, or a brother is living in sin, if such is addressed, the "troubler" is whoever speaks up to oppose sin or false teaching. It becomes a convenient propaganda war to make the good guy look bad and to protect the bad guy and his "friends." The good guy gets marked as "divisive" or other convenient terms. Often, we find that "truth" is not what people WANT to hear or stand for. Truth is often inconvenient.

In our society, it is easy to swallow the rhetoric. "Racist, white supremacist, Xenophobe, homophobe, hate, insurrectionist, divisive, etc." are terms that can be used against innocent people for prejudicial purposes. It is all part of the propaganda wars to actually label innocent people and isolate them, treating them as the "troublers in Israel." But who is actually being the thing of accusation? That takes more thought and investigation. It often comes down to a sense of fairness, not being quick to judge, and taking time to analyze what you can gather in evidence and relevant information.

Jesus knew no sin, but propaganda succeeded in crucifying an innocent man. They claimed he was an insurrectionist and that he would replace Caesar, and if you respected Caesar, you would not let this insurrectionist live. The truth was that Jesus was no insurrectionist and was not here to destroy the Roman government (John 18:35-38). But propaganda seemed to prevail. The truth takes investigation. Propaganda is often emotion-driven, and people more easily get swept into emotion more quickly than they are given to rational search for evidence.

Truth is not always self-evident, but it wins in the end; if not now, it will when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ (II Corinthians 5:10).

Be careful not to be swept up into the propaganda wars. Seek the truth. The truth will win and make you a winner.