TEST

Acts 17:11—Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Have our brains turned to tofu? The fastest growing jungle in our world is not the triple-canopied tropical variety but rather the explosion of information that sprouts through every conceivable device. Consider the vast amount of data delivered via the internet, television, radio, and printed material and it is astounding that we are not mentally buried. How do we determine the difference between pyrite and gold?
Just because something is printed or broadcast does not make it true. A million voices screaming may all be off pitch. Consider:
· The public school system teaches children that life and all we see originated from the big bang. We are the result of millions of years of evolution. Yet science has never been able to prove this. Is it possible that a deeper agenda exists—one which suppresses creationism at all costs to protect a worldview that is godless?
· Lobbyists distribute pamphlets claiming 10% of the population is homosexual in orientation and that anyone opposed to gays gaining certain rights is homophobic. Are such facts true? What makes opposition synonymous with hate?
· Polls proclaim statistical evidence that leaders use to then make decisions. Yet, who chooses the size and location of the sample group queried? How do we know the deck is not stacked?
· Many Christians defend the Bible as infallible, originating from God? Is that so? How do we know if the Bible is true and divine in origin?
· How do you know if this writer’s words are credible, clever plagiarism, or rubbish?
Is truth confirmed because of one’s occupation, educational achievement, social status, gifting, might or delivery mechanism? Is sincerity of conviction a guarantee of accuracy? The danger in being inundated by competing or compelling news is that we become lazy in our thinking. The natural philosophy that arises when we relinquish testing to find truth in what we are told, is relativism. Ironically, from the belly of relativism bubbles up acidic thought police who determine for us what is politically correct to say and believe.
Never give up testing to determine truth. Never let others deny you this right or force you to embrace their doctrine. "Test everything. Hold on to the good" (1Thessalonians 5:21). So the watermelon is huge does that make it sweet?
Inspiration
Test the doctrine by its fruit, and test the teacher by his fruit.—Oswald Chambers in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount