Who Speaks "Truth?" Certainly Christ Does

Recently, in response to one of my articles, I was chastised for not acknowledging or accepting the "truth" of the survivors of victims of homicide with respect of the imposition of capital punishment by secular authorities upon violators. I am writing to clarify my comments and my position, as well as define a pathway for future dialogue.

Certainly, I am not an infallible individual. Not even the Pope is infallible unless he speaks "Ex Cathedra" with respect to faith and morals. I am almost always careful to qualify any of my statements or writings as to whether something is my opinion, or if it is rooted in rigorous academic research which has been peer-reviewed and validated by other academics.

Who speaks "Truth"? Certainly, the Christ does.“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Then, Pilate, utterly dazed and confused, retorts "What is Truth?" (John 18:38). Only Christ alone can utter Truth with clarity and certainty.

For those of us in academia, the best we can hope to achieve is rigorous inquiry, supported by historical research and empirical evidence. This means we have to examine history, conduct valid research, draw conclusions, and then have those results subjected to blind peer review to ensure the "purest" result possible. Is it perfect? No, but t doesn't mean we are not striving towards that goal.

So, I ask you to discern what you are saying and what academics are saying when comparing the two. A true academic will admit if they are speaking from their opinion or from rigorous research; when they claim to be speaking from the latter, you have every right to question the conclusion, but please compare "apples to apples", prepared to counter with validated research of your own.

God love you.