Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler reminded Christians to seek the truth and not to fall for false information spread by Russia on the violence they inflict in Ukraine.
The Christian Headlines reported that Mohler made such statements in the March 11 episode of his podcast, "The Briefing." Mohler reacted to denials made by Russia in bombing a children's and maternity hospital in Ukraine last week.
Russia said they did not do such a thing nor did they intentionally attack civilians. Russia purported that the public should believe them instead of the video, images, and evidence that have been circulating on social media.
The podcast, which is divided into seven parts in response to letters sent by listeners, first delved into the reality of fake news. The first part is entitled, "Objective Reality is Real and Knowable: Even In an Age of Fake News, The Truth Will Always Come to the Light."
In the first part of the podcast, Mohler acknowledged the difficulty the public is faced in sifting through false information. He highlighted that the truth will surface eventually.
"One of the things that we continue to track as we think about the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the fact that the truth will eventually come out and will eventually be known to all," Mohler said.
"But here's something we really need to understand as Christians, facts are facts," the theologian stressed.
Mohler went on to condemn statements made by the media that there is a competition on the narratives coming from Russia and Ukraine. He said Christians should not focus on narratives but on what is factual.
"Life is not just a matter of battling narratives. And what is taking place right now in Ukraine is certainly not warfare made deadly by narrative. It's being made deadly by bullets and by bombs and by rockets," Mohler emphasized.
Mohler acknowledged the possibility that the availability and readiness of information people have these days opens the possibility that some individuals may use it to further propaganda in the form of fake news, which is but a distortion of the truth. Yet this availability of information enables factual information from the ground to be known, which in turn can be denied "for what it is."
In this regard, Mohler reminded Christians of their need to think in rational, fact-based, clear, and honest ways besides seeking the truth always. He pointed out that Christians need to seek the truth because they are made in the image of God, who knows all things even those that are hidden. He emphasized the need to understand that the truth exists.
Mohler cited, as an exercise of analyzing truth from reality, the situation that took place in Ukraine. He underscored that Ukraine was no threat to Russia and that the former did not provoke the latter to war. Ukraine also did not invade Russia. What happened was Russia invaded Ukraine after amassing troops near its border. Satellite images have confirmed the horrifying, aggressive invasion Russia is doing in Ukraine.
Mohler also referenced the renowned 20th-century apologist Francis Schaeffer, who "reminded Christians that we have to continually come back to space, time and history, events that take place in space and time and history." He explained that Christians should be aware that they live not in a Twilight Zone. He reiterated the need to seek the truth and to understand that the truth exists.
