What is Truth: a Modern Day Tower of Babel Story
At the present hour, humanity is reaping the harmful consequences of relativism and subjective truth. In tandem, we are doing tremendous damage to our culture in ways one could not have imagined, only a few decades ago. But how did we get to this present hour? I have a possible explanation. It begins with a story from the Book of Genesis.
In the beginning, all of the inhabitants of the earth spoke the “same language and the same words” (Gn 11: 1). Then the people of the earth migrated from the east to a valley in the land of Shinar. They said “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with a top in the sky and so make a name for ourselves” (Gn 11: 4). In a way, this level of pride rivaled that of our first parents, who believed Satan’s lie “you can become like gods” (Gn 3: 5).
God was deeply disturbed at the level of their pride and so acted to put a swift end to their plans. He said, “Come let us go down and there confuse their language, so that no one will understand the speech of another. So the Lord scattered them from there, all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the speech of all the world” (Gn 11: 7-9).
Imagine Satan’s rage at God’s intervention! I’m sure he had worked tirelessly to instill this level of pride in the people of Babel. And with one divine action saw, in an instant, his work turn to rubble! But it may have also produced a begrudging tip of the hat to God, for a valuable lesson learned.
What if Satan could create a similar feat? Not in an instant, and not by changing the language of the people as God had done, but by confusing their language nonetheless? What if he could change the meaning of language by changing the underlying meaning of their words?
And let’s suppose Satan stored away this sinister plan, for a time when circumstances were ripe for its success! That supposition is the subject of this article.
The “Age of Reason” which commenced in the 17th century and was followed closely by the Enlightenment period of the 18th century, brought about a process of critical thinking which emphasized the importance of reason, logic, and scientific evidence. In this process, reason was divorced from belief on the premise that faith could not be proven, and thus, must be rejected. This caused many to deny the divinity of Christ and, by extension, his sanctifying death, and his glorious resurrection! It also resulted in some questioning the very existence of God.
This period of history is also referred to by historians, as “modernity” or the modern era; and the prevailing avant-garde philosophy of this age was called Modernism by its adherents. Pope Pius X condemned many of the basic tenets of Modernism as heretical. He wrote his famous encyclical letter, on this topic, entitled “Syllabus Condemning the Errors of the Modernists.”
In its opening two paragraphs Pius X wrote forcefully against these errors, saying:
“With truly lamentable results, our age, casting aside all restraint in its search for the ultimate causes of things, frequently pursues novelties so ardently that it rejects the legacy of the human race. Thus it falls into very serious errors, which are even more serious when they concern sacred authority, the interpretation of Sacred Scripture, and the principal mysteries of faith…In the name of higher knowledge and historical research (they say), they are looking for progress of dogmas which is, in reality, nothing but the corruption of dogmas.
These errors are being daily spread among the faithful. Lest they captivate the faithful’s minds and corrupt the purity of their faith, His Holiness, Pius X, by Divine Providence, has decided that the chief errors should be noted and condemned.”
Which Pius X proceeded to reveal and condemn in this important Church document. As an Encyclical Letter it carries with it, the pope’s highest teaching authority and by extension its infallibility.
