In the political arena, there’s a lot of talk bantered about these days here in the United States regarding the so called mainstream media promoting “fake news.” Stories presented by information outlets, some say are not true, are referred to as “fake news.” Those then hearing the “fake news” are led to believe something is true when it is not. If a story is indeed “fake news,” then simply stated, a lie is being promoted.

On the other hand, in the spiritual arena, the New Testament of the Bible many times uses the word “gospel,” which means, “good news.” By definition, “good news” would be news or information that is true, not false. The Apostle Paul spoke and wrote about the “good news” concerning Jesus Christ. There were, however, those in his day who promoted “fake news,” information regarding spiritual matters that were simply not true.

When he wrote to the born again believers in Corinth, he reproved them about a number of issues, one of which concerned the resurrection of the dead. He pointedly asked them, “How say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” There were believers in Corinth disseminating false information concerning the resurrection.

He then continued in that epistle, showing them the truth, the “good news,” concerning the resurrection of the dead which includes Christ being raised from the dead, as well as the return of Christ when all believers will be made alive. The information some were spreading in Corinth was “fake news.”

When Paul wrote to Timothy, he named two individuals who were speaking “fake news.” Those two were telling people the resurrection had already happened. Paul said, concerning the truth, those two had erred. In other words, they were giving out false information, which Paul then stated was overthrowing the faith of some.

You can read a number of accounts of “fake news” in the Old Testament. On one occasion, God’s prophet Jeremiah wrote to God’s people warning them not to listen to those promoting lies who were saying they were speaking for God. He called them false prophets.

Jesus confronted the religious leaders of his time, who should have known better, who were promoting “fake news.” They were teaching traditions of man and calling them commandments of God.

It is very noteworthy, and very obvious, truth is truth whether anyone believes it or not. The earth is round, not flat, and it orbits the sun. There was a time when almost no one accepted that as true. Just because someone believes something is true does not make it true, and likewise, believing something is not true does not make it so. Truth is truth; it does change.

The very first “fake news” in the Bible happened in Genesis 3 during the discussion between Eve and the serpent. One can see so clearly how the true words God spoke were then twisted around to the point of an absolute contradiction. In the end, the complete opposite of what God said was presented as truth. It was “fake news.”

In the political arena regarding so called “fake news,” there is much talk about the sources surrounding the information disseminated. Credible sources? Reliable sources? Trustworthy sources? In other words, who is the information coming from and can those sources be trusted?

In the spiritual arena, for Christians, our absolute trustworthy source ought to be God’s words, written in the Bible, rightly understood, and that takes a diligent effort, at which Eve failed miserably. Jesus said, regarding God’s Word, “Thy word is truth,” and “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

As far as the political arena, God’s Word directs me to pray for those in positions of authority. That’s a lot easier than trying to figure out what is “fake news” or what is not. Instead, I’d rather spend my time rightly understanding more of the “good news,” so I can apply it in my life, and then share it with others.