Time for Truth: Living Free in a World of Lies, Hype and Sin

by Os Guinness

Book Overview

In postmodern society, truth no longer exists in any objective or absolute sense. At best, truth is considered relative. At worst, it's a matter of human convention. But, as Os Guinness points out in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801011957
• ISBN13: 9780801011955
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Baker Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

No Argument is Unarguable

Take hope you who are seeking truth (as in Absolute)Just finished reading the book - I would recommend this to any liberal, critic, humanist, relativist seeking serious answers to 'life' in general. Get this book and give it to your university son/daughter or even professor.This author is so well read - quotes from many sources, poets, statesmn, politcians, religious, scientific - it is such an illuminating read just on the background material he uses. I just wish there were footnotes!!!!A 120 pager - 2 days to finsih it - I like the fact he takes the post modern view to its logical end (good story from GK Chesterson's life), which is negative; and then provides 'signals of transcendence = the postive side. I gave the book to a humanist friend - Scripture is quoted sparingly, making the book inviting to those of non-Christian/Jewish persuasion.MUST read

Truth is True: Even if No One Believes it.

The title of this review is a direct quote from this book (p. 80 hardcover edition). Os Guinness exposes falsehood in society at large and in the United States in particular. Guinness throughout this book takes on the stance of "relativism" in the modern world, and then shows from history the result of that belief system and its consequences. He quotes Nietzche who said, "It is our preference that decides against Christianity, not arguments (p. 114)." Guinness lays out that those who believe in no absolutes, like Nietzche, have false beliefs that will betray them in the end. Guinness draws out an argumentation that says truth, which is reality, will always have the final say. Guinness pulls no punches when he attacks governmental leaders as well. He quotes Tacitus, who was a Roman poet who said, "The more corrupt the state, the more laws (p. 86)." Then Guinness takes the argument for truth and living by the truth, straight back to God who requires true living. Guinness shows how false beliefs affects not just the individual who has those beliefs, but how when this belief system becomes the common way of thinking, it affects the society as a whole. Guinness does give the answer for a return to a truthful society and the great consequences on one's life and the society's as well. I have read some of Guinness' other works which I highly recommend. But if I had to pick one of this author's books to recommend to anyone, it is this book by far. And, that's the truth.(Review is from hardcover edition).

The Truth is Out There, and (should also be) In Here!

The author, born in China and educated in England, has earned his reputation as a thoughtful and intelligent Christian thinker and writer. He offers many valuable insights into the postmodern assault on truth, calling it the mirror image of modernism, born of its deficiencies. The Truth eventually prevails, as illustrated by the historic implosion of the former USSR. Heroes in that struggle relied on this fact in countering overwhelming physical force with the sheer moral force of Truth.The Judeo-Christian view of Truth captures the best of both modernism (strong respect for Truth) and postmodernism (recognition of human tendency to error/bias), while avoiding their pitfalls (making reason autonomous and denying Truth, respectively).Although the discipline of living in truth is demanding, it is urgent in our society. "The lies of Western society - particularly as they are compounded by the `culture cartel' of postmodern academia, advertising, entertainment, and youth culture - are more seductive and enduring than those of communist society."Guinness identifies the 1880s writings of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche as "the most powerful philosophical source of the crisis of truth." He taught that our response to any claims to truth or virtue should be irony, suspicion and an agenda of unmasking, debunking and dismantling those claims.Examples of modern truth-twisting include the refusal to condemn immoral practices in other societies, the use of creative fiction posing as fact in support of a political/social agenda (e.g. I, Rigoberta Menchu) and Samuel Clemens' creative, but inauthentic, self-reinvention as Mark Twain. Ethics and character are related: if God is dead, as many believe, not only are all things permitted (bye-bye ethics), but any self is possible, and the question of which one is `true' becomes meaningless (bye-bye character).Although believers may see the rise of Christianity as inevitable and permanent, paganism is making a strong comeback in many parts of the modern world. The sobering implication is that God blesses those receptive to Him and abandons others (including the West?) to sin, darkness and decline.When faced with raw evil in the world, man can either despair (e.g. "if there is an Auschwitz, there can be no God") or simply (if fearfully) trust that God (and Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Justice) will eventually prevail. This choice is far from merely theoretical or academic, it makes an enormous practical difference, both personally and to society (e.g. Leoni's suicide vs. Solzhenitzen's victory).A commitment to Truth is important, since without it: 1) the charge that our faith is based on fear, not fact, will stick; 2) we question "the trustworthiness of God himself;" 3) we are all vulnerable to manipulation (i.e. might makes right, e.g. Spencer, Marx, Dawkins); 4) there can be no genuine freedom and fulfillment in life.Albert Camus, Friedrich Nietzsche and many other secular thinkers had unhappy childhoods and

Looking at the moose on the dining room table.

One of the basic human defense mechanisms we follow to protect ourselves from unwanted situations or painful emotions is denial. We just put it away from our conscious mind even though the facts are staring us in the face. This book helps us to look at life "the way it really is." The insightful remarks on Vaclav Havel, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and Primo Levi are truthful yet marked with humility and sensitivity. These threee men have suffered greatly from modern governments that deny truth regarding human beings. These regimes have regarded people simply as mere biological units who exist for the pleasure of the state. What is to prevent the same thing happening in the 21 first century that happen in the last? This little book is a clarion call for Christians and non-Christians to proclaim the virtues of integrity, honesty, and plain speaking. I believe a thoughtful reading will lead to the awkward realization that "hey, there is a moose on our table;" however, to paraphrase C.S. Lewis, he is not a tame moose.

Truth Is True: Even if No One Believes It.

The title of this review is a direct quote from this book (p. 80). Os Guinness exposes falsehood in society at large and in the United States in particular. Guiness throughout this book takes on the stance of "relativism" in the modern world, and then shows from history the result of that belief system and its consequences. He quotes Nietzche who said, "It is our preference that decides against Christianity, not arguments (p. 114)." Guinness lays out that those who believe in no absolutes, like Nietzche, have false beliefs that will betray them in the end. Guinness draws out an argumentation that says truth, which is reality, will always have the final say. Guiness pulls no punches when he attacks governmental leaders as well. He quotes Tacitus, who was a Roman poet who said, "The more corrupt the state, the more laws (p. 86)." Then Guinness takes the argument for truth and living by the truth, straight back to God who requires true living. Guinnes shows how false beliefs affect not just the individual who has those beliefs, but how when this belief system becomes the common way of thinking, it affects the society as a whole. Guinness does give the answer for a return to a truthful society and the great consequences on one's life and the society's as well. I have read some of Guinness' other works which I highly recommend. But if I had to pick one of this author's book to recommend to anyone, it is this book by far. And, that's the truth.