When the invasion of Ukraine started, I started watching some programmes on Russia Today before it was removed from Sky.
Having heard so much about it I wanted to take a look for myself and see what it was like. It was quite an eye-opener to hear apologists justifying things that right thinking people could never countenance.
It is useless to shout at the TV, of course, but that doesn’t stop us! It is so frustrating nonetheless, when right and wrong seem so obvious yet can’t be acknowledged publicly. It is a human trait first to pick your side and then select the facts to back up your case, rather than examine the facts and make an honest choice.
It now seems ages ago (and so trivial) that we were hearing about nothing but ‘Partygate’ but the same happened there. A person’s attitude to the facts was in many cases, determined by which side of the divide they had already chosen and facts were then forced to fit the favoured narrative.
We are masters at choosing facts to fit our version and ignoring the inconvenient ones. Thus, spin doctoring and propaganda are born.
We all do it to an extent. We find it difficult to admit when we are wrong and change our minds in the light of truth, so we would rather ignore or trash the facts that threaten our own particular theory. Whether we call it gilding the lily, being economical with the truth, alternative facts or fake news it amounts to the same. We are building our own wee propaganda machine and thus the spiral of half-truths, divisions and ultimately violence continues. Innocent people and truth are the casualties. The rest of the world is left scrambling for an appropriate response.
When Jesus was tried, false witnesses were lined up to testify against him. The facts were embellished, his words tweaked to slightly misquote him and give the desired slant thus backing up the case already decided. Accusations were hurled and justifications offered – yet the sinless one at the centre of it all said nothing. The one who could, justifiably, have protested his innocence took the duplicity, spite and bitterness on his own shoulders and died forgiving.
Jesus who could have called down cohorts of angels to blow them all to Kingdom come chose instead to say ‘Father, forgive them’ so that the Kingdom might come. The spiral of half-truths, lies, violence, ended in his body when he took it all and died forgiving so that the spiral might be ended. And from the blood and the brokenness came new life on Easter morning. Hope, that in God’s mercy, evil does not triumph and the ways of the wicked, ultimately, are doomed.

Fraser Penny