HARVARD UNIVERSITY STATUE
HAS BEEN REDESIGNED TO CELEBRATE ITS LEAST DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE!
That is not the first use of “Fake News” at Harvard.
The John Harvard Statue’s inscription states: John Harvard, Founder, 1638.
That Harvard Yard icon is the most photographed place of the historic university I attended many years ago. It is also a Fake News landmark.
FAKE NEWS!
“Fake News” is false information or stories broadcast or published as news in social media for fraudulent purposes. It can be misinformation intended to influence one’s perception of the truth on social media or used as journalistic clichés and angry political rants.
The centerpiece of Harvard Yard is inscribed with “Fake News” inaccuracies. The Harvard University motto is “Veritas,” which is Latin for “TRUTH.” Ironically, the iconic John Harvard Statue has come to be known as the “Statue of Three Lies.”
- The statue is NOT an image of John Harvard, even though his name is written in stone at the statue’s base. The artist used a student model.
There were no “likenesses” of the real John Harvard. Several portraits were destroyed in a fire. The artist used a descendant’s nephew of one of the school’s presidents, Leonard Hoar, as a stand-in model for John Harvard.
[Note: It was a Harvard tradition to name its Houses (upper classmen dorms) after former university presidents (i.e. Eliot House, Lowell House, Adams House). For obvious reasons, there was a reluctance to name a House after President Hoar.
You might need a moment to consider why the University debated the charitable value of Hoar House.]
2. John Harvard was NOT the Founder of the school.
The engraving of John Harvard as “Founder” is also not true. The college was started by a declaration of a Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Harvard was the first generous benefactor to the college. He endowed the school with a large monetary gift and a donation of over 400 books for the college library.
3. Harvard was NOT founded in 1638.
The College began two years earlier in 1636, which established it as the oldest institute of higher learning in the United States. John Harvard’s large donation was given in 1638. The New College was renamed the following year after its renowned benefactor.
Fake News! The statue representation of Harvard TRUTH is NOT an image of John Harvard. He was NOT the founder of the school, and the college did NOT begin in 1638.
FAKE NEWS is not New News.
Some “Fake News” just works its way into our cultural vernacular through substitution or omission.
The original adopted shield and motto for Harvard College was “Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae,” meaning ‘Truth for Christ and the Church.’ The original shield symbolized the vital importance of God’s revealed wisdom from the #1 Textbook. Subsequent leadership of Harvard College considered God’s Word as necessary for the proper understanding and application of educational reasoning.
Sadly, Harvard dropped the Christ reference from its University shield and motto. The relevance of Jesus Christ was diminished many years before that. Some Harvard people got so smart that they no longer needed wisdom. The FAKE NEWS has continued. The school’s research has become very short-sighted in its scope and thesis.
I am most likely the least educationally distinguished and least worldly successful graduate of Harvard…ever. I was blessed by the opportunity and fortunate to survive the challenge. I cherish the friendships.
The favorite part of my give-back to the university occurs when I receive the annual fundraising solicitation from a current student. I ask the volunteer if he is aware of the reason Harvard was founded as an institute of higher learning. Following his response, I always have the opportunity to quote the university’s original purpose:
“Let every student be plainly instructed and consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus, which is eternal life. And therefore, to lay Christ at the bottom of the only foundation for all sound learning and knowledge, seeing that only the Lord gives wisdom.”
That is NOT Fake News.
There is no Veritas without Christ. That is the Truth since before the beginning of time. It mattered in the time of Adam’s pursuit of knowledge. It mattered in Solomon’s educational explorations for true purpose and happiness in life. It mattered to the original founders and instructors of Harvard University. Any other foundation for learning and knowledge will NOT be “sound.”
One either builds his/her house of learning on the rock or on sinking sand. When the storms of life come, the Truth is revealed.
Truth or Fake Truth? What is your personal house of learning built upon? Have you ever had your foundation inspected?
Fake news is not a sure foundation for life.
Where did this “fake news” start?
Fake news started in the Garden of Eden when Eve chose to listen to a lie that misrepresented reality. “Did God really say you would die? Maybe God does not want your life to improve to where you do not need to depend on Him.”
The Israelite patriarchs shared fake news of their brother Joseph’s death. The Old Testament hero, Abraham, lied to save his hide. King David used deception to outmaneuver his enemies and then to cover his illicit behavior. False prophets, led by Hananiah, challenged Jeremiah’s lament by swaying public opinion with “fake news” about coming peace in Israel (Jeremiah 28:15-17).
Fake News is not New News.
The Roman Empire was filled with “fake news” for political, military, and economic gain. Octavian Augustus took over as first Emperor by spreading fake news of military hero Antony’s leadership potential as being compromised by his relationship with Cleopatra.
The creation of the printing press was soon used as a source to disseminate “fake news” about the discovery of life on the moon. Centuries later, newspapers circulated theories that the moon landing was a hoax.
Deliberate misinformation, intentional lies, deceitful stories, false propaganda, and political spin are not new to our world. Military warfare, advertising campaigns, and football alignments flourish in the midst of propaganda misinformation, half-truths, and deception.
It never takes long for satire, hoaxes, errors, and conspiracy theories to muddle truth and falsehood into a mixture of confused reality defended by conflicting experts. People choose sides and hatefully criticize those with a different perspective.
These “made-up” stories generate traffic for social media websites which profit from the resulting advertising revenue. The result creates a world-view perception where we do not know what to believe or whom to trust.
“FAKE NEWS” IS NOW USED AS A REFERENCE TO ANYTHING WE DO NOT LIKE OR AGREE.
The truth of God’s Word matters today in an enlightened culture of humanistic education. No wonder minds are darkened, and understanding is lost in a world where people are lovers of self and lovers of money (things) rather than lovers of God.
The time will come when people will accumulate (fake truth) teachers who tell them only what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).
“Fake News” is not new news. Take note of this quote which sounds as if it might be current cultural commentary.
“Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle…The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.” (That sounds as if it came from this week’s commentators from the competing news networks. That observation was actually made by Thomas Jefferson in 1807).
Time has not improved our news’ sources.
There is only one reliable source of Truth…God’s Word.
In response to today’s culture, be a student of Truth. Saturate your mind with God’s Word. Evaluate everything through the lens of Scripture.
Think for yourself as you listen to various viewpoints. Demonstrate humility as you share your opinions. There is no need for and no advantage to shouting louder or with more anger.
Remember you always have the Good News. Consider everything through its filter.
What is truth? It depends on whom you ask. Our culture reshapes truth to fit its latest whims. Historical truth is rewritten by social agendas. Scientific truth fluctuates with new discoveries. Philosophical truth varies with each new viral TikTok sage.
Legal truth is changed to accommodate current morality trends. Love twists truth to fit personal convenience. Political truth is redefined according to one’s “Fake News” adherence to CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, or ESPN. To quote my son-in-law’s book, they are all Beyond Bias.
We live in our own man-centered world of “relative truth” and “situational ethics.” University professors and students scoff at the concept of truth. Truth is now clothed in preferences and opinions and lifestyle choices. Our normality has become filled with fake news, edited selfies, and padded resumes.
Does it matter? Yes! Our self-made versions of reality are flawed from inception.
The skeptical Roman ruler, Pilate, responded with the rhetorical question, “What is truth?”
Jesus Christ claimed, “I am Truth.”
Each of us stakes our earthly and eternal life on what we believe. Each of us lays a bottom for the foundation of sound learning and knowledge, hoping it will produce wisdom. You do NOT need to go to Harvard to find the TRUTH. Just be sure NOT to lose it there.
My Harvard professor for a class on the New Testament refused to accept my paper on the subject, A Personal Relationship with Jesus. He argued that had nothing to do with the New Testament material. I wondered if he had ever read the New Testament. Ironically, my highest university grade was earned in a history class for my “fake” Civil War Diary.
This session is not my argument or debate with anyone. I do not condemn those who share a different opinion. I am just stating my college thesis.
The question is whether this #1 Textbook affirmed by the early Harvard leadership is the sole foundation for wisdom. Or is it to be rejected as irrelevant and unnecessary to learning as subsequent university educators propose? I believe it is what it claims to be.
God’s #1 Textbook declares itself to be the sole, supreme, and sufficient source of Truth. “The sum of God’s Word is Truth.” It reveals the Creator as the “God of Truth.” Jesus proclaimed that he came into this world as the “revelation of Truth” in human expression.
Truth means nothing apart from God. That is an unchanging reality whether one comes from Adam or from Harvard. When any person refuses to honor or thank God, his/her thoughts become futile; his/her foolish heart remains darkened. Professing to be wise, they reveal themselves to be fools (#1 Textbook).
One cannot disassociate truth from the knowledge of God revealed in His #1 Textbook. Life does not work that way, no matter how many people lecture, vote, or protest.
Well, for all the Pilates out there past, present, and future, I do not claim to be the expert. But there is One who is proven qualified. No search or soliloquy regarding truth will be successful apart from Him.
Truth is not subjective. There has to be a starting point. Any other starting point than the Creator God revealed in His self-revelatory #1 Textbook will be a person-based philosophy full of hidden flaws and ultimate futility.
Good and evil, right and wrong, honor or dishonor, love or self-centeredness, beautiful or ugly do not exist in the eye of the beholder. They are not subject to personal feelings and cultural winds. They cannot be redefined by social media editorials, political arguments, or mass protests. They come from the unchanging truth of the wise God who has our best interests at stake.
The most important thing in life remains true: Love God and love others. Love first and love most. That is not only what makes this beautiful world go ‘round; it’s also the only way to make sense out of it.
You cannot know who you are or why you are here on this earth apart from God. There is no Veritas without Christo.
Do not let your earthly existence be remembered by “Fake news or Three lies.” Do your diligent research.
Grab the #1 Textbook today and be plainly instructed and consider well the main end of your life and studies is to know God and Jesus, which is eternal life.
Lay Christ at the bottom of the only foundation for all sound learning and knowledge, seeing that only the Lord gives wisdom.
Love First. Love Most.
LOVE FIRST...LOVE MOST 