Categories
Personal Posts

Are You a Reliable Witness?

A number of years ago my wife and I were witnesses to road rage—and our car was the victim. As the police officer took our statements, he asked if the assailant walked around the front of our car or the back.

My bride quickly answered “the front” and just as promptly, I replied “the back.”

We gave an incredulous glance to the other, with real concern over the other’s sanity.

I attributed our contradicting testimonies to the trauma of the situation and later wondered if eyewitness testimony in a court of law could really be depended upon with any degree of accuracy.

This has all been brought back to mind with our “52 Churches” journey, where we will be visiting a different Christian church each Sunday for a year.

Each week as we drive home from church and later process our experiences, we all too often recall details differently.

Usually, these are over trivial facts, but occasionally our conflicting observations are over more substantive matters.

It will be pointless for me to suggest who is normally right—especially since my bride will be proofreading this post—so I will declare it to be 50-50.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.