Between the Gullible and the Cynical: A Short Guide to Help Christians Think
In the age of deep-fakes, stat-mongering, and selective outrage, Christians are increasingly liable to fall into one of two ditches: trusting everything or trusting nothing. The gullible and the cynical appear to be opposites, but they are both fools. Why? Because truth exists. It is findable. It is defensible. And, most importantly, truth is not some vague abstraction. “Christ Jesus… became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).
And yet, Christians are bombarded daily with claims that demand immediate judgment and response. Was Charlie Kirk racist? Did ICE arrest a five-year-old boy? Are protestors justified in barging into a church? Or name any other event with a conflicting narrative. Who’s to blame? Well, the legacy media, independent media, and social media all offer a slew of answers—often confident, often moralized, often contradictory. What, then, is the ordinary Christian to believe? For many, the answer comes quickly. Some insist no to all the questions above, others yes, with little patience for investigation. But the most basic question remains unanswered: what is true?
That question is not new. Pilate asked it of Jesus in John 18:38. But Pilate did not ask it as a seeker. He asked it as a cynic. He stood before wisdom incarnate, raised the question of truth, and walked away before receiving an answer. Worse still, he publicly admitted that Jesus was innocent and nevertheless handed him over to be executed. Pilate’s actions exposed his priorities. He did not care about truth or justice; he cared about comfort, stability, and power. Truth was inconvenient.
Our moment is filled with modern Pilates—voices loudly invoking “truth” and “justice” without anchoring either in anything sturdy. The result is a low-grade anxiety among thoughtful Christians. We sense the manipulation. We feel the pressure to react. And we grow weary. Consider this a warning: the Evil One does not need to convince you of a lie if he can instead make you careless with the truth. Over time, gullibility produces a squishy spine, and cynicism produces a hardened heart.
Scripture gives us a better way. Thinking through the news of the day is somewhere between “love believes all things” (1 Cor. 13:7) and “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). A healthy dose of suspicion. As Christians living in the chaos of this present age, we cannot forfeit neither charity nor prudence. These are biblical virtues that ought not be neglected. They are not competing virtues. Love without discernment becomes naïve sentimentality. Discernment without love hardens into suspicion. This isn’t partisan, it is biblical. Truth transcends the cultural moment, but it also pierces the moment. The wisdom of God’s word should apply equally to all people, all events, all opinions, and all feelings. Do not rush to tribal defense, weigh it out against Scripture.
Proverbs is especially instructive here. “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame” (Prov. 18:13). “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Prov. 18:17). First narratives are rarely complete. And wisdom requires knowing when to speak and when to remain silent: “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (Prov. 26:4–5).
Critical thinking minus chronological snobbery plus biblical wisdom equals an unimpressively healthy person. Such people are increasingly rare. But they are precisely the kind of people this age requires: neither gullible nor cynical, but courageously honest.
Recover the practice of virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, and love. Be careful not to divide them or conflate them. Be unwilling to lie or hate. Or as Joe Rigney warns, “Don’t get steered.”
Be the kind of Christian that refuses to sin.
