“God…will
render
to
each
person
according
to
his
deeds:
to
those
who
by
perseverance
in
doing
good
seek
for
glory
and
honor
and
immortality,
eternal
life;
but
to
those
who
are
selfishly
ambitious
and
do
not
obey
the
truth,
but
obey
unrighteousness,
wrath
and
indignation”
(Rom. 2:5-8, NASB).
Making “Truth” Where It Cannot Be Found
Controversy,
like
a
polar
blizzard,
has
swirled
around
Robert
E.
Peary’s
claim
to
have
been
the
first
man
to
reach
the
North
Pole
(in
April
1909)
ever
since
he
made
it.
This
controversy
was
exacerbated
by
Dr.
Frederick
Cook’s
claim
to
have
reached
it
a
year
earlier.
Even
if
this
controversy
can
never
be
resolved
to
everyone’s
satisfaction,
few,
if
any,
would
dispute
two
related
conclusions.
First,
whether
Peary
actually
reached
the
Pole,
no
one
can
deny
him
credit
for
a
magnificent
feat
and
the
courage
and
dogged
determination
it
required.
Peary
endured
twenty-three
years
of
expense,
isolation,
cold,
and
privations,
living
in
a
world
of
ice
and
darkness
through
six
polar
expeditions,
to
achieve
his
goal.
His
sufferings
included
partial
crippling
due
to
the
loss
of
eight
toes
from
frostbite.
He
might
well
have
incurred
the
disease
from
which
he
finally
died
in
1920 as a result of his far north travels.
Second,
Peary
was
driven
by
such
an
obsession
to
be
the
first
to
the
Pole
that
it
made
him
insensitive,
cruel,
and
unscrupulous.
He
suppressed
evidence
which
might
have
proved
that
his
rival
reached
the
Pole
and
his
own
records
which
might
have
brought
his
claim
under
suspicion.
Despite
this,
or
because
of
it,
Peary
finally
won
recognition as the discoverer of the North Pole.
“Peary
was
buried
an
American
hero
at
Arlington
National
Cemetery.
A
monument
was
dedicated
at
his
grave
site
two
years
later.
Inscribed
on
a
granite
spheroid
representing
Earth
were
words
Peary
had
voiced
many
years
earlier
when
trapped
in
an
Arctic
storm
and
unable
to
advance
northward:
“‘I
shall
find
a
way
or
make
one’”
(Bruce
Henderson,
True
North,
pg.
277).
Many
decades
later,
the
National
Geographic
Society
re-examined
his
case
and
concluded
“…
that
Peary
had
missed
the
North
Pole,
ending
up as far as eighty miles to the left” (Ibid.).
In
a
world
rife
with
failure
to
follow
through
on
resolutions,
the
persistence
which
stops
at
nothing
less
than
full
attainment
of
one’s
goals
is
a
very
admirable
virtue.
Yet,
like
so
much
in
life,
perseverance
can
be
used
for
good
or
ill
in
its
possessor.
Some,
like
Peary,
are
so
driven
to
achieve
their
goal
that,
having
failed
to
do
so,
they
will
even
resort
to
a
mere
appearance
of
having
achieved
it.
As
false
as
they
know
their
fraud
to
be,
it
becomes
as
good
to
them
as
the
truth
and
their
consciences
are
seduced
by
their
own
fantasy.
If
they
cannot
find
the
truth
because
of
their
unwillingness
to
accept
it,
they will make the “truth” they are willing to accept.
Making
one’s
own
“truth”
is
especially
common
in
religion.
The
dishonest
man
will
find
the
Bible
to
be
as
malleable
as
he
wants
it
to
be.
After
all,
if
Bible
truth
is
thought
to
exist
to
serve
his
needs,
as
he
conceives
them
to
be,
rather
than
to
save
him,
it
is
not
so
much
the
truth,
but
his
perception
of
the
truth,
that
is
important.
Once
he
concludes
this,
he
feels
no
compulsion
to
be
particularly
honest
in
finding
the
truth.
It
will
be
just
as
well
if,
instead,
he
“makes”
his
own
truth.
Furthermore,
popular
acclaim
encourages
his
fabrication
of
the
“truth,”
and
when
it
and
his
own
wishes
converge
to
confirm
his
“truth,”
it can be as convincing as reality itself.
The
truth
is
absolutely
valuable.
Scripture
confirms
this
when
it
says,
“Buy
the
truth,
and
sell
it
not”
(Prov.
23:23,
KJV).
Despite
all
the
fantasies
people
entertain
and
all
the
twists
and
turns
they
take
with
the
Bible,
God’s
word
is
truth
(Jn.
17:17).
It
cannot
be
manufactured,
it
is
unchangeable,
and
there
are
no
substitutes
for
it.
The
only
two
options
people
have
are
to
reject
it
or
accept
it,
and
the
only
way
they
can
manage
the
latter
is
by
rising
to
the
daily
challenge
of
being
honest
enough
(Lk.
8:15)
to
put
aside
all
other
considerations
and
“receive
the
love
of
the
truth”
—
even
loving
it
more
than
life
itself (Rev. 12:11) — “so as to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10).
Making “Truth” Where It Cannot Be Found
Controversy,
like
a
polar
blizzard,
has
swirled
around
Robert
E.
Peary’s
claim
to
have
been
the
first
man
to
reach
the
North
Pole
(in
April
1909)
ever
since
he
made
it.
This
controversy
was
exacerbated
by
Dr.
Frederick Cook’s claim to have reached it a year earlier.
Even
if
this
controversy
can
never
be
resolved
to
everyone’s
satisfaction,
few,
if
any,
would
dispute
two
related
conclusions.
First,
whether
Peary
actually
reached
the
Pole,
no
one
can
deny
him
credit
for
a
magnificent
feat
and
the
courage
and
dogged
determination
it
required.
Peary
endured
twenty-three
years
of
expense,
isolation,
cold,
and
privations,
living
in
a
world
of
ice
and
darkness
through
six
polar
expeditions,
to
achieve
his
goal.
His
sufferings
included
partial
crippling
due
to
the
loss
of
eight
toes
from
frostbite.
He
might
well
have
incurred
the
disease
from
which
he
finally
died
in
1920
as
a
result
of
his
far
north
travels.
Second,
Peary
was
driven
by
such
an
obsession
to
be
the
first
to
the
Pole
that
it
made
him
insensitive,
cruel,
and
unscrupulous.
He
suppressed
evidence
which
might
have
proved
that
his
rival
reached
the
Pole
and
his
own
records
which
might
have
brought
his
claim
under
suspicion.
Despite
this,
or
because
of
it,
Peary
finally
won
recognition
as
the
discoverer
of
the
North
Pole.
“Peary
was
buried
an
American
hero
at
Arlington
National
Cemetery.
A
monument
was
dedicated
at
his
grave
site
two
years
later.
Inscribed
on
a
granite
spheroid
representing
Earth
were
words
Peary
had
voiced
many
years
earlier
when
trapped
in
an
Arctic
storm
and
unable
to
advance
northward:
“‘I
shall
find
a
way
or
make
one’”
(Bruce
Henderson,
True
North,
pg.
277).
Many
decades
later,
the
National
Geographic
Society
re-examined
his
case
and
concluded
“…
that
Peary
had
missed
the
North
Pole,
ending
up
as
far
as
eighty miles to the left” (Ibid.).
In
a
world
rife
with
failure
to
follow
through
on
resolutions,
the
persistence
which
stops
at
nothing
less
than
full
attainment
of
one’s
goals
is
a
very
admirable
virtue.
Yet,
like
so
much
in
life,
perseverance
can
be
used
for
good
or
ill
in
its
possessor.
Some,
like
Peary,
are
so
driven
to
achieve
their
goal
that,
having
failed
to
do
so,
they
will
even
resort
to
a
mere
appearance
of
having
achieved
it.
As
false
as
they
know
their
fraud
to
be,
it
becomes
as
good
to
them
as
the
truth
and
their
consciences
are
seduced
by
their
own
fantasy.
If
they
cannot
find
the
truth
because
of
their
unwillingness
to
accept
it,
they
will
make
the
“truth”
they
are
willing
to
accept.
Making
one’s
own
“truth”
is
especially
common
in
religion.
The
dishonest
man
will
find
the
Bible
to
be
as
malleable
as
he
wants
it
to
be.
After
all,
if
Bible
truth
is
thought
to
exist
to
serve
his
needs,
as
he
conceives
them
to
be,
rather
than
to
save
him,
it
is
not
so
much
the
truth,
but
his
perception
of
the
truth,
that
is
important.
Once
he
concludes
this,
he
feels
no
compulsion
to
be
particularly
honest
in
finding
the
truth.
It
will
be
just
as
well
if,
instead,
he
“makes”
his
own
truth.
Furthermore,
popular
acclaim
encourages
his
fabrication
of
the
“truth,”
and
when
it
and
his
own
wishes
converge
to
confirm
his
“truth,”
it
can
be
as
convincing as reality itself.
The
truth
is
absolutely
valuable.
Scripture
confirms
this
when
it
says,
“Buy
the
truth,
and
sell
it
not”
(Prov.
23:23,
KJV).
Despite
all
the
fantasies
people
entertain
and
all
the
twists
and
turns
they
take
with
the
Bible,
God’s
word
is
truth
(Jn.
17:17).
It
cannot
be
manufactured,
it
is
unchangeable,
and
there
are
no
substitutes
for
it.
The
only
two
options
people
have
are
to
reject
it
or
accept
it,
and
the
only
way
they
can
manage
the
latter
is
by
rising
to
the
daily
challenge
of
being
honest
enough
(Lk.
8:15)
to
put
aside
all
other
considerations
and
“receive
the
love
of
the
truth”
—
even
loving
it
more
than
life
itself
(Rev.
12:11)
—
“so
as
to
be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10).
“God…will
render
to
each
person
according
to
his
deeds:
to
those
who
by
perseverance
in
doing
good
seek
for
glory
and
honor
and
immortality,
eternal
life;
but
to
those
who
are
selfishly
ambitious
and
do
not
obey
the
truth,
but
obey
unrighteousness,
wrath
and
indignation” (Rom. 2:5-8, NASB).
