Authenticity

We caught a segment today on television about the Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous hoaxes in United States history. It was a 10-foot (3.0 m) tall purported "petrified man" uncovered on October 16, 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. "Stub" Newell in Cardiff, New York. Both it and an unauthorized copy made by master showman and cynic, P.T. Barnum are still on display. The photo is of the original, now at the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Barnum's replica is said to be on display in Michigan.

The folks at the Farmers' Museum, with tongue somewhat in cheek, insist that theirs is the authentic Cardiff Giant. When challenged on what seems to be a claim that it is a real giant, they point out that all they mean is that it is the original fake. Barnum's is a fake fake, if you will, although his superior marketing prowess meant he made more money off his than did the owners of the real fake.

The game is in what you mean by authentic. In normal usage it means something is true, so if you say this is an authentic Civil War bullet, that means it is a real bullet used in, or at least from the period of, the Civil War.

But sometimes the word has other meanings. For example, in Catholic theology, "authentic" can mean simply "official." Thus, the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church is that artificial birth control is immoral. That sounds like the TRUE teaching is that artificial birth control is immoral (which may indded be the case), but in Catholic dogma, it means that this is the official position of the Church as expressed in official Church documents. Should the Church change its mind on this point -- as it has on lots of things, such as the morality of lending money for interest, once considered a mortal (SERIOUS) sin -- then the teaching will change. The new position will be authentic, not because it is necessarily true (or more true) than the old, but because it has become the official teaching.

People are always getting tripped up by this, thinking that it if is authentic-in-the-official-sense, then it must be objectively true and therefore immutable. Not so much, as it turns out.

So next time someone tells you something is authentic Christian teaching or that it is the authentic American position, pause for a moment. Is it, in fact, immutable truth or simply the present official position of a lot of people with authority?

Also ask yourself about the person or group advocating that position. Are they the only authentic Christians or Americans out there? This may indeed be something they often assert, but maybe they are authentic the way the original Cardiff giant is authentic. Because if there are Christians and Americans out there who think differently, things may change.

And they do.

And they will.

'As the quote I posted before says, Things are only impossible until they're not.