Update 2 | Research: supporters only see the tip of the iceberg

Institute Update Issue 2 - May 2002

Research: supporters only see the tip of the iceberg

By Humphrey Dobson

Today so much information is available so quickly. Some of it is reliable. But so much of what is written and said is incorrect. False assertions, often not based on any evidence at all, hang like a thick mist over every public issue and cloud the minds of ordinary people.

The Christian Institute’s role is to dispel that fog.

Telephones, faxes, e-mails, Internet databases and search engines, letters and libraries are all used to get the research as quickly as possible. Journals, studies, articles, books, newspapers, statistics, surveys, reports, individual correspondence and parliamentary debates or Parliament’s ‘written answers’ are all gathered.

The information must then be sifted and weighed to see if it stands up to robust scrutiny. Statistics are analysed, arguments pondered, reports turned inside out. Much is discarded: the inaccurate, the unproved, the discredited.

The real facts gradually surface. Then it must be published. We must ensure the evidence we quote is cited accurately. We must be careful that all the main points have been covered. It may be that other more up to date research comes to light. And it must also be to the point and readable, as well as reliable.

We perhaps only publish a fraction of what we look into, but it is vital that our research is thorough. Everything that Christians say in the public sphere will be put under the spotlight and heavily scrutinised. There are, after all, many people who want to discredit the work of Christians.

There is an increasing number of issues arising which require a Christian response. The Christian Institute is now tackling several issues at once. A vast amount of potential information lies behind each issue. Multiply all the work outlined above for each of the several major issues we are working on and it is easy to see the challenge we face.
On top of that, there is also all our regular work. Filtering the latest news from the newspapers is a daily task. Researchers are also regularly keeping abreast of information in specialist journals or preparing to give talks around the country.

There is certainly much to do. In this life there will always be a battle between truth and error and between good and evil. One day truth will be vindicated and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Until that day, “in season” and “out of season” our duty is to declare the truth.

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