In times of moral crisis and institutional failure, the ancient question resurfaces: Who will bell the cat? Who will take the first bold step to confront the danger everyone else avoids? In today’s Church and society, where truth should thunder from pulpits and echo in policy chambers, there instead reigns a deafening silence. Those entrusted with spiritual and civic leadership have grown timid, their voices muzzled by fear, convenience, or complicity. The result is a vacuum where truth ought to reign, now filled with whispers, half-truths, and moral ambiguity. This silence has permitted injustice to fester, most visibly in the unresolved plight of the 147 Assistant Professors in Nagaland, a striking emblem of a broader retreat from truth.
In a world increasingly shaped by cultural fluidity, intellectual relativism, and political maneuvering, the very notion of objective truth is no longer merely debated, it is under siege. This battle has spilled beyond abstract philosophical discourse into the very heart of the Church and society, infiltrating institutions ostensibly committed to the pursuit of truth and knowledge. A particularly striking example is the ongoing controversy surrounding the absorption and regularization of service for 147 Assistant Professors within Nagaland’s Department of Higher and Technical Education. Far from being a case of mere bureaucratic stagnation or political indifference, it exposes a deeper crisis: the erosion of truth in institutional practice and public conscience.
Relativism, Favoritism, and Institutional Decay
In an age where truth is increasingly tailored to emotion and convenience, society stands upon a crumbling foundation. At the heart of this decay lies a dangerous form of relativism, one that infiltrates theology, justice, education, and governance alike. What was once unshakable truth has now become negotiable opinion. Sin is no longer called sin, but “struggle”; truth is no longer objective, but “perspective”; and justice is no longer blind, but bought, influenced, or ignored.
In the Church, theological relativism has taken root. The pulpit, once a stronghold of uncompromising divine truth often now echoes the sentiments of cultural appeasement. The Gospel is diluted, repentance is sidelined, and sin is rebranded to preserve the comfort of the pews. In pursuit of inclusivity and relevance, the Church risks trading eternal truth for temporal appreciation.
This same erosion of absolutes is utterly reflected in governance and academia. The recent protests led by the Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and the Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) bring this crisis into sharp focus. Their movement is not merely a reaction to employment grievances; it is a broader cry against systemic injustice, favoritism, and institutional manipulation.
Beneath the slogans and placards lies a deeper accusation: that appointments are no longer rooted in merit, but favoritism; that transparency is cloaked in secrecy; those qualified voices are silenced while influence thrives.
What we are witnessing is not isolated administrative failure, but the decline of institutional morality. When rules are bent for a few, the entire structure becomes unreliable for all. When processes are tampered with, trust evaporates. And when silence greets injustice, corruption becomes culture.
This triad of relativism in theology, favoritism in governance, and decay in institutions, constitutes an unfaithfulness on multiple levels: a disloyalty of the divine order that demands righteousness and truth; a duplicity of the democratic ideals of fairness and accountability; and most tragically, a betrayal of the people, who are left disappointed, disempowered, and disenfranchised.
If the Church is to remain a moral compass, it must regain the courage to proclaim truth unflinchingly, even when it offends. If the government and educational bodies are to reclaim credibility, they must recommit to impartiality, due process, and merit. For in the absence of these virtues, society does not merely falter, it fractures.
The protest by CTAN, then, is not just a demand for jobs or justice. It is a reminder that when institutions forsake principle for power, they betray not only policies and people but ultimately the God who ordained order in all things.
Without God, Truth and Justice Cannot Be Defined
For thousands of years, human philosophers have sought to explain truth and account for human knowledge apart from God, and all who have attempted this endeavor have ultimately been unsuccessful. In the ancient world, Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle pioneered systematic inquiries into knowledge, reality, and ethics. Socrates questioned everything, believing that true wisdom lay in recognizing one’s own ignorance; yet, without acknowledging divine revelation, he could only circle around ultimate truth without ever fully grasping it. Plato proposed the existence of eternal “Forms” abstract ideals that he believed gave meaning to the physical world, but without grounding them in a personal Creator, his theory remained an incomplete attempt to explain the unseen realities behind existence. Aristotle, Plato’s distinguished student, emphasized empirical observation and logical categorization, seeking truth through the senses and reason alone; yet even his masterful system could not account for the origin of knowledge or the ultimate ground of being apart from God.
Thus, from the earliest flowering of human philosophy, it has been evident: when the quest for truth is severed from the source of all Truth, human reason, however brilliant, ultimately falls short. The ancient Greeks, for all their intellectual genius, built monuments of thought that still crumble before the necessity of divine revelation.
In the heart of Naga society, proudly Christian in identity yet increasingly secular in practice, a foundational crisis is emerging. It is not merely political corruption or institutional decay that threatens us; it is the abandonment of God as the ultimate source of truth. We now inhabit an era where truth is not defined by eternal absolutes but twisted to suit personal or political agendas. In such a world, justice cannot stand.
At the heart of the issue lies this fundamental truth: genuine truth cannot exist apart from God. As Jesus affirms in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” God is not merely a communicator of truth; He is Truth itself. All moral, legal, and spiritual realities derive their authority from Him. When society severs its academic, political, or ecclesiastical structures from divine authority, truth ceases to be an objective principle and instead devolves into a matter of subjective preference.
What happens to a Church that no longer roots its doctrine in the Word of God? What happens to a government that legislates without regard for righteousness? The result is the chaos cloaked in civility we now see: churches becoming motivational halls rather than houses of divine revelation; governments transforming into platforms for opportunism rather than instruments of justice; a society descending into value confusion, where even sincere reforms ring hollow.
As Psalm 89:14 declares, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before You.” When God is removed from the foundation of society, the pillars of truth and justice inevitably collapse, not as a matter of theological speculation, but as a demonstrable historical certainty.
Today in Nagaland, we are witnessing a profound erosion of ethical clarity: truth is negotiated, justice is delayed, and integrity is traded for convenience. The sacred is increasingly supplanted by spectacle, and righteousness is often dismissed as extremism. Our institutions are not failing due to a lack of manpower or intellect, but because we have abandoned the One who defines truth.
Truth severed from God is no truth at all; it is illusion disguised as sincerity. Though it may sound compassionate and appear progressive, it ultimately destroys the very foundations it claims to strengthen. Our only hope lies in returning to the God who is Truth, lest we resign ourselves to a future where justice remains merely a word enshrined in our Constitution and righteousness a relic of forgotten faith.
When Truth is Betrayed: The Soul of a Society in Crisis
The Church, once a citadel of divine truth, now stands compromised by the insidious spread of progressive theology and the prosperity gospel, a message no longer centered on Christ crucified, but on self, success, and social relevance. As the Church yields to these distortions, so too do the institutions of education and governance, increasingly shaped by ideological convenience, nepotism, and bureaucratic indifference.
At the heart of both crises lies the same fatal affliction: a slow but relentless drift from truth toward comfort, compromise, and the transient victories of expediency. Within the Church, doctrinal purity is exchanged for applause; within governance, justice is reduced to a mere bargaining chip.
The predicament of the 147 Assistant Professors unambiguously exposes this reality. These educators have served with loyalty and integrity, fulfilling their responsibilities with diligence. Yet their futures remain uncertain, not because of personal failure, but because the system meant to recognize their service has abandoned its moral compass. Their story is not merely one of administrative neglect; it is a profound indictment of a society increasingly willing to sacrifice principle and merit at the altar of political convenience.
When ideologies erode doctrine, and political interests hollow out governance, society collapses inward. Truth becomes negotiable. Justice becomes discretionary. And the soul of both Church and State begins to wither. The longer truth is sidelined, the deeper moral decay entrenches itself and by the time we awaken to the cost, it may be irretrievable.
Conclusion: Truth today hangs precariously, yet it has not been severed. Both the Church and the institutions of governance stand at a pivotal intersection, faced with a stark but urgent summons: to return to objective truth, to restore moral integrity, and to resist the corrosive allure of compromise.
The ongoing predicament of the 147 Assistant Professors is not merely an administrative or policy challenge; it serves as a litmus test for the ethical and spiritual health of our society. It is a measure of whether we, as a community, still possess the courage to uphold justice, merit, and truth over convenience, influence, and personal gain.
This test, however, cannot be passed by procedural reforms alone. At its core, it demands a deeper renewal: a collective rediscovery of the absolute source of all truth is God Himself. As Scripture reminds us, truth is not an abstract ideal but a divine reality rooted in the very being of God (John 14:6). Severed from this foundation, our efforts at justice will inevitably devolve into mere exercises in rhetoric without substance.
Thus, the stakes are higher than any single employment case or protest movement. If we fail to defend truth here, if we allow merit to be undermined, justice to be delayed, and truth to be negotiated, we risk losing not only the future of these 147 individuals but the very idea that truth and justice have a rightful and non-negotiable place in our public life.
The thread still holds, but it demands our urgent and unwavering response. To honor it is to affirm that truth still matters, that justice still commands, and that society, even now, can still be steered back toward the righteous and the true.
Vikiho Kiba
Unity Village: 5th Mile, Chümoukedima
Nagaland Post Launch on 30 Dec 1990 is the first and fore-most english daily newspaper of Nagaland.
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