I can’t quite decide whether Donald Trump would prefer us to go ‘Through the Looking-Glass’ or settle for a 21st century version of Orwell’s ‘1984.’ Or maybe we’d do better to remember what it was like to live in Stalinist Russia.

I found myself thinking like this the other day when I saw the welcome President Trump received at CIA headquarters. Now by anyone’s standards that should have been an explosive meeting given the way he had bizarrely compared their behaviour with Nazi Germany. But somewhat surprisingly the ‘spooks’ and ‘geeks’ laughed at his jokes and clapped his generous platitudes as if they had just been awarded a pay rise.

It reminded me of a chilling section in Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ where he describes the simple way in which they got rid of dissenting voices in Stalin’s time. There was a large meeting, he writes, in which everyone began to applaud ‘Comrade Stalin.’ And the clapping continued for an unbelievable long time because no one wanted to be the first one to stop. And as you might guess the brave soul who finally did disappeared.

Thankfully, there are millions around the world who are willing to stand up and say they will not applaud some of the things President Trump has said and done. And long may it continue, even if he does continue to disseminate what his official spokesperson has said are ‘alternative facts’ or what others might term ‘revisionist history.’ Indeed, this is yet another disturbing feature of his presidency. The BBC website gives us a very helpful description of this behaviour. I quote: “Photos showed more people had attended the swearing-in ceremony of Barack Obama in 2009 than Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Friday. The number of rides on the Washington subway system also suggested that attendance lagged behind both Mr. Obama’s event and the Women’s March against Mr. Trump on Saturday. But Mr. Trump’s administration has angrily challenged the reports on numbers, with the president calling journalists ‘among the most dishonest human beings on earth.’ In his first briefing as White House press secretary, Sean Spicer cited figures about attendance that were quickly denounced in many US news outlets as ‘falsehoods’ and even ‘lies.’ Top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway later said Mr. Spicer had been presenting ‘alternative facts.’

Thankfully, there are plenty of journalists who are prepared to stick their necks out and challenge people no matter how powerful they are. We should never underestimate the importance of a free press. History offers abundant proof that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I prefer to follow a man who rejected status and power and chose to live a life of humble service, even though it led to a hideous death. Speaking the truth, as Jesus quickly discovered doesn’t necessarily make you popular, but it does meet with God’s approval.

Given our constant readiness to spin and to present ‘alternative facts’ (let’s just call them lies) then, it’s worth remembering that Jesus did more than tell the truth: He lived it. For in the final analysis, we will never discover the ultimate truth in a newspaper, a book or even on Twitter. We have to get to know the one who embodied it. But that means we have to learn to trust Him. Now some would say that’s a bit of a gamble but I reckon it’s a dead - or should I should say - a living ‘cert’.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]