Quest for authenticity

Oh, yes, there's now a keen interest for what is authentic, for what is real and genuine. It's the pendulum effect.

We've been so bombarded with plastics, alloys, fakes, facades and masks, copies and imitations, inflated words and images, that our human nature, no matter how weakened, now hungers for the original, for the pure and simple.

I was amused, for example, to learn that in the American Idol show, there's a lot of weight given to whether a singer is able to interpret a song authentically, that is, from the heart, whatever that means.

There obviously are some ideas about what's to be authentic, though it's a definition that is promiscuously loose. It eludes clear-cut criteria. It's obviously not a matter of techniques, though they too are necessary.

Especially in singing, and in the arts in general, authenticity is mercurially subjective, highly volatile, flighty and capricious. Even if one has the so-called X-factor, it may just be true at one moment. But it expires faster than one can put an expiry date for the product.

Our drinking water is not anymore any ordinary tap water, knowing that the latter can not be trusted anymore to be clean and potable. We now go for purified water.

This quest for authenticity now extends to people. For all sorts of reasons, we today prefer to be with people whom we consider to be authentic. We want them to get real.

Now, this is a very intriguing point, because we can have endless ideas of what is to be an authentic person. For sure there are different levels and aspects of authenticity and reality.

The young ones, notorious for this tendency, consider authenticity mainly as being true to themselves, and this usually means their feelings. They can be egotistically frank, brutally candid, allergic to anything that smacks of being plastic.

Thus, in their quest for authenticity, they crave for the original, for the creative and imaginative, no matter how outlandish and rebellious to the status quo. This is evident in their shifting fads.

Ironically, they often fall for labels and brand names, mistaking what are costly and esoterically popular among their group as being true to themselves. But they actually are capable of being radical in this quest, able to transcend their adolescent ways, if they want.

All of us, perhaps without articulating it, do some abiding sizing up of others to see if they are authentic as friends, colleagues, partners in certain projects, and ultimately as persons. We often unconsciously submit them to our own version of authenticity test.

We use all sorts of criteria, but in the end we cannot deny that the source of all authenticity is shrouded in deep mystery.

We can try to be rational and explicit about it, but we also know that in the end things depend ultimately on our inexpressible beliefs and on how we are consistent to them. This is a truly mysterious part of our human condition.

This preoccupation for authenticity is most pronounced and most difficult when we consider our leaders, especially the religious ones. Here we are familiar with the common biblical warnings about false prophets and false teachers.

In this respect, we have to pray hard and constantly, so that we can have authentic religious leaders. Though the authenticity test for them may be most tricky, there can always be some objective guidelines and criteria.

Our religious leaders should be truly holy, fully identified with Christ in a vital and perpetually renewing way. Of course, they have to be grounded on correct doctrine, oozing with virtues, their minds and hearts continually engaged in a relation of love with God.

This is a crucial element that requires God's grace and an all-out ascetical struggle. It's an all-or-nothing affair, though we can always count on God's infinite mercy. A false prophet fails in at least one of these.

An authentic religious leader is able to blend truth and charity, justice and mercy, freedom and obedience, compassion and discipline. The ultimate formula is their living contact with God.

Their signs of authenticity may not be well known and openly displayed. In fact, they are hidden most of the time. But when seen, they are unmistakable. And even when not recognized, they have the power to attract

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