“What is truth?” Pilate asked.
–John 18:38
Has there ever been a question that hasn’t haunted mankind for centuries? For as long as we’ve walked the earth, the concept of truth has been like a thorn in our side. What is truth? Is there such a thing as an universal truth? Are we able to know if anything in life is genuinely truthful? And what do we do if we come across it?
“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”
–Winston Churchill
I began pondering those questions anew when I was reminded someone close to me was struggling with the question of the existence of God. In order to think about that question, you need to first ask yourself the basic questions of what is truth and is there a such thing as one because the question of God’s existence can only have two answers: Yes, He’s there and No, He’s not there. Either one of those two statements is a truth statement. So, therefore, we need to figure out if we can ever know truth, and more importantly, what is it?
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
–John 8:32
The existence of truth may be obvious to people (for example, if I step in front of a speeding bus, the truth always will be that the bus and I will be unable to occupy the same space at the same time); however, the pursuit of it is a serious thing, something that has been pursued for centuries by ancient philosophers like Socrates and Plato and their Sophist contemporaries and by later modern philosophers like Frederich Nietzsche and David Hume. Even the 1999 movie The Matrix asked this question. Anyone who has taken Philosophy 101 will recognize “what is truth” as one of the first question that is asked in class. Why? I think it’s because, like Jesus said in John 8:32, we know at the very basic level of our consciousness, that we need stability and a way of orienting ourselves. Once we know absolute things, then we can live a life of assurance and awareness. This is where we find true freedom.
“Truth is truth / To the end of reckoning.”
–William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
I think going on spiritual and truth quests is a great thing because the truth, like Shakespeare says, is always true and it will always be until the end of time. It will never change no matter how much we try to hide or deny it. It hates being buried and hates lies. Jesus often prefaced his comments with “I tell you the truth” because not only did he want to let people know he wasn’t lying, but he wanted to let them know that they could test his comments and discover the truth in them for themselves. Jesus knew that the pursuit of truth was the pursuit of wisdom, and to pursue wisdom was to pursue Him, who was truth incarnate. Any serious quest to find truth will eventually lead to God and to Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth. … And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth?
–Plato, Republic, printed 380 years before the birth of Christ
– Matt
absolutefreedomJohnknowknowledgePlatoquesttruthWilliam ShakespeareWinston Churchillwisdom
What is Truth?
April 23, 2009
Calvary
Comments Off on What is Truth?
Matt
“What is truth?” Pilate asked.
–John 18:38
Has there ever been a question that hasn’t haunted mankind for centuries? For as long as we’ve walked the earth, the concept of truth has been like a thorn in our side. What is truth? Is there such a thing as an universal truth? Are we able to know if anything in life is genuinely truthful? And what do we do if we come across it?
“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”
–Winston Churchill
I began pondering those questions anew when I was reminded someone close to me was struggling with the question of the existence of God. In order to think about that question, you need to first ask yourself the basic questions of what is truth and is there a such thing as one because the question of God’s existence can only have two answers: Yes, He’s there and No, He’s not there. Either one of those two statements is a truth statement. So, therefore, we need to figure out if we can ever know truth, and more importantly, what is it?
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
–John 8:32
The existence of truth may be obvious to people (for example, if I step in front of a speeding bus, the truth always will be that the bus and I will be unable to occupy the same space at the same time); however, the pursuit of it is a serious thing, something that has been pursued for centuries by ancient philosophers like Socrates and Plato and their Sophist contemporaries and by later modern philosophers like Frederich Nietzsche and David Hume. Even the 1999 movie The Matrix asked this question. Anyone who has taken Philosophy 101 will recognize “what is truth” as one of the first question that is asked in class. Why? I think it’s because, like Jesus said in John 8:32, we know at the very basic level of our consciousness, that we need stability and a way of orienting ourselves. Once we know absolute things, then we can live a life of assurance and awareness. This is where we find true freedom.
“Truth is truth / To the end of reckoning.”
–William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
I think going on spiritual and truth quests is a great thing because the truth, like Shakespeare says, is always true and it will always be until the end of time. It will never change no matter how much we try to hide or deny it. It hates being buried and hates lies. Jesus often prefaced his comments with “I tell you the truth” because not only did he want to let people know he wasn’t lying, but he wanted to let them know that they could test his comments and discover the truth in them for themselves. Jesus knew that the pursuit of truth was the pursuit of wisdom, and to pursue wisdom was to pursue Him, who was truth incarnate. Any serious quest to find truth will eventually lead to God and to Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth. … And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth?
–Plato, Republic, printed 380 years before the birth of Christ
– Matt
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absolutefreedomJohnknowknowledgePlatoquesttruthWilliam ShakespeareWinston Churchillwisdom