WHAT IS TRUTH?
(Continued)
As stated at the start of the first blog post on this topic, a simple dictionary definition of Truth could be said to be: That which conforms to reality, fact or actuality. Sounds simple, doesn't it.
BUT, in actual fact, Truth has been made such a complicated concept by philosophically-inclined minds, drawing upon human wisdom and knowledge to expound, in some instances, very wordy theories pertaining to Truth, but which nevertheless conflict with a multitude of other Truth concepts and theories.
In the previous blog, I mentioned in heading form, some of the various philosophical theories concerning Truth which have been postulated over the years by secular philosophers, the most popular of these theories being what is known as the Correspondence Theory. Ah, yes! The Correspondence Theory of Truth! Sounds great..........but what does it mean? It turns out that there are several aspects to the Correspondence Theory, but basically the theory in general terms states that the truth or falsity of a statement is determined only by how it relates to the world and whether it accurately describes (i.e., corresponds with) the world.It is a traditional model which goes back at least to some of the classical Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. As an example of the Correspondence Theory of Truth, British philosopher, Bertrand Russell theorized that a statement, to be true, must have a structural isomorphism with the state of affairs in the world that makes it true. For example, "A cat is on a mat", is true if, and only if, there is in the world a cat and a mat and the cat is related to the mat by virtue of being on it. Wow! To think, these great minds with doctorate degrees from the elite halls of tertiary learning are able to come up with such profoundly obvious statements as evidence of truth is somewhat underwhelming! Last time I quoted 2 Timothy 3:7 in the" New Testament of the Bible, where the Apostle Paul, speaking of the times in which we live said there would be people who would be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." As I also previously stated, Truth is to be found in a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who in the Gospel of John stated, concerning Himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
If the God of the Bible is the one True God, and the Word of God can be fully relied upon to be the expression of God's truth, then we can have full confidence in the Absolute and irrefutable Truth in God's Word absolutely.
There has been much written about Truth being either Absolute truth or Relative truth, and the fact that, for an increasing number of people today, Truth is Relative to the ever-changing cultural norms brought about by societal attitudinal changes. The Ten Commandments of the Bible, which helped form a strong reference point for justice and a framework for mor
ality in Western nations, and in fact, any nation with a Judaeo - Christian heritage, have seemed to become less and less relevant to a world hell-bent on destroying the fabric of society with liberal philosophy espousing the doctrine of relative truth. Relative truth is like a boat adrift in a raging sea, having been ripped from its moorings. It can be stated as: Truth that is only true at one time and at one place. It's true to some people and not to others. It's always subject to change. It is also subject to the perspective of people.
Because of the nature of relative truth, we have seen justification for Biblically abominable lifestyle choices, including the wholesale murder of unborn babies - abortion, in the name of womens' rights. We have seen the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, for life or "until death do us part" vehemently attacked by the gay rights activists (Christian social commentator, Bill Muehlenberg calls them the Gaystapo). (See Culture Watch online for some very challenging and enlightening articles relevant to the world we find ourselves in - written by Bill).
The abandonment of belief in ultimate or Absolute truth in today's culture has led to the "Whatever" philosophy of life. If it feels good, then do it. If it benefits me, even if it goes against long- held moral laws, unless it hurts somebody, then I can justify it. If science and human reason support it, go for it. If popular opinion supports your decisions in life, then it is easy to justify going along with the crowd for personal convenience - when the "Whatevers" fulfill our concepts of truth relative to our worldview and personal interest.
For the person who is prepared to take the living God at His Word, Jesus says in John !6: 13 that the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth."
A generation which does not want to be accountable to anyone for their actions, let alone, to a Holy God whose Word and whose Truth is unchanging, is reaping what they have sown in rebelling against the One in whom is all the Wisdom and knowledge necessary to lead a totally fulfilled and complete life. Truth, ultimate truth is to be found in a person, the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in living according to God's Word, the Bible. I purposely try to keep my blog posts roughly to the same length each time, so will conclude this one now. For further reading on Absolute Truth and all that implies, may I suggest you Google Abslute Truth - Focus On The Family for a very insightful and well written article on this topic.
If you would like to know more about becoming a Christian, there are many ministry websites I could direct you to. I will for now just mention a couple:www.livingwaters.com or www.vision.org.au then click on the Resources button at the top of the page, then click on Christianity from the drop down menu. God Bless. Hope this has given a little food for thought.
