Seeking Truth # 9

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31b-32

Adopted from Josh Mcdowell's book (Right From Wrong):  If mere belief determined reality, it would matter little what anyone believes. For the person who chooses to believe in Christ and the Bible, Christianity would become the truth. The same could be said about any other religion, sect or cult. If belief determined reality, whatever god a person chose to believe in would become god for that person. And for the atheist, reality would consist of a universe with no god at all. Today, all these “truths” are considered equal because truth is whatever a person chooses to believe. As long as it’s “true for you,” then it’s true.

But we must ask, does the phrase “true for you” really mean anything? Can truth exist as a reality solely for the persons who believe it and for no one else? Consider a simple illustration. You and your friend find an apple on the table. Your friend believes it is full of worms, but you believe it is fresh and worm-free. Can your differing beliefs about the apple create two different truths that each of you can experience as reality? The way to find out is to slice the apple open. Then you will discover that either the apple has worms or it doesn’t. The truth about the apple is independent of whatever either of you may believe about it

Over the next few weeks we will be slicing some apples, and the question we will be asking is: if the subject we are considering is true or untrue? To determine truth, we need to have a standard to base our decisions on, and the standard that we will be using is the Bible. In applying our search for truth it will have to meet three tests (Objective, Universal, and Constant) which are described below. 

The first test is Objectivity,  Anything that tells us what is right or wrong must be Objective, that is, Truth must exist interdependently of what you (or any other person thinks or feels).  Otherwise, truth, (or right or wrong) could change from person to person; for example, you may consider abortion to be wrong, but your neighbor may not, in the absence of an objective standard (i.e. The Bible) we would have no basis on which to make our decisions.

The second test, is it Universal?  In other words, Truth must apply to all people in all places. If  truth (or right or wrong) was not Universal, then it could change from culture to culture, or even from community to community.  For example, you may consider it wrong for husbands to abuse their wives, but if a neighboring culture disagrees, who is to say they are wrong?

The third test to determine if something is true is it must be Constant. That is, Truth must be unchanging; otherwise, truth (or what is right or wrong) could be different from generation to generation, or even day to day. For example, you may consider racism to be wrong, but if the standards of truth can change over time, then it would be hard to condemn the atrocities of Nazi Germany or human slavery.

Absolute Truth, must be objective, universal & constant and must be in alignment with the Bible; otherwise, it is un-true.