WHAT IS TRUTH?

Part 3 

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 post, 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 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 from the New Testament of the Bible, where the Apostle Paul, speaking of the times in which we are living, 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."

IMPORTANT NOTE: 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 in the Bible, which helped form a strong reference point for justice and a framework for morality in Western nations, and in fact, in every nation with a Judaeo-Christian heritage, have seemed to have 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 women's 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 us do part" vehemently attacked by the gay rights activists (Christian social commentator, Bill Muehelenberg 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 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 16:13 that the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth."

A generation that 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. For further reading on Absolute Truth and all that implies, may I suggest you Google Absolute Truth - Focus on the Family for a very insightful and well written article on this topic.

If you would like to know how to become a Christian and to be "born again" as the Bible says and begin a new life in fellowship with your Creator God, the source of all truth, go online to: www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Australia's Vision Christian Media, which also includes Vision Christian Radio broadcasting hope to well over 700 cities, towns and small communities across the nation. Click on the "Grow your faith" tab, then from the dropdown menu, click on "Looking for God?" God Bless.

Please feel free to comment below.

WHAT IS TRUTH?

 Part Two

As I was contemplating what to write in this blog post "What Is Truth?", I Googled this question on the internet.  I discovered a lengthy Wikipedia article which outlined some of the philosophical theories concerning Truth, and what it means. These include what are known as Substantive Theories, including: Correspondence Theory

                                                    Coherence Theory

                                                    Constructivist Theory

                                                    Concensus Theory

                                                    Pragmatic Theory

Then there are Minimalist or Deflationary Theories. These include:

                                                    Performative Theory Of Truth

                                                    Redundancy and Related Theories

There are also what is known as Pluralist Theories.

I discovered, that, of the above, the Correspondence Theory seems to have the highest level of support in relation to the definition of Truth - in philosophical terms.

I am reminded of the verse in 2 Timothy 3:7 where the apostle Paul speaking of the days in which we are living describes people who would be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

If you who are reading are on a quest to know ultimate TRUTH in all its dimensions, may I suggest you take a look in the Bible at the One who is Truth Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus finished His earthly ministry, He told His disciples that He would send them a Helper, the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 16:13 that ".....when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

In John 18:36-38, as Jesus stood before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, who would decide whether He lived or would be condemned to be crucified, Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are you a king then?" Jesus answered, " You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when He had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

Pilate asked Jesus one of the most important questions He could have asked of the Son of God: "What is truth?" and he didn't bother to wait for the answer. Like Pilate, many today are searching for the meaning of Truth in Philosophy, Religion, Science - even Politics and always coming up short.

The apostle Paul warns in Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

He goes on to say in verses 9 and 10 For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Does it matter what we believe to be the Truth today? Isn't truth relative to the circumstances, culture, socio-political setting in which we find ourselves today? MORE SOON!

If you would like to discover the truth Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God - and to become a Christian, go online to www.vision.org.au This is the online home  of Australia's Vision Christian Media. On their home page, click on the heading "Grow your faith." Then from the dropdown menu, click on "Looking for God?" God Bless!

WHAT IS TRUTH? 

A simple definition of Truth is: That which conforms to reality, fact or actuality.

It could be stated that there are aspects of truth which are relative to a particular person or place - for example, I could say that it is TRUE that I have blue eyes and that I am left-handed. It is also true that I am an Australian citizen by birth, and that I am a resident of the township of Sorell in Tasmania. It is also true that I am married and have two grown children, and two grandchildren. All these facts are true in relation to me, but most of these facts may not be true for you who are reading this.

When I was a student at Bible College in 1980, I remember being struck by the statement made by one of the college lecturers, that ALL TRUTH IS GOD'S TRUTH.

Examples of this could be stated as the laws of nature, physics and mathematics which are always true and cannot be changed. Let me clarify this by suggesting that in mathematics 2+2=4 will always be an example of mathematical truth.

Sir Isaac Newton's Universal Law Of Gravitation is another example of  God's truth in the natural world proving reliable one hundred percent of the time. Newton postulated that any two objects in the universe attract each other with a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. HUH! 😕

The simplified version, concerning Gravity is: What goes up must come down!

There are other reliable and consistent laws in nature which were designed by the Creator God of the universe. At this point, anyone who believes that the universe just came into being as a result of the Big Bang, and out of that, over time everything evolved over millions or billions of years without any intelligent design, may not like my conclusions - but I make no apologies for believing God is the Prime Mover for everything in the universe, including the complex life forms on our own planet Earth. As evangelist Ray Comfort so rightly says: 

"Every song has a composer, every book has an author, every car has a maker, every painting has a painter, and every building has a builder. So it isn't irrational to take this simple logic a little further and say that nature must have had a Maker. It would be irrational to believe that it made itself."

So, looking at the Big Picture, ALL TRUTH IS GOD'S TRUTH!

As a committed Bible-believing Christian, I believe the Bible to be the written Holy Spirit-inspired Word of God. We are addressing the question in this blog: What is Truth?

Truth is personified in the eternal Son of the Living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who in John 14:6 stated of Himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." What a remarkable statement Jesus made in a response to a question from Thomas, one of his disciples.

Earlier, in this same Gospel of John, Jesus, addressing some Jews who believed in Him, said: "If you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed,

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31,32.

The unmistakable fact of history since the time of Christ's ministry on earth and His subsequent death on the Cross of Calvary and His triumphant resurrection on that first Resurrection Sunday, is that those who have embraced THE TRUTH in the person of Jesus Christ, and who have availed themselves of the reconciliation to God the Father offered by Christ's sacrifice on the Cross in our place, He who knew no sin, dying in our place - if they give heed to the Word of God, find that Truth to be life changing, in fact liberating from the bondage to sin and Satan, the arch-deceiver, whom the Bible calls the Father of Lies.

If you would like to know how you can become a Christian, and discover Truth personified, the Lord Jesus Christ, one trusted resource I can direct you to is: vision.org.au This is the online home of Australia's Vision Christian Media. If you go to their Home page, click on the Grow your faith tab, then from the drop down menu, click on "Looking for God?" God Bless!